and im so nervous around him! i dont want to over handle him/hurt him.

I built him a 5x3x2 pvc cage... and i came home and he was hanging upside from the ceiling! so cute! but, like an idiot i turned on the overhead light instead of the lamp and he crabbed and went to his pouch.

thanks to everyone who has answered questions and given some great tips! hopefully im a great companion to him... and hopefully his suggie friend will become available to me soon.

despite large amounts of message board drama over the past couple days, this forum is an amazing resource! rarely do internet message boards contain so many quality, helpful people. you guys answer the same questions over and over again... and you tirelessly do it!

thanks bunches!

i will get to that soon. hes so cute. but, i want him to get a bit more comfortable. at least for now, im keeping the cage in my room hoping it helps the bonding process.

how much light can they comfortably take? i have a lamp hidden behind a desk so the room is pretty warmly, but lightly lit (lol).

Congrats.

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rarely do internet message boards contain so many quality, helpful people. you guys answer the same questions over and over again... and you tirelessly do it!

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Amen!

Eric, in my glider room I have two lamps. They are light enough for me to see very well but not too bright for the gliders to want to stay in their pouches!! It's JUST dim enough that if I try to take pics without flash on my camera, the pictures suck! If that makes any sense at all.

I am so very happy to hear all of this. From our conversations, I can clearly tell that you are ready to be a suggie lover with the rest of us! You have done your research and honestly care about all life. As far as your worries, just breathe! I would hold off on the pics just incase he is camera and flash shy! I usually have my t.v. on for light when I have them out playing, it is light enough to see but not bright on their eyes. So that is what I do! Have you decided on a name? I can't wait to hear all of the awesome stories with him!

im still leaning towards asimov... but im not completely sold on it. i also loved this book called "you shall know our velocity" - there was this amazing part in the book which explains the title.. but it has to do with the main characters jumping from a tree and getting a kind of experience as they glided down.. and its a really beautiful part and somewhat appropriate.. however the characters names were "will" and "hand" which are horrible names..

so, i considered velocity... but i dont like it either.

also, the breeder give me this small box with some things from the joey's parent's cage.. and i mistakenly put the box in his new cage and he hides out in it a lot. should i get that out of there?

also, my glider is doing this half crab, half sigh thing occassionally in his pouch... my best guess is hes crying... im assuming common for his first night away...?

Congratulations! I know you'll be an awesome owner.

Light: that seems to vary. I have one who doesn't mind even the bright flourescent lights in the bathroom, and another who will only come out with the dimmest light. The third is somewhere in the middle.

The box of stuff: it smells like home, and right now I think that's reassuring to the little guy. Leave it in for another day or two. Take out anything he might get tangled in or hurt with, and leave the rest.

The crying: Aawww! Talk to him as much as you can, let him know that even though he's not with his family, at least he's not alone. It's hard for the babies! I'm glad he's in your room, that definitely will help him feel more secure.

No hurry on the name, it'll come to you and it'll be right. But the pics, now ... that's our reward for all the good advice!

My boys were both 1.5 when i got them, so i didnt get to name them....sigh....but my bf said he wanted to change their name to napoliean....haha..get it...lol..i said no...lol...anyway with the light issue...my boys dont mind the light at all. They are next to a window...which isnt good to do, but i had no other choice in the matter...anyway I just keep a blankiet over 1/2 there cage now, and it doesnt bother them. Just make sure that they have a dark ssafe place thy can go if its too light for them...When itgets to lite my boys just go and hid under the flap of their bonding pouch, lol, its so cute. Sometimes if I'm holding them during the day the will even grab my finger when i pet them and pull it over there eyes...as well as wrap their tail around there eyes too...Dont be nervous b.c they can sence it. YOu want them to feel secure and feel like u kno ewhat ur doiong...lolo....I'm still nervous sometimes, but I try not to let it show..just a newborn baby...if ur nervous and unsure...the baby will cry....Listen to the advice u get, do ur research and reading...and give ooldes of love, and i'm sure u'll be an awesome suggie parent!!!

well, i've decided his name is asimov... and he has cried all night. its breaking my heart! i got him out a few times and held him and mostly he would go silent... i don't know if that was fear or contentment/relief...

he still crabs here and there when i hold him in his pouch... and he bites at me a bit...but im sure it will just take time (hoping!)

it will be worth it in the end...i promise...thet are so rewarding!!! u're gonna love it!!!!

i really wish the breeder would have had a second one to come with him... i can see how it would make the transition easier on them.

I have heard that babies will cry for their mother when they are in that weaning stage, it is their way of calling their mom over to them. Also moms will sing to their joeys. He probably just wants his mommy, so you'll have to step into her place. The crabbing is totally normal, it will take time, but I'm sure little Asimov will settle down and start to crab less and less! Even my two bonded gliders crab when I first wake them up! Silly little stinkers!

Just take it slow with him, do not try to rush things. With animals it is so easy to want to be best friends with them right away, but it is also very easy to scare them with all of the attention and touching. I don't know about gliders, but with other animals this can have a lasting negative impact. My suggestion is to let him warm up to you. Just talk to him and get him used to your scent. At night try to watch him play, and you will start to figure out his personality. Don't worry about the friend right now. You know that he needs one and I am sure will do everything in your power to get him a friend. Right now think of this as a time when you can start to get him used to you. With my gliders I found that with my bonded Wavern, my new girl Vestral started warming up to me much faster!

i started having some progress last night... as much as my plan was to leave him be for the entire first night... when i heard him crying i couldnt help it. so a few times i got him to crawl on my hand and arm... but still other times he would crab or lunge.

i'll stay patient... but that crying is just so heart breaking!

Actually, mom singing is just the noise they make from trying to unlatch them from the nipple because they're uncomfortable. I don't know who named it singing but unless they have a joey attached to a nipple, you shouldn't hear it.

Thanks kyro! I didn't know what it was for, but I know that they do make that noise!

And congratulations! A small step is still a step in the right direction! And yes, I tried to just leave my girls alone the first night but I still ended up petting them! Please, please, please keep us updated! I am really rooting for you!

not the most exciting pictures... but hes so cute!

He is so cute and I think it is a awesome picture for him to trust you enough to get that close already congrats!

He is adorable! And he looks fairly healthy to! Yayz for gliders!

still a work in progress, but he ate a little applesauce from my finger and i backed him out of his pouch like that.. he finished off the sauce and crawled around my arm for a bit!

Step by step is the way to go. You are on your way to becoming a awesome suggie owner.

joining the conversation! I read the whole forum and it really seems like both you guys are making progress!
I get mine in a couple weeks and am so nervous for meeting them! twin girls :]
I hope mine bond to me like yours our!

what time do your gliders usually rise?

Mine are normally up before 7 at night. With the time change, even earlier.

Mine usually get up about 8, but only long enough to eat run in the wheel a little bit, than sleep for a couple more hours.

1. i have sat by his cage all day long... granted, i was impulsive and pulled him out a couple times when i should have let him sleep. but, its 10:15... he is awake, but not leaving his pouch.

2. with him staying in his pouch, hes has eaten very little today.. and to follow that up, i havent seen him take so much as a sip of water. i put a little gatorade in there, but i dunno.

not leaving pouch, not eating, not drinking. he was up at 730 last night, but cried ALL NIGHT long. /sigh

Believe it or not, this sounds normal to me. Even if I put their food in the cage when they wake up, they usually want to play first and eat later...sometimes much, much later. I'll stay up with them until after midnight sometimes and most of their food is still there. In the morning when I go to take it out, it's all gone. They are the most active when we are asleep. He shouldn't really even eat at all during the day.

awww :) mine were up at 11 this morning ready to play so we had tent time they ate an that was that they are sleeping in my shirt right now its 10pm im expecting them to get up around 1am lol they are so much fun