So my vet appt turned into just a nail trimming I just want to cry right now. The Vet is supossed to know how to handle exotic animals i was told he can do sugar gliders, WELL this appointment is my first and LAST appt there i will search out of town for a good vet. He practically rips my baby out of the pouch an just man handles her sorry but i wanted to cry right than. Hes like OH looks like he ripped a nail off already im LIKE HELLO thats her thumb they don't have a nail i immediatly asked him if he was familier with sugar gliders.....he said yes ok well go ahead he does my girl first and i felt horrible she was crabbing an he freaked out when she jumped on his shirt i thought she was going to fall ok well her nails were ok after so he takes my lil boy out an it just went downhill from there he trims his nails than holds him by the back of his neck like you would a dog im like WTF NOOOO. Well i am in a complete state of shock an i need to know what to do i looked at my baby boys one foot an the nails are pretty much gone he trimmed it to far an there was blood i was like just so you know he trimmed to much they put powder on his foot but i dunno what to do im sorry if i am repeating myself i am practivally in tears right now i feel like the WORST glider owner ever he is having trouble hanging onto everything im so afraid hes going to fall in his cage can someone please help what can i do for him to make sure he stays safe in his cage :( I URGE everyone who needs a vet to make sure they are REALLY familier with the sugar glider.....

UPDATE Here are a few pictures im sure most of you know how long nails should be the first pic is nico's foot than the last 2 are nala :( She made out so much better then my boy

:( i feel horrible what can i do about him having trouble hanging on to stuff

Lol I agree with Jerry

oh that's so terrible I can't believe a vet would actually lie about having dealt with a sugar glider. As for your boy I would just watch him a little more but I'm sure part of it is that he's still realizing that he can't grip things as well at the moment which can be an issue for any glider after a nail trimming and the nails will grow back. I hope you can find a good vet around your area. I know I have to drive at least an hour for mine but it's a great place.

Yeah i never got the nail trimmer was waiting i guess ill wait a lil longer now, i just hope nobody ever has to go thru that.

Just make sure to lower any pouches or food bowls so he can get to them. Sorry that happened. :( Hopefully, they think you were the "good guy" when they went back to you, at least. I'm sure an extra treat or two wouldn't hurt him. :)

Oh my, how awful. That vet practice should be ashamed of themselves. If I were you, I'd report them to whatever agency in your state regulates them or to the Better Business Bureau for lying about their knowledge of exotics (sugar gliders). It might not make a difference, but it could make YOU feel a little better ;-)

Awwwww, the poor babies....and poor you! I hope everyone is settling down and recovering now.

When I adopted my last two, we tried a new vet because they had an emergency facility also and I thought it would be great to have one vet for regular care and emergencies. Although we didn't suffer the trauma that you did, it was quite obvious that she was not experienced in handling gliders. She didn't even take them out of the pouch to examine them just kinda held them up in the pouch to take a look and she about freaked when they crabbed at her. Needless to say, I was not impressed and we will not be going back to her -- emergency or not!

I think we should all start requiring vet references from other glider owners BEFORE we take our babies to them! That way we'll KNOW that they have experience.

Yup, sounds typical. I think few vets are specialists and few have gliders themselves. That may very well be the question to ask a perspective vet; "Do you keep sugar gliders yourself?"

I havent found a vet that does yet.

Boy, this gives me an idea...

I am blessed to have some excellent vets who are completely knowledgeable near me! I feel sick to my stomach every time I read a story like yours.

What's your idea, Terry? Are you going to go back to school? We'll be traveling across the country to get to you! LOL!

This is completely terrible! I would definitely report this to an agency in your state. Make sure to take pictures of your gliders for proof of mishandling by the vet.

I don't even know who i would report it to im so upset hes sleeping in my shirt right now. I Really wish we had a vet in the area that knew what they were doing :( but i told my husband i don't care i will drive to VA to have him neutered

where do you live? YOu said youd drive to va so i'mk wondering if u live in md, maybe we can help youy find a good vet

I feel pretty lucky. My Vet use to rescue Gliders and has three of her own. I can only hope that if she has them she knows about them. She takes good care of all Five of my babies. That is why I picked her. Almost every VET claims to know about gliders but I fear very few do. If you can't find one in DE come see me in VA and I'll set you up with my Vet. You could even stay here with me, I have a spare room so you don't have to travel back and forth all in one day.

That is so sad. Poor Nico. I hope he and Nala feel better soon! I'm sure they can sense that you feel bad too and know that you are their safe haven.

No wonder you are upset. Im sure your gliders are totally traumatized over this experience.

Poor little guy - You might have to put a sleeping pouch on the bottom of the cage since he cant grasp. Also their food bowls.

Gliders nails grow fairly quickly - so hopefully within a week or two he should be able to grasp again.

If you have a little hampster carrier, you could keep it in there for a night or two til his nails feel a little better and hold him when you can just to keep him comfortable... My vet is an hour away but every bit worth driving to see her... she even showed me how to trim their nails and they are very cooperative...
I hope your babies are OK. I would give that doctor a

Awww thanks guys im in DE and the closest MD vet that does suggies is in like aberdeen (sp) But VA is also close to us which is closer im not sure i'd have to double check. i keep a pouch at the bottom of the cage already i actually just put their food in 2 bowls 1 on the bottom and 1 in the middle :) they kinda slide a bit trying to climb so i tried to make the ropes as close to their needs as i could, Nico is up high an nala is down low lol silly gliders, i had them in my pocket for awhile gave them some yougurt from my finger as a treat :) i sure hope the nails grow fast i just want to make sure they are ok! I'm gonna try to take a pic so you can see how awful the job was done :(

Goldwinger- That is so kind of you to offer a room to me if i cannot find anywhere here i'll def let you know.

Where in Delaware? I live in Maryland...I've heard of a vet in Aberdeen that's good with gliders, I'll have to see if I can find her name to see if it's the same person. Hunt Valley Animal hospital is probably 45 minutes from Aberdeen and it's where we take all 5 of our little ones there. There is one that's a little closer, but I had an absolutely terrible experience there...

Wait Hunt Valley is the one i saw lol i just dunno if that vet or the one in VA is closer :D but shoot i just want someone who can do a good safe job nuetering my lil boy when the time comes an get their vet check as well.

Dr. Frank at Hunt Valley is who sees my gliders but unfortunately, we didn't find out about him until after our first awful experience when our boys were neutered. He's great though, i definitely recommend him. I know he sees a handful of other gliders but since they all come from a breeder, I'm not positive that they'd be neutered. I can call him for you (or you can) to see if he's done neuters before...I know he's done wellness exams (and he sends the fecals out for more accurate results), a partial tail amputation, and cleared up a severe eye infection for one of our rescues, but I'm not sure about his experience with neuters. Another thing...if you ask him a question that he doesn't know the answer to, he isn't afraid to pull out the books and do some quick research for you. In fact, last time I was there he photocopied all of the information he had on gliders and the vet care they require and gave it to me to use as a reference. But yeah, nice guy and I'm sure you'd have a great experience there. Any other questions, shoot me a PM!

poor little guys toes look so sore in that pic!