Am I doing something wrong? I see posts where people " can't give them the time they deserve". I have two pairs of gliders. The first pair came complete with a home that was a converted china closet. I rarely see them, there are so many places to hide. They had a joey. When he was old enough, I took " Dewy" and bonded with him. He would ride around in my shirt pocket all day. Occasionally he would come out, climb around on me, then go back to bed. In the morning, he would get very upset if I tried to pick him up before he was ready for bed. Once he had settled down, he would let me pick him up. Eventually, he got to the point that he would come out, but jump to the nearest thing he saw. Had great fun making me chase him around, but I was always afraid he would get hurt ( dogs etc). it got to the point he spent more and more time in his cage for his own safety. I got him a playmate. They sleep until 11PM and go to bed around 7AM. They absolutely don't want to be disturbed.
So now I have 2 pairs that are perfectly happy living in their own worlds. Are they unusual? Exactly what "time" do these people regret not giving their gliders?

You don't ever get them out into a tent or bathroom for play time? Most of us here do like to enjoy our sugar gliders. We like to get them out of their cages and 'play' with them in a safe confined area. When properly bonded, a lot of sugar gliders will really enjoy human interaction. Some even become so bonded with their humans that the human becomes part of the colony.

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Originally posted by gm4363

Exactly what "time" do these people regret not giving their gliders?

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Interaction with your pets.

Catman-excellent picture to go with the human interaction point! But I have to ask that glider if ear wax tastes like honey!

Personally I absolutely love spending time with my girls, but more importantly I want to get them out to give them exercise and playtime. They now have a big cage, so I don't feel as bad if I have a busy night and can't get the time to let them out to play (but I always have them on me in a pouch during the day petting them). If you have a small cage-they can easily get bored and cramped up. These are very active creatures and they need to stretch their legs, jump, and glide. My advice-glider proof your bathroom and spend half an hour or an hour every other night with each pair and just let them jump and explore and you will see the bond between you and the suggies grow each day! The best sign of a happy and conent glider-if they purr in your ear. You can't hear and experience that joy if you don't get them out to play!

The fact alone that they are sugar gliders, they need to be able to play and glide. If they have huge cages, that's one thing and a plus, but it just isn't the same. This is going to sound snotty and without hearing me it will look that way, but this is an honest question...why do you want a pet you can't interact with? You can't see them during the day and all they do is play in the cage at night, right? I'm honestly wondering what the appeal is for you then? I LOVE playing with mine. There are 6 of them together and they could easily keep each other entertained. They have two large flight cages hooked together to live in but I do give them full reign of their whole room all night long. As soon as I come into the room they ALL want to play. I love pets that love me back. LOL

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Interaction with your pets.

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Training your gliders to give you a massage and a cleaning is not the same as interaction Scott!

make sure you keep your closed catman! lol
and maybe you should think about getting a real cage for your gliders. im not sure what a converted china closet looks like but i think a real cage would be better. i get my boys out every night to play for hours or until they are bored with me. sometimes i just let them do their own thing and let them come to me when they want to play. people re home their gliders because they no longer have the time or energy to play with them after work and/or school and other things.

A china closet is a place you keep china. It has a solid bottom section with doors. Measures about 3 fet wide, 18 inched deep and 2 1/2 feet high. On top of that is a display area that is again about 3 feet wide, 18 inches deep,and about 4 feet high.The front is doors that were formerly glass but are now wire. The entire thing is about 6 feet high. They are very common in most dining rooms.The fact is, my gliders don't seem to want to move around until close to midnight.

i know what i china closet is i just didnt know what a converted china closet that was used for a glider cage looked like. and thats normal for them not to get up till midnight. my boys always get up at 11pm unless they feel like getting up earlier to eat. if you want you can try waking them up 15 mins earlier then they would usually get up and once you see improvement or somethin wake them up 15 mins earlier. and keep doing that. just dont try to make them wake up during the day (some gliders do want to play during the day but thats their own decision)

Also-what wood is it made out of? Certain woods are poisonous to sugar gliders. In the wild they strip bark to get to sap-so they will most likely start trimming down that china closet. Meaning-you might have a hole in it soon enough!

Most of it is not real wood, wood grained masonite. There is some maple framing. They were in it when I got them, and I have had them over a year now. It is full of a maze of tree branches for them to play on, there are also several wood slabs with bark on them that make hideouts scattered around. They used to sleep in the lowest level behind the litter pan. I built them a plywood box and loosly lined it with a fleece like material. The lining is so loose inside they can crawl in there and it is like a maze of "blankets" to burrow in. They love it so much they don't want to come out. The other set ( Dewey and his new playmate ) are in a standard 3 ft. wide, 2 ft deep, 3ft. high cage. I put in several tree branches so they can jump around, climb, and chase each other. They have plastic balls with bells in them hanging around to play with and a wheel. Their bed is a fleece lined tent. It is pretty open inside, so I put in a wad of rags for them to get under. Again, they don't want to come out.

If you get an actual pouch for them to sleep in, it would be easier for you to get them out. Just unhook and remove the pouch from their cage before they wake up. Then take the pouch into a tent or a glider proof bathroom and when they wake up, you can let them play around you.

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Originally posted by gm4363
[br Again, they don't want to come out.

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Thats not a good sign! Sugar gliders are very active and curious, and should WANT to come out and play,jump around,run in a wheel....


A Litter pan? With cat litter?

No, it's ferret litter, little pellets. They don't use it, i suppose I could take it out.

Post a pic gm4363