I put my glider in the hamster ball to exercise in and just roam the house he loves it. When I first put him in it the cat swatted at the play gently just playing around well did my little guy man up in that plastic protective shield once he realized she can't get to him. So last night he was chasing the cat around in the ball everytime the cat went one way he went towards her I'm going to get you my pretty was kind of what I thought he was doing. So if you have a hamster ball and your cat swats your glider in it Hide Your Cat next time you put your glider in it bc they'll want revenge this went on for at least an hour it's a new game I like to call swat me and you'll be running for mercy. After this hour my glider and cat were pretty tired and the cat was a little annoyed now she gives him dirty looks then he just stands up in his ball and drops down with all he can forcing the ball to roll harder towards the cat. It's so funny but when he is in his cage my cat likes to prance around going Nah nah nah nah I'm free your not! I think it's so funny when or if I figure out how to posts pictures or videos if they let you I'll upload them next time it's sooo funny

Um....... Please do not do that again.
We call those balls 'Death Balls' They are not safe, if you do a search you will find many threads about this.

Death balls?

The name "death balls" is a little extreme... Though I agree that they're not safe.

That said, I would recommend that you 1. stop using the balls, and 2. don't let your cat near the glider. Those balls can easily pop open. I used to have hamsters, so I used those balls fairly often for them. With three of my hamsters (kept at different times), I had the ball pop open while they were running in them (and these were different running balls, not the same one -- and each ball WAS closed properly).Anyway, imagine if the ball popped open while the glider was "playing" with the cat.... Might not end so well.


Also, if you can, I would keep the cat in a separate room in general-- away from the cage. Not very long ago, there was an owner on another board that lost a glider due to a cat swatting at it through the bars. Poor thing passed away of internal injuries caused by the cats claws.

Do a search about the balls.
Their nails / toes can get caught in the air vents and rip off, they don't get very good air circulation in them, the run around in their on poop / pee. They can open and your glider is loose....... there are MANY reasons not use them.

Us chinchilla owners call them death balls because chins can overheat in them and die.

they are just not safe

take it apart and use each half to make a swing

I have to agree...as I let you know in my message.

SG please explain this take this ball in half and make a swing... I might not know everything about sugar gliders but I have common sense to Tape the twist door shut which he's in it and the second he pops he's out of it! But yes agree on the nails part and teeth so I always take him out when he starts biting at it! Please give more detail on breaking it in half and making a swing I'd love you here about that

I wouldn't use it even if you tape it closed.

Like SG said, nails and toes can easily get stuck. I had a person message me recently through my site telling me a horrific story regarding these hamster balls. The glider ended up with a broken wrist because a toe got stuck and she panicked.

And, as SG also stated, they urinate and defecate wherever, including in those balls, and the urine and feces get all over them. It's just nasty.

If you want your glider to get good exercise, get a Wodent Wheel or Stealth Wheel (I'd suggest Stealth, personally).



An idea I'm picturing as a swing is tying or sewing a fleece piece on either end and then using either fleece ropes or plastic chains to hang it. Actually... Now I want to try that. xD

No no no the cage is in my room were the cat rarely enters if ever bc I have a grudge against him in my room bc one time my sister an mother went on vacation and the cat pooped and peed in my closet all over my belongings as spite and he isn't even my cat so I don't trust him in my room let alone with my Chip in my room the only time the cat is in my room is when I enter and he squeezes past and I don't let my dogs near Chip bc on would eat him and the other one would friend him and act like his daddy but I don't think it's ever a good idea. I will attempt to make it a swing out of it!

yep, Meg has the right idea. I don't have one but I have heard or people doing it since they already had the ball. You take it apart and use each half as a swing, you could make 2 from one ball. You just use plastic chain or fleece to hang it, put 3 or 4 ropes on it so it will hang straight and they play on them :)

I wish I still had my old hamster small from when I had a hamster (omg this is YEARS ago). I guess I'll have to put this on my 'look for this' list when I go to yard sales.

This isnt made from a hamster ball, but it can give you a visual of what we are talking about:

This is really cool! I'm going to try everything this Thursday! You are all so creative!

I think ed had pictures of what they did with hamster balls? the swing idea that is. I'll see if I can find it.

Hmmm.... I thought he posted pics, but I guess not. He did say what he did with them though.

quote:

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Originally posted by LuckyGlider

A lot of gliders come in to the rescue along with hamster balls. here's what we do for them (not their original intended purpose):

1. We throw out the top that screws on
2. We loop zip ties on either side through one of the cracks
3. We use plastic chain or fleece to make a sling and put a dog clip in the middle
4. We stuff fleece squares in the ball and hang it from the top of the cage

Anyway, they make for a great, non-toxic nest and the cracks allow the nest to air out so the fleece squares don't get too funky. So long as you clip their nails often, which you should be doing anyway - there's no problem to use them like this.

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I totally believe the sugie chasing cat story! my zorg always antagonizes my moms dog. my moms dog, pepper, wants to play with zorg soooo bad but she knows she isn't supposed too so she normally sits on the other side of the room and stares. well at one point zorg ( whom i firmly believe is 12 times faster than that dog. sometimes you blink and he is literally on the other side of the room) realized that he could jump on pepper n dart off, then charge pepper n dart off. poor pepper wanted to play so bad but we wouldn't let her. she just sat there quivering while zorg tried his best to initiate play time.

quote:

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Originally posted by zorg

I totally believe the sugie chasing cat story! my zorg always antagonizes my moms dog. my moms dog, pepper, wants to play with zorg soooo bad but she knows she isn't supposed too so she normally sits on the other side of the room and stares. well at one point zorg ( whom i firmly believe is 12 times faster than that dog. sometimes you blink and he is literally on the other side of the room) realized that he could jump on pepper n dart off, then charge pepper n dart off. poor pepper wanted to play so bad but we wouldn't let her. she just sat there quivering while zorg tried his best to initiate play time.

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Gliders should never be exposed to other household pets ESPECIALLY dogs and cats. Accidents can and DO happen. Doesn't matter how "friendly" the other house pets are.

its not a friendly thing, its an obedience thing. and i agree with you mostly

quote:

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Originally posted by zorg

its not a friendly thing, its an obedience thing. and i agree with you mostly

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It's more of a basic animal instinct thing, actually. You can't take the animal instinct out of a cat (or dog, or..well, any animal), no matter how obedient, or friendly, they may be.

quote:

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Originally posted by WintersSong

quote:

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Originally posted by zorg

its not a friendly thing, its an obedience thing. and i agree with you mostly

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It's more of a basic animal instinct thing, actually. You can't take the animal instinct out of a cat (or dog, or..well, any animal), no matter how obedient, or friendly, they may be.

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i agree with you in most situations and with the majority of dogs

Of course, but you believe you're an exception, correct? That's how it is in almost all the situations. Everyone has the mind set of "Oh, it'll never happen to me" until it does happen, and then the person beats themselves up about it.

There was an incident a while back when a woman had that exact mind set. The difference is that she DID take the precautions. She had them in a room to themselves and with the door shut most of the time. Well, one day she had company and absent mindedly left the door open to the room. Her dogs, mind you they were very sweet and thought to "never harm a fly," got into the room and attacked the gliders. She came in when all the ruckus was happening and found her glider half dead in her dog's mouth.

That being said, there are no exception no matter how trained or "obedient" and animal is.

My dogs knew it was wrong to harrass our hamster when she was in her ball, but did that stop them when our backs were turned? Nope.

that story makes perfect sense to me. and i understand you don't know me, i understand you don't know my history. but my mom worked in a vet and i was sorta raised there and have clocked untold hours at the humane society working with training dogs. my mothers dog is obedient and the whole time i was giving the command to be still. no i would never leave the animals alone together, that goes without saying. and i truly mostly agree with you guys. and the only exception to me would be a dog i've been working with for years.

u want testimonials? i had a well trained dog that killed a parakeet once because while we were gone the parakeet got out of the cage and shadow pawed it to death. no bite marks just pawed it to death. never leave a predator and animals unattended with other animals and if you unsure about a new cage be extra vigilant.

Well, I see regardless we are going to disagree with eachother. So lets just agree to disagree shall we? :)

its your choice to allow your animals to do that but just dont go around saying it or telling others its ok to do. they may think their animals will be ok in the same room with their gliders because other people do it and it could it very badly. keep it to yourself. what would happen if your glider jumped on your dogs back and scared or hurt the dog with their nails the dog is going to turn around and try to get rid of whatever is on its back or just itch. and sorry if this isnt right but if you dont have a friend for your glider he probably wants one.
my gliders used to go after my cats but they werent doing it because they want to play they were showing the cats that they cant push them around. once i saw how the gliders reacted to the cats i put a stop to it right away and that was a year ago.now my gliders and cats ignore each other(cats ignore the cage). my ducks do the same thing if they see one of my cats by the water they get into a big group and stand their ground.

ok, i agree i shouldn't encourage others i apologize

It also always depends on the dog. I have a dog who I will never let her get too close to my gliders, one that is not allowed near them while they are out at all, and one who I trust 100% with any and all of my animals because she is 12 years old and has never in her life been aggressive towards anything. She won't even kill a lizard, she will catch it and then lightly put it in my hand. She's in my room with me every night as I let the gliders out and one of my gliders loves her and always comes running to her. My dog is concerned of the gliders jumping on her face and will try and not let the glider touch her and I trust that dog completely that she will never harm them. If the glider attacked her she wouldn't even hurt them, she has been attacked by several of my animals and always either runs away or just cries and hides lol. So yes, is depends on the person handling the dog and the dog's personality itself, but each owner should know their pets well enough to know if they will go after the gliders and such. Like I said, I don't let my other two dogs with the gliders.

You should never allow other animals around the glider cage unattended either. Dogs have been known to knock down the cage and kill gliders.

There was also an incident where a glider owner always let her cat "sleep" on top of the glider cage. Even tho we told her it was NOT a good idea, she insisted her cat would never harm the gliders - her cat "knew" better. One day, she came home to find the cat had put its paws inside the glider cage and tried to pull one of the gliders out of the cage. The glider was found half eaten with the remains stuck on the cage bars. That is a sight we never want to see.

It is never, ever worth it to put predators and prey together. You never know when the predator instinct will kick in. Its not worth the risk.

O.O oh no poor little glider. why would anyone think that would be a good idea. even if the cat really wouldnt bother them the gliders could either bite or scratch the cat making the cat defend itself or just making the gliders scared in a place they should feel completely safe. and its just not healthy with the cat fur shedding all over.
i used to have a dalmatian that was always by my side and slept under my covers. i used to let her sleep under the covers when the gliders were out and i can easily touch my bed from my chair where i usually am during out of cage time. she was the sweetest dog kids could climb all over her and she wouldnt mind. she loves little furry animals whenever we had kittens she would treat them like her own. but she was getting very old and cranky(12 years old)and would snap at whatever was bothering her. and she started sleeping in my room less and less since it was hard for her to go up and down the steps. she is no longer with us though.
doesnt matter if the dog is old or has never shown any aggression in the past. old age makes anyone cranky.

maybe a stupid question but how would a cat get its paw in the cage? Have to have a really small paw. I went with the squares like mesh type cage to be extra safe.

this was last posted december 12th... so it is kindof old:) but all a cat has to do is turn its hand side ways and squeeze it between the bars and there u go... u got a dead glider...
and their nails can easily get in.... mesh may be a little safer if any but like i said it is extremly easy to just put a paw next to the mesh with its claws sticking out and snag a leg or some fur... etc