ok, so i have posted here a few times about my gliders. about 2 1/2 months ago, my mama had a baby oop for 2 days and then he died. i was going to get the boy fixed, but ran into some financial difficulty for a couple of weeks, and before i could get him fixed, she had 2 in the pouch again and in a couple of weeks, they will be OOP. i have already seen a tail coming out, and she is big as a house. here is the problem, the last baby died because the mother's milk dried up and i wasnt prepared because i had just got them. the last owner let me know later that she had 2 previous joeys that had also died a couple days after coming oop. so when they come oop, what should i do? do i take them and try to hand raise them, do i try to supplement feed them and keep an eye on their weight, or just let nature take its course. i am getting an appointment now for the male to be neutered so we dont have to go through this again :(

You need to at least give her a chance to raise the babies, but there are several things you MUST do to be prepared.
-Make sure mom is on a GOOD diet AND eating well. It also wouldn't hurt to start adding milk booster to her food now.
-Know the signs of rejection and watch like a hawk when the babies are OOP.
-Have a scale and keep a close record of their weight. If they are a low weight and do not seem to be gaining, but you don't see any signs of rejection, you can begin supplement feeding.
-Have your rejection kit ready so that you can take them in the event that mom does reject them.

Remember, it is always best to have the parents raise their joeys when possible. If you feel the last deaths were because of lack of milk production, this is not really rejection, she just may need some additional help.

thank you for your help. i just figured it up, and it looks like she will have at most another week before the babies come out. i have already ordered the 2 oz bottle, and am going tomorow to pick up the milk replacer, pedialyte etc. i am not 100% sure that is why he died, but they WERE taking care of him, and even after he died, the daddy was holding him and licking his head :( heartbreaking. she didnt reject the baby, he just died.

It is heartbreaking, I've had it happen myself, so I understand. If there were no visible wounds on the joey, scratches or marks, especially on his face, then I'd say you're right, it's a good chance he just passed of natural causes.

You can begin adding the milk replacer to their diet now, it will help with her production. If she will eat it sprinkled on her food, that works, otherwise you can just mix up a small dish of it and most mom's will drink some each night.