Hi everyone... the following is the story of a glider who is still loose in my house.
I moved into this house in Sept of 2012. A few days after moving in I discovered that one of my cats had killed a sugar glider in the hallway. It was a terrible sight but at the time I thought it absolutely must be a chipmunk... but I now know it was a glider. I can only assume that the previous owners of this house had a couple that somehow got loose. Well nothing else happened until months ago when I noticed that in my hallway closet there were protein bars that had been chewed opened and eaten.
I thought it was a mouse so I put peanut butter on some traps... Sadly I did trap one mouse but then the peanut butter would just disappear leaving the traps set off. I luckily stopped setting the traps out. I believe somehow the glider was eating the peanut butter and escaping harm when the traps would go off. I worry though that he might have gotten his arms or body caught by the trap.

Inside the closet I mentioned is a pipe which has insulation wrapped around it. The pipe leads from the floor through the ceiling. There's also two shelves in the closet. Anyway a few months ago I started to see the animal which I thought was a mouse. When I would open the closet door he would really quickly run up the pipe... but eventually I saw his tail and it's fluffy, not naked like a mouse. Again I stupidly assumed it was a chipmunk. I didn't take into account the fact that chipmunks don't climb and they definitely don't glide onto the pole from the closet shelf just like a glider would do (and just like this animal does).
It's also definitely not a squirrel.

Well still thinking that it was a chipmunk I figured I'd just get a humane trap and wait till it got warm out and trap him and set him free... and that's been my plan for the past few months. I've been feeding him every day since then, but admittedly I should have researched what "chipmunks" ate. I've been feeding him protein bars and all kinds of fruits and vegetable. He's very picky though with what he'll eat though.

Well within the past 2 or 3 weeks I've been able to get a better look at this animal and it's definitely a sugar glider! I had bought the humane trap and it worked right away... but these animals are brilliant because he simply busted through the cage door after it was closed. There's no latch or anything to keep the door shut. Twice he did that, but on the second time I was able to see him more clearly (it's a dark closet). Then the next day he was so smart he didn't even go back in the trap, he just stuck his arm through the bars to grab the food.
That was another clue that it was a glider... most other animals can't grab with their hands like that.
Now I've just ordered this type of trap www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BPAVCG/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1
And I'm hoping that since the door slides down that he won't be able to figure out how to lift it back up... I just need him to be trapped long enough for me to figure out that he's trapped and then to get him inside the cage I bought him. I got him the Brisbane cage from exoticnutrion. com.

Anyway he used to come for his food around 6pm. Now since I've trapped him he's stopped eating while I'm awake. I'm assuming he must wait until the house is quiet before he comes out now. I hadn't seen him for awhile but I just got a glimpse of him tonight when I opened the closet door. He's amazingly fast.

I got a bunch of things when I got the cage and some of them are some sugar glider foods. I was hoping he'd like the foods but he rejected the Glider Complete food for the past two nights. He also rejected the HPW instant food. The only thing he ate was some dried meal worms. He only wants those damn protein bars. He also loves raisins and almond slivers. Sometimes he'll eat some apple... a few things he's eaten once but then not again after that. You'd think he'd be more willing to eat a variety of foods.

So where does he live in my house? He's sometimes in the ceiling between the first and second floor... when you're downstairs sometimes you'll hear him scurrying around on the ceiling. A very few times I've heard him in a couple of walls. But these instances are very few when you compare it to the amount of time I've been living here already with him. For the most part he's been silent and I easily could have never known about him.
The only other place he could be going is in the attic. That's where I had put the mouse traps. It's absolutely freezing in there in the winter and I have no clue how this animal has manged to survive in here for this long.
It's also completely dark in there as well as in between the walls, etc.

How exactly has this animal survived? Where did it find water before I started watering it? Where did it find food? There weren't that many protein bars there and not enough were eaten to sustain an animal for well over a year. How does it emotionally handle being alone in the dark?

And if I'm able to successfully trap him and get him into the cage then is there any chance that he may become tame? I'm really scared that he'll remain wild and always be terrified of me. I'm scared that he'll get out of the cage when I'm opening it for whatever.

Well thanks for reading and I'd really appreciate any insight or tips about this little animal.
Jeff

I would not be surprised if the animal you are dealing with is actually a Flying Squirrel - they do look very much like a sugar glider but have rounder heads and shorter ears and lack the distinctive black stripe that Sugar Gliders have.

HPW complete would probably be eaten by a sugar glider but was probably not at all interesting to a flying squirrel - they are much more likely to eat the nuts, peanut butter and protein bars.

If you do capture the critter - post a photo and we can tell you if it is indeed a glider.

If it is a flying squirrel it may actually have found a way into your home from the outside - check the eaves of the house for holes.

I must say this is such a fascinatingg story ! I must also say GIP (GLIDE/FLY IN PEACE) to the suggie or flying squirrel the kitty got a hold of ..

& YESSSS please post a picture when you can, although it sounds as if the little critter is avoiding you lol ! Smart little guy (Should name him lightning or bolt) !!

Oh no!! I never thought of a flying squirrel. I'm so disappointed as I really thought it was a glider. I live in NJ and I just googled for flying squirrels here and there are two species!!
Oh Im so disappointed. And now I've wasted all that money on the cage and supplies.
Whatever it is it did eat the HPW instant food I gave it last night.
Well thanks for the replies... I'll keep everyone posted. :O)

Don't give up my brother lives in jersey he took a picture of a glider in the trees in his back yard he hasn't been able to catch it I'm starting to think that someone let their pets loose and they have been breeding there... Good luck

Melina I hope your brother catches that glider! As for mine I'm really convinced it's a flying squirrel... I have a bird feeder outside filled with black sunflower seeds which the squirrels are crazy over so I figured I'd try some on my closet guy. I gave it a little handful two different times yesterday and both times they were all eaten. I doubt a glider would eat all those. :O(
I also got that trap I ordered yesterday so I'll be setting that up and hopefully catching it soon.

I am hoping that the door does not come down on his tail I am almost afraid that trap might do harm to him/her.

Well yesterday around 6pm I trapped the animal! It was, of course, an adorable flying squirrel. I was also worried about a gliders tail getting caught in that guillotine type trap door but the squirrel had a shorter tail and was just fine.
He was surprisingly calm.

There's a lot of woods surrounding me so I brought him out awhile and then to a tree where he immediately climbed out of the trap and up the tree. I hope it remembers how to get food.

I feel so stupid for ever thinking there was a glider in my house. Must have been wishful thinking as I really wanted it to be true. :O(

Just to be safe I left out food in the closet and it later disappeared!! I set up the trap again and later I had trapped a second flying squirrel!! After setting him free I came in and heard scurrying in the ceiling again. Great, so I have no idea how many of these animals I have in my house now.

I hope the ones I set free don't come back and get back in the house. They must be able to get in and out whenever they want.
I also hope I didn't separate a pair of squirrels who were bonded to each other. Also hope they didn't leave any babies in hear that will die without them.

Since you have now had multple squirrels in your home...you should call a professional in to seal up your home...they definitely have a route into your house and they won't go away on their own.

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Originally posted by Minnesota Zoo

Since you have now had multple squirrels in your home...you should call a professional in to seal up your home...they definitely have a route into your house and they won't go away on their own.

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Thanks Minnesota Zoo. I've already trapped three and this morning when I woke up the trap was set off but no squirrel! I'm afraid it learned how to outsmart the trap. I'm also afraid that the ones I've released already knew how to get back in.
I definitely need help.

Hey Jeff wow!! Update plz

quote:

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Originally posted by Sharitza787

Hey Jeff wow!! Update plz

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Hi Sharitza

Well so far I've trapped a total of SEVEN squirrels. I got some pics but I'm computer stupid and can't figure out how to post em.

I find it hard to believe that I had seven (or more) of them in my house (although I'm sure it's possible)... I really think the ones I've released are just finding their way right back inside. I live in a rural area so there's woods surrounding my house and I've tried to make sure I release them far enough away.
I just don't know what to think.

I probably have to call an exterminator... not to kill them but just to figure out where they're coming in.
Also, right now my main fear is that they may have babies up there and if I'm kicking the mothers out and if they can't return then the babies will die.

In the meantime I've become obsessed with gliders!! I really want to get a couple of them. I'm still absorbing all of the info that I can though so I'm in no rush.

O wow! I hope no babies were left behind!! Good luck keep us posted!!