Hi everyone. I just want to know if this is normal behaviour. I bought my baby female sugar glider a little more than a month ago. She is about three months old. We are starting to bond very well now. Here is whats funny to me. When we have tent time, she will climb all over me and she jumps on my hand if i hold it a little higher for her to jump on. She would even let me pet her and rub her back and neck. She is still a bit scared of fast movements and loud noises but she acts like she has been tame forever. She would only nip to taste. I think its because my handlotion smells like coconut and only once and than hop along again. BUT, when I hold her pouch for her to climb in, she starts crabbing the minute she turns around to face me and she would attack me through the pouch and she would attack me if I so much as come within 5cm of her when she is in her cage. She wont even take licky treats she only bites and without warning. She only takes something that is in a small bowl if I hold it to her, never on my finger. Is it because I am in her teretory?

Thanx for reading my essay.

I dont think you should be too concerned. The pair i have sort of does it too. Ive handled them before and pet them and they didnt care, but the male has tried to nip at me through the cage or when i get the glider kitchen Out to clean it once or twice.

I would't worry too much, since it is a common thing called pouch protectiveness. I have a few gliders and one pair is very pouch protective, though they are bonded to me, and the other does not care at all and doesnt crab even if I shove my hand right down into their pouch. All I get is groom-attacked with licks and scrapes. But it wasnt always like that. had them separated for a while, because my guy was neutered, and during that time they both crabbed at me while in their pouch even though we were bonded, so if you dont have another glider for your little girl then it's possible she is not so simply pouch protective, but she is a little stressed out and depressed due to loneliness. Gliders really need each other to cuddle with and hang out with when you are not there.

Now that my guys are back together we have NO problems. As for the other older pair, I took a hint from my younger, friendlier pair and started to do some more "snuggle" time rather than just play time. That really helped build my relationship with the younger pair, and thats why (if their behavior is any evidence) they dont crab or nip at me at all. And it really has been working with the other pair too, even though I got them a couple years old and they therefore are not capable of bonding to me as well as the younger pair.

The male in that pair is pretty "nippy" and generally would chomp down on my finger (hard) if I wasn't paying attention, and both of them would crab at me when I even get near their pouch. But I started "snuggling" more and now they still sometimes crab at me when I wake them up and they see me, but its more of a "Mooooom five more minutes!" type thing. But not even my male bites anymore (at least not more than once a month, and NOT hard enough to make me bleed like he used to) and they really like when I stick my hand in their pouch for cuddles (I have nice warm hands I guess). If you want to know more on the steps I took to do all this let me know, it was a challenge that took a lot of patience and perseverance.

It also might have helped that their actual pouch which is their favorite to sleep in is rather large and loose, so I could always see what they were doing and what I was putting my hand into, which is just more ... safe and easy. So if this is something you are concerned about and want to try, I suggest getting a large/loose pouch that you can see into and putting her in there to try this, and then once they are used to you as a pouch buddy it wont matter what pouch they are in. Also, DEFINITELY get her a friend if she doesnt have one already, and things will get much better, trust me. Let me know if you have questions or need clarification.

Side note: sorry for the long read, but also make sure your lotion doesn't have anything toxic to sugar gliders if she is used to 'tasting' (i'm sure you dont need the reminder but I like to be safe). :)