So I’ve had Bambi for abou a year now and I noticed her activity decrease but I didn’t realize how dramatic it was until I started watching old videos of her from when I first got her. Some of the most important things I can point out are

-She won’t jump anymore. EVER. Even if I’m holding her only inches away from somewhere she wants to be she will not jump. She used to jump down from my curtains and my door frames. And she would jump from her cage to my backpack that hangs on my wall. (8ft) I noticed one day she wasn’t making the jump to the pack back anymore, always falling short. Then eventually she stopped jumping all together.

-She’s weak. I have struggled with this so much. She is weak, but she hasn’t always been. She struggles to get around, it seems like she can’t climb well or run fast. And while I keep both my glider’s nails short they still sometimes snag on things. I noticed when my healthy male gets snagged he can pull himself loose instantly. Bambi will struggle and twist until I get there to pull her free. She doesn’t even have enough strength to tug on her leg very well.

-She won’t explore. I feel like all Bambi does is eat then go back to sleep. She’s not intuitive, curious, or excited anymore.

They’re on the hpw diet with fruits and veggies. And she’s gotten blood tests, pap smears, and physical examinations done. The vet has finally agreed that she doesn’t have a lot of muscle but she keeps telling me that she can’t find anything wrong and that she’s healthy. But she’s NOT. My males healthy ( a little over weight) and there is a huge difference in their physical abilities and activeness.
And even if I didn’t have Thumper (my male) I can tell by comparing the change in behavior that something just isn’t right. I’ve posted similar things about Bambi before but I can’t seem to find a solution. If anyone could please help!

Exactly how old is Bambi and does your vet have a lot of experience with gliders?

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Originally posted by CLo1227

Exactly how old is Bambi and does your vet have a lot of experience with gliders?

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Bambi will be turning 1 in August and she says that she does. She is 1 of the only 2 exotic vets in this area (I've been to both and didn't care at all for the other one.) and she talk's like she sees teenagers bringing them in all the time.

Which HPW diet are you feeding?

There are many "versions", from Instant(Exotic nutrition), Complete and Plus(from Critterlove) to the Original HPW with the Wombaroo High Protein powder.

Is she eating the f/v and what is your typical menu you serve to them?

Is there a lot of left overs?

Does the male let her eat/will he share food?

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Originally posted by Minnesota Zoo

Which HPW diet are you feeding?

There are many "versions", from Instant(Exotic nutrition), Complete and Plus(from Critterlove) to the Original HPW with the Wombaroo High Protein powder.

Is she eating the f/v and what is your typical menu you serve to them?

Is there a lot of left overs?

Does the male let her eat/will he share food?

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I'm feeding her the exotic nutrition hpw. And every few days I will mix in a calcium powder that the vet had also recommended (repcal I think ?)I don't do that often though because she won't eat as much of it.
There is always food left over, I free feed them. This was also my vets idea, it's supposed to ensure my other glider (Thumper) that there will always be food available so he'll stop eating so much and stop gaining weight.
Thumper ALWAYS shares food with her. He'll even bring food to her if he's the first one awake.

Typical menu, would have to be the hpw, and a mix of fresh fruit and veggies. Idk apples, melons, peas, carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, avocado, strawberry, it's a pretty endless list. Pretty much anything approved for them to eat I've tried. i know some fruits like avocado and corn shouldn't be fed to then a lot so they rarely get that (but they love it !)
They usually get an almond each when they first wake up, cause they love them. and of course Bambi get's mealworms. It depends on weather she gets a regular or a giant for how many she gets. If its a gaint she'll get one, if it's regular she'll get a couple. I skip days every now and again on giving her meal worms.
They of have treats that I'll hide around the cage, and it differs day to day on who gets more. all their treats can be found on exotic nutrition. I try and make it where they get three treats each, but sometimes that doesn't happen.

I don't think the diets the issue because of how healthy, although over weight, my other sugar glider is. and the decline in activity started before I got Thumper. That's one of the reaons I got him, because after some reading I thought maybe she was becoming depressed.

Also I have noticed that her poop, and only hers, is sometimes white? Sometimes pale green. Doesn't that sound like a parasite or something? I told them vet when this all first started happening that Bambi began jerking her head to the side, the right, randomly and often.

She said that could have been a sign of a parasite, but after checking Bambi came up clean.
But I really think that's whats happening. Do you think it's possible? Maybe the tests somehow missed it?

Possibly lay off the Avocado, it's know to be toxic to gliders and I've read of a few cases where even after a tiny bit the glider has gone into a fit and become very unwell very quickly. I used to feed it with no issues but now I wont.

Grapes have also been known to cause a few problems with animals, maybe cut them out if you feed them. Not saying it is either of these for definate but worth cutting out for a few weeks to see if she improves. Cant hurt to try.

Also, is your male neutered? If she has possibly been carrying joeys that she's lost it could really knock her health with her only just being a year old. Just a thought, as he may be neutered but worth mentioning.'

Oh man, good luck... I think if possible you should travel to another vet. Parasite tests can come up negative when they are actually positive. Our very pregnant female acts a bit like this... seems to make perfect sense since she's huge and a lot of her nutrients are going to the babies. How long has this been going on? The weakness bothers me. Are you sure she's eating all her food? Maybe you should make a smoothie that's high in calcium and protein and veggies with plenty of fruit and some honey so it tastes good and she'll eat it all... it's possible she's not eating all her food? I really don't know. I hope she's okay.

Ok, that is interesting.

First off I would get her back to the Vet and have another fecal test done, even if it came back clean...parasites hatch out in cycles and could have not been present in the first testing.

That is why we recommend to do it as soon as you get them and again in 30 days, so if anything sheds out, it can be caught on the second fecal testing and treated.

Also ask the Vet about hind leg paralysis...maybe a different vet if this one didn't seem to have any answers for you. They could give a Calcium booster shot.

The next thing is, I would change their diet to a Glider kids diet with the Wombaroo High Protein powder, where you add in the calcium to the mixture and it is spread among a month or more of servings and they will get it every day. Or the Modified OHPW which is the Wombaroo diet on the Glider kids page.

Then you won't have to try to feed the proper f/v combinations for a healthy Ca:Phos ratio which is pretty hard to do. You can just feed what ever f/v you choose to.

Or you can try the BML and use the Rep Cal you have but you would have to buy the Rep Cal Herp-avite,But this also will give them a daily dose of Calcium.

The other thing I would do right now is to cut out foraging treats(at least for now) because I think they are filling up on them.

Save treat time for right before they go to bed in the morning and alternate the treats...meal worms, an almond sliver, a dried piece of fruit, Yoggie chip...ect.

I would limit the almonds to slivers(nor sure if you are giving them a whole one or not) and only give them once or twice a week, their systems are not really designed to digest nuts and seeds and they are high in fat.

I hope your girl is ok.

Please keep us posted.

Well guys, I've figured out what the problem was.
Unfortunately this isn't a very happy outcome, and I debated whether or not it was important to post what the issue was because it was so random and unrelated to how she was taken care of, but i decided to post it anyways because it was something that could have been prevented and now because of my lack of good care taking Bambi could suffer future health issues and have a shorter life span.

I am moving tomorrow,and a couple days ago I was boxing my cleaning supply closet when I noticed that a Mr. Clean magic eraser box, that has never been open, had been chewed clean through one on of the corners. When I opened it, it showed that two of the magic erasers had been eaten up about 2/3rd of the way. I called Bambi's vet and she confirmed that that was the most likely cause and it would match the symptoms that Bambi was displaying. We are guessing that she has been making a habit of nipping off bits and pieces for the last several months when her health issues started.

Bambi escapes to the bathroom often and while it was a dreadful realization it was not shocking. Because of this it is likely that Bambi will suffer from seizures later in life, and her eye sight may become impaired. She has most likely shortened her life by a few years to. And we can only hope she comes back to full health.

This is so horrible, because it could have been prevented so, so easily with the proper care. And now every time Bambi stares up at me I feel so guilty because I know it's entirely my fault that she may have a rough future ahead of her, or even a short one, and she doesn't even know. In the wild there isn't Bleach or Magic Erasers to kill them and they don't know any better.

I gave both my gliders a lot of freedom because I wanted them to feel as free as possible. I didn't want them living in a cage all their life, because I didn't want them to be punished for the fact that they were born in captivity. But that was extremely naive of me, and an innocent little life is going to suffer now.

I know I'm probably going to get a lot of hate from people, because I neglected to take care of her the way I should have. But I'm really hoping that by posting this someone who is starting off with their sugar gliders can learn from my mistake and not let another life suffer. The way Bambi is going to suffer is cruel, and if you're on this website or taking the time to look up things about your glider then you must obviously care about them. Nobody could ever want, or be ok, with what will happen to Bambi.

I'm not going to write what should have been done differently, or preach a specific lesson learned because I think a lot can be taken away from this and many people can change their parenting style differently to prevent what I have done.

I guess pray for Bambi's recovery, and that she has a long healthy life ahead of her. Lord knows she deserves it.

FlowerGlider,

It is not your fault. Do not blame yourself. Listen, you are a parent to your babies, and we can't always keep our babies from getting into things that we do not want them to. It is not your fault. IT ISN'T. Did you force her to chew on the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser? No. She did it because your baby was curious and thought it tasted nice. Do not take this the wrong way, please. Our babies (our sugar gliders) are not human. They do not know what we do. We treat them like they are our own. Our own human babies because they are. They are our babies. It doesn't matter if they are sugar glider or human. Pets are babies to owners who love them and care enough. Sugar gliders are so curious and Bambi ate something she shouldn't have. We've all made mistakes, and this was not your fault at all. I admire you for letting them roam and be free and not feel like they are in captivity. No animal should feel that way. No pet should. Not a single one. You did what was right as a parent, as a owner. I am so so so sorry this happened, and you and Bambi will be in my prayers. I hope that you do not harbor this on your own shoulders.

I have been following this thread but didn't have any solid advice to offer being that I'm a newbie to all of this.

I would like to thank you for being brave enough to write the last post and offer my hopes of her full recovery.

I don't think anyone should browbeat you for raising you'r babies the way you feel they would be best raised. We all make mistakes when raising babies ( pets and humans alike )

I am sure many will benefit from reading you'r thread I know I have, and it's quit obvious how much you care about you'r gliders. You reached out for help, you took her to the vet and you continued to investigate until you found the source of the problem.

I'd say good job MOM you didn't give up! You were persistent and figured it out and I am positive you will do everything in you'r power to continue to give you'r babies a comfortable life. keep you'r chin up and be proud that you didn't just give up on trying to find the source of the problem!!

I hope your girl recovers and does not have any long term health issues from this.

Don't beat your self up - accidents happen even when you are watching your gliders.

This is an example however, of why I often tell new owners (especially when young teens are begging to get gliders) that sugar gliders require the same amount of supervision as a toddler. If you are not watching them when ever they are playing out side of the cage - they can and will find mischief to get into just because they are curious and do not know what is dangerous for them.