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GliderGossip GliderGossip
Sugar Gliders
Feeling discouraged.
Feeling discouraged.
Joeys, birth, parenthood
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Sep 10 2014
10:25:41 AM
I got my sugar glider almost a month ago and I take him out every night to try to play with him. The only things he is interested in is his cage, biting my fingers/neck, and escaping my presence some other way. I need words of advice or something please.
Joeys, birth, parenthood
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Sep 10 2014
10:52:35 AM
rustypossumfart Face Hugger Visit rustypossumfart's Photo Album USA 459 Posts
Could you describe better what methods you are using to bond with him?

If you are trying to hold him, he will try to escape. Gliders don't usually liked being hold and feeling confined, so they will even bite in other get away. Treats work well in getting them interested in you, it also teaches them that good, yummy thing come from your hands.

One of the best things you can do is get him a mate. Gliders feel much more comfortable with others around.

You also need to think from his perspective. To him you are a monstrous giant, that took him away from everything he knew. He is alone, and doesn't exactly understands what is that you are trying to do; he is plainly scared. So don't try to force the bonding to much, just sitting there with him while he is up playing is a good start, he will eventually get curious and try to explore you (specially if you have treats).

Also, have you tried getting him in a bonding pouch while he is asleep? This helps in getting him used to your scent. Putting a shirt you slept on on top of his cage will help to accomplish this as well.

Just be patient and don't give up. They are very sensitive critter and can sort of feel your mental state. If you are frustrated or stressed they will feel this, and not be as inclined to be near you; try to be calm instead. And, if at all possible, find him a cage mate. It will work better if he is neutered too.

Hope this is helpful.
Joeys, birth, parenthood
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Sep 10 2014
03:12:31 PM
Candy Cuddle Bear Visit Candy's Photo Album FL, USA 8110 Posts
quote:
The only things he is interested in is his cage, biting my fingers/neck, and escaping my presence some other way.


What time of day are you taking your gliders out for play?

If you are trying to play with him during the day - he wants back into the cage to go back to sleep.

The best time of day to interact with your gliders is in the evening in a darkened room. Many folks take their gliders into a small bathroom (glider proofed to prevent the gliders from getting into any holes or from slipping under the door) to keep the gliders close by. A night light or the light from a tablet or lap top screen will help you see your glider. This will give your glider an opportunity to explore and climb on you.

Bonding with your glider takes time - and the glider sets the pace. He must learn to trust you and your hands.

Having another glider cagemate may help your glider bond with you more quickly. Often one glider is shy and the other is more confident and willing to come to you. The shyer one would learn from the more confident one.
Joeys, birth, parenthood
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Sep 13 2014
12:28:19 AM
melmel0492 Starting Member Visit melmel0492's Photo Album 6 Posts
I actually have a single sugar glider and he is perfectly happy living by himself! My glider is EXTREMELY friendly and social and loves to play with me and everyone around me--here's how I went about the bonding process. I also take my glider out during the day, and since I've gotten him used to MY schedule, it's not a problem at all (he's still mainly nocturnal, but he doesn't mind waking up to play with me during the day)

It looks like your bonding process got off to a bad start, so why don't you try re-starting? first off, don't I repeat DON'T even touch your sugar glider for AT LEAST a week, you need to get a fresh start--I waited two weeks before I tried to hold mine. Keep your glider in it's pouch and under your shirt for most of the day--the primary way for gliders to bond is by smell, so most of the bonding process should be passive. After the first few days, get your glider used to seeing your face and to seeing bright lights, so just randomly open it's pouch and peek in, just don't get too close because it'll perceive that as aggressive. After you notice it gets comfortable then you move on to putting applesauce on your finger and letting it lick it off, this is a great way to bond because it will inevitably lick your fingers and get some of your scent from that :)

after all of these routines you should notice that your sugar glider becomes a lot more comfortable around you, at this point, you can proceed to a larger "bonding pouch." wear a t shirt and a sweatshirt (preferably with a zipper) and put your glider between the sweater and your shirt, it's like a giant bonding pouch where it'll still be enveloped by your scent and it will gradually get more comfortable moving around you, especially when it realizes you're doing it absolutely no harm--and always reward good behavior with some applesauce licked right off your finger!

After alllll of these steps is when you can proceed to let your glider roam free--but you need to be confident that your glider is already comfortable with you when you try to let it out. You don't want to just let your glider wander out of its pouch because they are naturally curious animals, so when it inevitably jumps out and wants to explore, you're both going to be stressing out. I would recommend going into an enclosed space (I used a shower) and just placing your glider on your body--it is important that you are STANDING when you do this and here's why: gliders will always want to jump off you initially to go explore, so what you want to do is to gradually walk around a bit and spin (slowly) in a circle so your glider can't pinpoint an exact place that it can jump to.

The good thing about doing this in a shower is that if it DOES choose to jump off you, the floor's a little harder for it to fall to; it won't hurt your glider to fall to the tile, but that little sting of a rough landing will serve as a reminder to not jump off you!

This entire process takes from 2-4 weeks and while I understand how frustrating it is because you just want your glider to bond with you already you have to understand that rushing the bonding process will do no good to either of you in the end.

and yeah in general sugar gliders don't like to be held, they like to hold themselves! Mine loves to just go into the hood of my sweaters and will just sleep there all day. The times that he's stayed still in my hands is when I roll it out of it's pouch while he's still asleep...

Hope this helps!
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Sep 25 2014
03:49:28 PM
LBK94 Joey 14 Posts
THIS SOUNDED JUST LIKE ME WHEN I GOT MY GLIDERS!!!
TRUST ME, it gets better. i promise. i have had my gliders for almost eight months now (which isnt as long as many but i have learned somethings that others didnt tell me or i had to learn the hard way) and they are beginning to see me as a "mom, play thing, explore machine and treat-pocket-hider". I was discouraged too but i stuck with it and i even got mine when they were a little older.
Please, don't give up.
the biting ceases a little, just don't give him an opportunity to bite, if he grabs your finger to bite, pull it away and "Shhh" with your mouth loudly to let him know that what he was about to do or did was wrong. I agree with the closed off room, it helped me and my two gliders a lot! BUT being in the dark is not necessary, i also get mine out any time of day i feel like in their pouch. it teaches them that i am not going to hurt them and to trust me even when they are sleeping heavily. just don't force him out of the pouch, that didn't help for me at all, my gliders just got stressed.
I also am just now handling mine! I let my gliders come ONTO ME instead of the opposite, let him come on to your sleeve or shirt front with a treat. If he grabs it and jumps back to his cage, ITS OKAY, its a step! The pouch is a HUGE bonding necessity and i used it for almost 6 months when i was bonding, i only let them out when i knew they had to use the restroom.
I found that mine don't bite me or crab no matter what time of day because they learned that no matter what, i was petting them if they had been asleep or not or i was giving them treats.. lol Tough love is KEY.
ALSO, i don't recommend feeding them treats on your fingers, like yogurt, and if you give them a snack, make sure to wipe the smell of your finger tips before trying to pet them or mess with them bc this pushed biting of the finger tips! I know a lot of people push "feed them off your finger tips.." well to me that teaches them that your finger tips are food bringers! and thats bad! mine dont bite my fingers bc i quit giving them treats on my fingers, or wiped or washed the smell off so it was just my scent, not treat scent.
...
i think that's all i can think of right now... PLEASE DONT GIVE UP!!! I know a lot of people are breeders and "know a lot" but i'm just someone who got gliders and had to learn things a little differently bc some methods didn't make sense or taught my gliders what i dint want them to know. Ask me anything you may have questions about! :)
Feeling discouraged.

GliderGossip GliderGossip
Sugar Gliders
Feeling discouraged.