Gizmo is my 10 month old, intact male, sugar glider. Over the past few nights I've noticed a worrisome sound coming from him and his pouch. The pouch bounces and its a mix between crabbing and hissing. I've been trying to catch him in the act but as soon as I approach his cage, he thinks it's treat or play time. Tonight I finally caught him in the act and noticed his cloaca is somewhat pink and about 1/8 of an inch of genitalia sticking out. From what I've read this sounds like self mutilation. I know SM is more common in males and didn't know if anyone thought neutering him would resolve the issue. Yes, he is a single glider but he is with me throughout the entire day. My day starts at 5am so we do spend some of his active time together. I was planning on waiting until closer to December to get him neutered then get him a cage mate. What do yall recommend? I'm bawling my eyes out because Gizmo is my baby. He's gotten me through some extremely tough times and I don't know what I would do without him. As I'm writing this, I've been laying next to his cage and the hissing/crabbing/sm behavior has stopped. But I can't sleep on the floor every night.

SM is generally related to a stressful upset...losing or being taken from a cage mate, an injury, etc. You have mentioned that you realize that he is a lone glider indicating that you have heard that they do better in at least a pair. Human companionship cannot take the place of them having one of 'their own' to bond with.

Have you considered the possibility of an infection in the genital area, UTI, etc. The inflammation combined with the activity (that you can hear but not see) might be due to him having discomfort. If you notice hissing while urinating it is a good indication of something of this nature. You'll want to get him to a vet for a check up.

That's just what initially comes to my mind.

A few thoughts:

I noticed you had an earlier post about Gizmo and his recently more "potent" scent marking (the really smelly white stuff). Two of my gliders are currently going through "glider puberty" and have begun doing that (scent marking) as well. The reason I mention this is that it's possible that Gizmo is also going through puberty and is beginning to discover himself sexually. Please look up "flossing" on here to determine if that is a possibility instead of SM.

That said, no matter how much you love him, you can't replace the friendship another sugar glider could provide. :( I'm sure at least three other people will respond to this thread saying the same thing: "gliders are colony animals and should NOT be housed alone." Solo gliders are much more likely to self-mutilate, and even if what he's doing now is just "flossing," Gizmo is at risk for this behavior and, as you stated in your post COULD BE SELF MUTILATING already. If this is the case, you need to get him a glider friend ASAP. I believe this is your intent, so I'm not going to belabor that point. :)

Also, please be aware that if he is already harming his cloaca / genitalia, you'll have to be extra careful in the days following his neuter and should DEFINITELY purchase and use an e-collar to prevent him from bothering the neuter wound.

Hope this helps

Self-mutilation is exactly as its name implies - doing actual harm and injuring himself. If this were SM - he would most likely be a bloody mess.

drummerrip is probably right - your boy is growing up and has just discovered a fun new "toy"

This thread will give you more information (probably TMI)

http://www.sugarglider.com/glidergossip/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2849

Thanks for the timely replies, everyone! Gizmo discovered "flossing" about 2 months ago and he did it quite often for a while. This noise he is making, hissing (like he is cleaning himself) and crabbing in between is what sent up red flags for me. I don't think this behavior is sexual discovery, but I could be wrong. I spoke with my vet today who is extremely knowledgable and owns gliders herself. (She is located at Kinslow Veterinary Clinic in Lebanon, Tennessee for those who might be interested.) I'm taking Gizmo in to see what's up and possibly neuter. I sincerely hope it is sexual discovery. As for a companion glider, that was my plans as of December. My college gives 6 weeks for break and my plan was to neuter him at the beginning then get another glider.