Hello everyone! I'm new to this group. And new to my babies. I need some help. But let me give you some of my background. I have two male shih tzus named Duke and Kilo. They are big ol mamas boys. I have two legged kids too. My daughter is 9 and my son is 4. About 2 months ago I started toying with the idea of getting a guinea pig or another small animal. Then one day I was on Pinterest and something about sugar gliders came up. Completely random! Well, the big ears and buck teeth caught my eye, and I started looking more at them. So I decided that I wanted to look more into getting a pair as pets. A friend of mine caught wind of this and introduced me to a coworker who had a pair she needed to rehome. Let me start by saying that this all happened within a day or two. Anyway, so I talk to this lady who tells me that she has a male and female and that she wants to find them a good home, her work schedule changed and her kids didn't help, and she felt that they deserved better. She didn't want any money, didn't want to sell them, she just wanted them to go to a good home. I'm pretty confident that I can do that. So now I have Meeka and Sebastian. I've had them for about a month. I think I am their third owner. I will be the last. I'm committed to them. According to her, they are close to two years old. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they were borderline neglected. I'm having a hard time bonding with them. More so with Meeka. Sebastian will grab my fingers, taste me, lick some yogurt off of them. If I'm quick enough, I can even pick him up out of the cage. But that is sometimes pretty difficult to do. He will climb up my arm, sit on my shoulder, but if I'm within a short distance of his cage, that's where he would rather be. He likes the bonding pouch and will hang out in there for hours. Meeka constantly crabs at me. Whenever I open the cage to feed, pet, talk to them, she crabs and hides and takes a minute or two to quiet down. But if my hands get near her, she will start crabbing again. The only way I can pick her up is if I pick up the sleeping pouch with her in it. But she'll try to hide from me. Like tuck her body away from me. She'll hang out in the bonding pouch with Sebastian, but does not want me touching her or try to engage with her. She bites. Not hard, she hasn't drawn blood, but if you get close enough, she is going to bite. Neither of them will play with me. They would rather be in the bonding pouch than on me when I have them out of the cage. I'm not sure what to do, or if I just need to give it more time.
Now, their diet. I need to make it more balanced for them, but they are so picky. The lady I got them from fed them mostly apples, cashews, peanuts, eggs, avocados, and yogurt. That's all they will eat. When I got them I took them to a local breeder and a vet, and they both said that Sebastian seems pretty healthy, but that Meeka needs to lose weight. But because I'm having such a hard time even getting her out of the cage, she isn't getting the exercise they told me she should be getting. She goes in the wheel at night, but that's about it. I got them hamster balls, but she does not like it-when I can get her into it. Sebastian will wander for a few minutes, she will sit in one spot and crab. I just ordered the Congo cage from exotic nutrition, and that comes with a sample of their HPW food, so I'm going to try that and see if they will eat it. I have gotten them to eat cucumber, oranges, a baby food/Apple juice/honey mixture and the foods that the previous owner gave them, but I'm pretty sure it's not balanced like it should be. So I'm hoping that they will eat this HPW food that is coming with the new cage. The cage I got with them is one of those little starter cages. I'm hoping that with their new bigger cage they will play more and be more active since they'll have more room. But I am concerned as to how I'm going to be able to get them out without chasing them all over the cage since they're not too keen about me picking them up with my hands right now.
Today I noticed Sebastian has some diarrhea. I did the tent test, and it doesn't seem like he is dehydrated, but I'm concerned.
The other night he was trying to mate with Meeka. He is neutered. It looked almost violent and although Meeka doesn't have any fur missing or wounds, I don't think she liked it. Could she be in heat?
I'm going to be completely honest when I say that I wasn't prepared for everything these babies require. When they came into my life, it was very sudden. I was planning on waiting and doing more research before I became a Suggie parent, but these guys needed me. I don't work and I have insomniac tendencies, so I have time for them. And I have love to give them. But I'm learning as I go, and the more I learn, the more I think they weren't taken care of the way they should have been. I realize I'm kind of all over the place with this post, but any advice will help. I just want to make sure Im doing right by them.

Don't worry about the picking up your gliders thing. I've read on here from other owners that most sugar gliders don't like to be picked up(unless they are sleepy). For me you can forget about trying to pick one of them up, they are not having it. I open up their cage and let them come out on their own. Honestly for like 2 months my male was the only one (out of 3) that would come out of the cage. Now my two girls are more adventurous than the male and even escape to other rooms! I think a lot of people on here will say ditch the hamster ball. It doesn't really work with their movement. If you watch them on the wheel they hop and jump not crawl like a hamster would. Just be patient, I have had my gliders for a year now they are 3-4 years old and it just takes longer to bond. I am seeing strides everyday so don't worry it just takes time! Also I use HPW and my gliders love it!

Welcome to glider parenthood and to the forum!

(In advance, some of us post at the same time so if you see us popping in and repeating ourselves, sorry! There are just a lot of caring folks here)

Your new gliders are lucky to have a stable home and caring owner who is looking to improve their health and habitat.

The bonding issue, yes...it just takes patience and time. They've not had a good background and most likely have not had positive bonding with either set of former owners. The fact that they are still in a starter cage is indicative of this. They will be SO happy to get into their big new home. This will, in part, help with the weight of your female. Overall their morale will improve with a great big place and lots of interesting toys. I am concerned about what type of wheel they currently have, since they are in a small cage. Many are dangerous for gliders (metal bar wheels, Wodent wheels, any wheel with a center axle, etc.) It is a worthy investment for their well being to buy one of the wheels made specifically for gliders. These include the Raptor and Stealth brands. Similar ones are out there and they are only found online. After they are settled you can begin in earnest bonding with them. Of course, ditch the ball. Look into the ways that folks set up an area that is safe for out of cage play. Remember that most gliders, even bonded ones, do not like to be 'picked up'. Once the trust is built, they will come to you and treat you as their human tree. Each glider has their own unique personality and ones that have had a bad past may never bond in the way you expect. Some love cuddles, some don't. You'll learn this as you go along.

*That being said, their diet does need to be improved upon, as you know. The HPW that you will receive soon will make a big difference. There are several types of HPW and there are specifics as to what fruits and veggies and amounts that you would serve with that diet. In the Gliderpedia above there is a plethora of information on the various approved diets. These are the ones that are balanced and have been successfully used over long periods of time. Candy (a great member here) also has information on her feeding plan on her website gliderkids.com The important thing is to pick a diet that will work with your ability to obtain and make the staple and specific veggies, fruits and any supplements. These recipes are to be followed exactly as written without substitution. It is best to try one and stick with it as your gliders will most likely turn their noses up at a change, but a healthy glider will not starve itself!* If after a long period you find that you would like to make a change to a different diet it is ok to do so, but give them a chance to get used to one and note the differences in their health first. I would suspect that the male's loose stool could be related to the amount of apples and apple juice given. There are plenty of other reasons, but keep an eye on his hydration and get them on a good diet soon and see if there is improvement.

I'm glad that you've had them to a vet and seen by a breeder already. That's a very good indication that you're going to do right by your little fuzz butts. If your vet, however, is not an exotic vet who has had REAL experience treating gliders you will want to research your area for those that do have the proper experience. A well check is one thing, treatment for serious conditions is entirely different.

Best of luck to you and your gliders. This site has wonderful people that are very welcoming of questions to help you along the way. Freely ask and keep everyone updated on your progress!

feel free to pm or write m eon here an ask anything you want honey. you will learn to LOVE them and there ways

Hello! I'm so sorry I haven't responded earlier. For some reason every time I tried to on my iPad, my response gets lost and doesn't post! Thank you so much for the info! I really appreciate it. The new cage was supposed to be delivered today, but it was delayed. It should be here tomorrow. I did get the HPW food in today tbough, so I'm going to start them on it tonight. I have a Wodent wheel, but after learning more, I ordered two Raptor wheels, so those should be here soon.
Sebastian doesn't have anymore diarrhea. It was really only that one day. So that's a relief.
I dont have a glider only room. And like I said, I have two dogs. Little dogs, but they are dogs. And I think they are jealous lol. So leaving the cage open and letting them come out is not an option for us. That thought terrifies me. But, I was able to get them in the pouch and I took them into the bathroom with me last night. Sebastian came out and ran around a bit and explored, even climbed on me for awhile. Meeka stayed in the pouch for the most part, but did peek out a few times and even let me tickle her head. I'm going to do this nightly and see what happens. Hopefully they will learn to love me soon!
I'm so excited to get the new cage and give them more room. I'm really hoping that my dogs will calm down and allow for Meeka and Sebastian to be able to have more playroom outside of the cage as well. And if we don't get to that point, then I'm going to have to start thinking of another room that they can play in I guess. Or I'll just have to lock the dogs away from them somewhere? Does anyone have any suggestions?

I would recommend to keep the gliders and the dogs separated at all times. Your dogs may be calm and gentle, but an accident can happen at any time, and if you can prevent it, why not? Though they are small dogs, they are still bigger than the gliders and if for whatever reason they start playing rough with them, the gliders may get injured. Gliders have very erratic movements and this excites animals like dogs and cats, which in turn may cause them to act more aggressively; not to mention that gliders may startle the dogs when jumping on them, leading to the same reaction.

Bear in mind that gliders are escape artists, with their little hands they are capable of undoing knots, lifting locks, and in general open the doors of their cages and getting out; and if the dogs are allowed in the room, they may end up injuring the gliders.

I know there's a lot of people in here that have pets other than gliders, but exercising precaution is always advisable.

Also, good going with the cage and wheels, your are doing great! Sometimes a change in diet and cage is enough to help a glider get fit and healthy.

As for Meeka's crabbing while in the pouch, she may be pouch protective, and so you may want to get her an open environment pouch, so she is able to see outside of it, and not be startle and frighten by whatever is invading her nest. Also, as others have mentioned, most gliders don't like to be picked up, you can scoop them up by placing your hand under them, but you should not force them, let them climb on your hand.

If you are having issues getting them out of the cage, you can pick the pouch with all and gliders while they're still asleep and wait until they wake up for playtime. And if it is difficult to transfer them from the sleeping pouch to the bonding pouch, there are bonding pouches that have detachable strap and hooks at the end, you can use these kind of bonding pouches as their sleeping pouch and when it is time to put them in their cage you take off the straps, make sure that the pouch is unzip and place in the cage by the hooks; and when you want to get them out of the cage, you just pick up the pouch (you may close the zipper before, if you think they may try to escape), put on the straps and then is just a bonding pouch.

Gliders are nocturnal animals, as such they are more sensitive to light, the reason why Meeka doesn't come out as readily while you are in the bathroom may be because is too bright in there. Instead, you can use the light from your laptop or a small night light in the bathroom for your own use, that shouldn't disturb them as much. Also, gliders are very curious critter, so don't be too disappointed if they are not as cuddly while they are awake and playing, if they trust you and find you safe, they regularly come to check on you, but won't stay on you for long. And since I mentioned the curious part, because of it they tend to easily get in trouble, so try to glider proof the bathroom: make sure they don't have access electrical outlets, that there are no small holes or slits that they can get to because it can be hard to get them to come out or they may even get stuck in them, that the toilet seats are closed (they must always remain closed in case they escape, there are many sad stories where this happened and the glider didn't survive), that there are no accumulations of water nearby (slightly cold water can make them go in shock), etc...

Sorry for the long post, but I hope you find this helpful.

Leaving the cage open is not necessary or safe, even without other animals in the house. There are just to many places they can get into that we can't and things they can chew on, eat etc... It's a nice idea to let them roam freely but not a very practical or safe option in my opinion.

Many people use pop up tents in a secure room ( no other animals in the room ) or child/glider proof a bathroom for open play.

At this point their cage and pouch are their "safe places" You need to become their 3rd safe place. So when their scared they jump to you, rather than their cage or pouch. It's easiest to bond during the day when they are sleeping in their pouch rather than Trying to catch them and pick them up in the cage ( it's a little threatening to them).

They are curious critters, you can use that to your advantage when they are awake and active lol just put your hand in the cage, palm side down ( it's less threatening ) and let them come to you in their own time. You can put a treat on top of your hand. It might take awhile but Eventually they will probably be right at the cage doors waiting for you to let them out or dole out treats.



They will also learn a great deal from each other. So you have the one who is starting to explore you teach the other one that you are safe. When they are both in the pouch offer a treat to Sebastian first, letting Meeka See that your hands bring treats, and see that Sebastian can safely take a treat from you. Then offer Meeka a treat too. It may take a few days or even weeks but with the help of Sebastian she will get the hang of it.

Sometimes not offering the treat right in front of their face helps as well, just hold your finger a little out of her reach and let her meet you half way to take the treat. Our fingers look like telephone poles coming at their face...giving her a little space shows her you understand she thinks your hands are a threat.


When you see that she is fixen to bite you, you can make the PSSSST sound to try and distract her and let her know biting is not acceptable. It works for me, but doesn't work for my boyfriend lol but it's worth a shot.

One of the things I had a hard time with was being confident around them. My Simon was very crabby, lunged at me, slapped at me when we first got Him. He is a 4 yr old rescue with a few issues. He was intimidating to me initially and nothing like my lil female was.

So I had to find other ways of bonding with him.
He was very pouch protective after never having had a pouch before. Every time I opened or closed the pouch he'd lunge and crab. Ok, so He's terrified in there! I started leaving the pouch open at the top and even rolled it down about half way. Leela, my female would go back n forth between my sweatshirt and the pouch but Simon stayed right in the pouch crabbin away. After a couple days he could SEE that nothing was going to hurt him while he was in the pouch, he could see Leela getting a treat first and that my hands brought goodies. He stopped crabbing :) started accepting treats and within a couple weeks hardly fusses at all and I can open and close the pouch anytime. I started becoming more confident through out this as well, and finally just put my whole hand in the pouch when he was sleeping. My hand was already there when he woke up so he didn't crab. He's still not fond of being petted lol but he tolerates it as long as he's munching on a treat or sound asleep lol He is most definately learning from Leela and taking her cues even though she is younger than he is.

My other point to all that is, They tend to feed off of your emotions, like most other animals do. If you are calm & confident they will be calmer around you. If your unsure of yourself & intimidated they will be scared and unsure of you too. So take a deep breath and relax before you interact with them, you'r confidence will build up as you go.

Crabbing and biting are really their only defense when they are scared. Understanding what they are scared of will help you figure out different ways to approach them and teach them to trust you. Just remember, trust is a two way street here, you have to start trusting them too.

Are the lights on when you are trying to give them free time?

If it's to bright mine will stay in the pouch until I turn off the light. I usually just use the light from the tv or laptop when it's play time. The darker it is the more active mine are :)

The object at least for now, isn't to get them to play with you. It's to let them explore you and learn to trust you as their safest place, and to accept you as part of their colony. Once they have done that they will probably play more

Hi! We got the new cage set up last night and Sebastian and Meeka were more active than they have been since I brought them home.
When I take them into the bathroom I only have a night light on. I didn't take them out last night because they were busy exploring their new home. But the night before when I opened the cage, Sebastian came right up to me, climbed on my hand and up my shoulder and stayed there until I took him into the bathroom to play. Meeka even got a little closer to me and ventured out of the pouch, but just kind of watched me and Sebastian and didn't join in.
I was so happy last night though because before my hubby got the new cage all together, they had already woken up. So, I let them wake up a bit, they had a snack and then I went to get them out so that I could begin transferring them to the new cage. Sebastian came right out and climbed on my arm and into the pouch, and Meeka followed shortly after. She even grabbed my fingers and gave me a lick before she went in. While I was moving everything and putting toys in the cage and setting it up, I had the pouch around my neck, but open. And they would peek out and watch me. When I put them in the cage, you could see how happy they were. I heard them all night. I'm very happy. I think they are too.
I'm going to get a popup tent very soon so we can have playtime in there too. I feel like we have made big leaps in the last few days.
Now if I can just get them to eat their new food, that would be great. But that will be for another post. Thank you all so much!

Great news!