quote:
Tell me a little about the males.: Males have scent glands located on their neck, chest, anus, and forehead, used to mark their territory. The smell is faint and hardly noticeable when the glider is in a clean habitat, on a good diet, and in good health.
The part that is in
bold is BS and inaccurate. An intact male has a
very noticeable smell/funk, when the cage is cleaned the first thing they want to do is smell it back up again by marking everything they can.
Which usually prompts people to clean everything more, making him mark everything more to make it smell like "him" to let other gliders know it's all his territory. So you essentially end up in a vicious circle of cleaning and stink.
I'm not saying a clean cage isn't important, it very much is. But gliders are very scent orientated so it's best to use mild scented cleaning solutions to clean the cage and fleece. I use dawn dish washing soap, vinegar, and water solution. The vinegar helps with the "funk" smell but it's not strong enough to make them over mark everything.
A good diet is important and a diet high in protein can make them smell a little stronger than normal, from what I've read.
It took about a month to a month n a half for my Simon's scent to be tolerable after his neuter. He has gotten much better about not marking things in the cage as well, but if you put anything up to your nose you will still regret it
But in general the smell of the cage has decreased considerably when walking by or resetting all the toys.
The rest of the info is pretty accurate unless I missed something cuz I haven't had my morning dose of caffeine
Great job in finding a vet near you in advance!!
It's always a good idea to start building a relationship with the vet who will be caring for your gliders in any medical situations.
So many people dive into getting gliders and never bother looking for a local vet that has any glider experience. Many have lost gliders for not having a vet in their area.
Gliders can and do hide illnesses for a very long time usually by the time you realize they are sick it's almost to late. The importance of having a vet and local 24 hour emergency care can't be stressed enough. When you talk to the vet ask about 24 hour or after office hours emergencies. If they don't provide that ask for a recommended emergency alternative.
It sounds like your doing a really good job researching everything before you get them, I and I'm sure many others commend you for that!! I honestly think people who don't research and buy them on impulse are probably the only people who wouldn't have them as a pet again. It's much easier to give them the proper care when you understand their needs. When you understand their needs it's much easier to bond with them and them you. Sounds like you'll do just fine
Have you looked at cages and wheels yet?
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