hi all. I recently gotten 2 new gliders. 1 6months old male and a 3 Months old female. They will never climb on me and bites my fingers and hand every time I try to pet them. But the weird thing is they get treats off my finger but every time after the treat they will bite so hard I get so frustrated. I have seen my friends gotten 2 8weeks old glider and they bond perfectly in just a few days. And they never even go through the bonding process. That's what frustrates me the most.

Firstly, don't allow yourself to get frustrated (easier said than done). Gliders are exotics...just a step away from the wild and their behaviors must be understood in order to make it through the bonding process. They also will feel your frustration, and any possible trepidation that you have in knowing a bite is likely coming.

Your friends have most likely gotten joeys that had been well handled by the breeders. Regardless, it is often (but certainly not a hard and fast rule) seen that it can be easier and take less time to bond with the joeys.

What sort of out of cage area do you have set up for them? Sometimes the size of the area being larger may contribute to them delaying checking you out and getting brave enough to climb on you, etc.

The length of time is also a factor. How long have you had them? Very new gliders are going to take awhile to get used to their new surroundings as well as learning that you can be trusted. That being said, each glider has their own personality and some bond faster and easier than others. Each also bonds to different degrees. Of my two sisters, they are both very well bonded with me and we have firm trust in one another...but there is a different level of how much one prefers to 'be' with me over the other when they are out of the cage.

My newest addition is behaving like a bratty toddler. He prefers to bite a finger that is not holding the treat...as if he's saying, "How dare you touch my nommie, but since it is here I'll go ahead and eat it."

They are acting out of fear and testing their boundaries by nipping at you to see if they can keep you at what they currently feel is a safe distance by this behavior. By keeping consistent, not getting frustrated and not allowing them to succeed in you pulling away or giving up...the behavior in most cases clear up over time. The tried and true method of mimicking their own "Psst" sound when they bite is one that can always be used to speak to them in their own language that the biting is not acceptable.

Keep the faith!

Bonding requires the glider to learn to trust you and your hands. Depending on your glider's previous experiences with people and hands - it may take a little more time than your friend's young joeys if they were handled frequently by the breeder.

Take things slowly with your gliders. Offer treats in your open hand or on the back of your hand rather than the tips of your fingers. The biting might be an effort to make another treat appear in your fingers.

I had a rescue glider that I believe had been teased with treats. She would be so frantic trying to get a treat from my fingers that she would reach with both paws and lunge with her teeth at the same time - often missing the treat or knocking it out of my fingers and ending up chomping my fingers instead. I began offering her a treat on a popsicle stick to put a little distance between the treat and my fingers. Those tiny plastic spoons often used for ice cream taste samples work very well for this also.

Many Gliders also go through a phase of testing their limits when the are 3-4 months old in which they are more likely to bite. Sort of a glider version of the terrible twos. Your friend's 'perfectly bonded' joeys may go through this phase as well. If you see your glider is about to bite you a sharp "NO" (not loud) might stop the bite. You can also make a Ptssssst sound to let them know biting is not acceptable.

Also be sure you are not using fruit scented soaps, lotions or shampoo that might leave the scent of something gliders might consider yummy on your fingers or hands - they may be just trying to taste what they think you might have available on your hands.