I recently adopted a 4 month old glider (Winnie) and he seems to be a happy guy for the most part. Before we adopted him, he was living with his brother. He is very hyper, even wakes up occasionally during the day to explore and eat, and he has seemed to bond with us very well. He hangs out on our shoulders, grooms our heads, and never crabs or does any angry biting. The only thing thing that worries me is that at night when I sit next to his cage and talk to him, he does nonstop back flips from one of the shelves in his cage to the ceiling and back down again. I read that this could be linked to anxiety or depression. Do you think he misses his brother? Or does he just know that humans are the way out of the cage so he gets a little excited when we come close to him?

Yes. He should not have been separated from his brother. Most breeders try not to separate siblings, and you need to have at least two gliders anyways for them to be happy. You should go back and get his brother since you'll need another glider anyways. It's very bad for gliders to be alone and they become depressed very quickly.

Someone bought his brother right after I bought Winnie :/ we adopted another suggie, Mo, who is three months older than Winnie. After letting Mo get used to his new home and to us, we started switching pouches to get them acquainted to each other. After a couple weeks of that, we introduced them, one in each had inside of their pouches, and Mo lunged out of his pouch and attacked Winnie. We were able to separate them pretty quick, but since then we haven't done any more introductions. Mo was alone for almost all of his life and is a pretty crabby glider. I am wondering is Mo has already accepted that he is the only member of his pack and wont accept any males into his life? Winnie doesn't have much of a problem with Mo, but Mo seems to hate Winnie. Did we do something wrong? Or is their age difference and life experiences blocking them from becoming friends?

If both gliders are males and still intact, that could be part of a problem. Since Mo is still fairly young, a neuter may help him get along with another male.

I'm sad the breeder separated the bonded siblings. It would have gone a lot easier for all of you if they'd adopted them out together.

I suggest getting Mo neutered if he isn't already and work on introduction procedures in the meantime. There are many discussions on the matter, reading up on it more will help you a lot.


Oh, and yes, most likely the flips are from loneliness, boredom, or even depression, but a vet check could be beneficial to rule out poor health.

If MO and Winnie are both un-neutered then Mo is seeing Winnie as a threat to his being the boss( even if he the boss of one) Neutering and waiting the set time to allow the hormones to calm down will make easier for them both.

Back flips are a serious sign that needs addressed quickly.

It can be because the cage is to small ( like a hamster cage ), lack of glider safe wheel to excercise on, lack of stimulating toys to play with and keep his mind working, loneliness from being alone so long, not eating or feeling well ....

How big is his cage and what do you have in the cage? pics would be helpful for us to see what all can be improved upon.

If these things go ignored and aren't taken care of and improved it can also lead to self mutilation.

Thank you for the help!

I was told that Winnie and Mo were both neutered. I do believe that Winnie is neutered, but I bought Mo from a girl who just couldn't take care of him anymore, and based on his personality, I'm not entirely sure that he was neutered for sure. I took them both to a vet (who didn't know a lot about sugar gliders) but she was able to tell me that they were both free from mites and parasites. I am hoping there is a more experienced vet in my area that will be able to tell me if they are neutered indefinitely.

They need to be tested twice for parasites the second test should be done 30 days after the first one in case the parasites were dormant for the first test. Where are you located? we may be able to point you in the direction of a glider experienced vet near you.

There are two ways you can tell if they are neutered ( I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

Some neuters leave the pom on, if you can visibly see the pom, touch it gently, if it feels "deflated" he's been neutered, if it does NOT feel deflated but feels "firm" or "full" he has not been neutered.

Some neuters remove the pom, so if there is no pom he has been neutered.

I live in Pullman, Wa. Do you think the university in our town (Washington State Univ.) would have experienced sugar glider vets? The university is supposed to be world renowned for their vet school but I was thinking they mostly work on large animals because this is a farming community.
What is the pom and where is it located? I'm not able to find much on the web about it

The scrotum is the "pom". I am really not sure, there really aren't many gliders or breeders that I have found in that part of the country, there is a member here from Washington that might know of a vet, but I haven't seen her post much lately.

Well, it's on the glider vet map, so this might be the best option!
Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164 phone509-335-0711
Fax: 509-335-3330

Great! thanks so much for all the help!