Cosmo and Nova have been together for a few months now. They are getting along very well. Their cage is huge and they have a lot of toys. They drink water every day, and eat Original HPW with a home made frozen fruit/veggie mix (broccoli, peas, green beans, carrots, sweet peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomato) they eat four tablespoons of that every night, between the two of them. They look happy and healthy, I get them out every day and give them treats and play with them as often as possible. Nova has even stopped being pouch protective for the most part.
BUT, every single night for the past few weeks or so, they have started barking around 4 am, usually for five or ten minutes. Their cage is right next to my bed, and I don't see what could be scaring them every night. They're a little jumpy when I open the cage to check on them when theyre barking, but they calm down, eat a treat, and then go right back to it. It usually starts with Nova, and sometimes Cosmo won't even bark.
Does any one else's gliders bark this often, is it common at all?
I have read about what can cause their barking but I don't know what it could be. Any suggestions? Could it be Nova still getting used to her environment?
I will take them to the vet as soon as possible to make sure it's not a health issues, but it is the end of the semester so it will be a while until I can make an appointment, at least a few weeks.
Do I need to rush them to the vet? Like I said, they seem perfectly healthy in every other way.
Thank you for reading. Here's a cut picture of my babies.

I think you mentioned you've looked into the usual reasons for barking, something different, a smell, a sound things you can't detect. In new surrounding seeking out another glider. After a few months it doesn't seem like there would have been any reason for them to suddenly be searching for others. However, they also may have found a way to get your attention for a treat when they get bored in the middle of the night. One of my girls tried to "train" me but, thankfully I caught on.

I'm no vet! Not even close! But, I've never heard or suspected barking to be associated with an illness. Of course keep an eye on them for anything else that may indicate something not right...but, I wouldn't expect a symptom of anything to be barking alone. So, an immediate vet visit might not need to stress you.

Some just like to bark. To hear the echo...who knows. I've even heard a sort of melody to it from Lisle. It's almost a downward scale and if she get's hoarse on a note she'll start again at the top.

Thanks, Blue!
Is there anything I can do to make them stop or calm them down? I have very early classes so, even though its adorable, it is definitely not good for my sleep schedule. I'm glad to know they're okay, it's probably her way of getting my attention. She loooooves attention.

I'm sorry, I just read the thread subject then when opened it, saw that pic of those two, very innocent looking suggies.


Okay, so I just read the thread. I agree, I don't believe it to be a medical or health issue behind it. My gliders bark from time to time, and it can vary in length of duration and how frequent through out the night, I think depending on which glider it is. There are several reasons why a glider may bark, but mine maybe mostly do it, well the girls anyway around their cycle perhaps, I can't be sure. I used to check on them and when I was married and the barking disturbed my husband's sleep, I would use a flash light to check on them, then sometimes just call to them, using their names and tell them be quiet. I don't know that it worked, but at times it quieted them down, but not always to be reliable. Now that I'm alone with them, I don't usually bother, it doesn't really disturb my slumber too much.

In your case, I think I would consider ear plugs and definitely stop offering them treats when they bark, these critters are smart.

I had a very similar situation with Neera and Naaji a few months after I got them. It went on for weeks and drove me crazy. My solution, oddly enough, was a night light. I have one about five feet on front of their cage and they hardly ever bark now. Just Naaji when he wants attention. It's dim enough that it doesn't effect their sleep cycle. Before I got my automatic one, I forgot to switch the old night light on a couple times and they would definitely let me know. Yip! Yip! Yip!

I have two joys now and they bark almost every night, even with the night light. I think that might be curiosity about the other cage, though.

Blue Nostalgic: I'm curious. What did you do when you thought they were training you? If I don't get up to see the joeys they don't stop and I don't sleep.

Thanks every one, no more treats and I'll invest in ear plugs. It doesn't bother me very much but it drives my boyfriend crazy and he works at 5 am.

Haha! they are absolutely innocent, if you don't count the barking and door dashing

Also, do you guys think my fruit/veggie mixture is giving them the right nutrients? I've tried a lot of combinations but this is the only one they just devour, so if it's adequate I'll probably make the same one next time.

Megan: I stopped giving them treats and running to the cage each time they called. Now I listen for awhile, to see if it sounds normal and if I can see or detect anything that seems reasonable to be setting them off. Usually I drift back to sleep. If something doesn't sound right I will get up.

We had a major power outage in our area the other night. NOT a good night for sleep. 1. It was hot without the AC or fans. 2. Huge FPL trucks were in front and behind the house with all sorts of noise and bright lights shining around. 3. Both the gliders and the dog were going nuts.

Cosmos: You could start another thread with the diet question. To me it sounds well balanced and HPW is a highly recommended and rated diet. You 'may' want to switch up how you do your veggies. If they like it it's fine. I know that mine tend to like variety and that some blends have one ingredient that takes over the flavor of the whole batch...if they don't like it they don't eat as well. Those batches (I use a different diet) end up being used less and some gets tossed when it looks freezer burned, etc. You could do half batches of that mix and keep fresh and frozen veggies/fruit on hand separately to change things up on alternating nights. Nutritionally, it sounds like they're good, though.