Hello !

This may come as a bit silly, but I can't seem to figure out which glider is my new joey's father.

My "colony" are two intact, oldish male (5 yo and 8 yo) whom had been together for nearly three years.

A few months ago, a friend brought me his female. He has one female and two neutered male, and wanted to expand is colony, therefore he asked me to try and make her pregnant.

The (single) joey has been out of pouch for a couple week now, and my male gliders both behave as if they were father. They both lick and groom the joey, and they both take and carry the joey on their back outside of the nest. Essentially, they both display the same "father" behaviour I looked up online (suz's glider, and this very useful website: www.petsugargliders.com/sggrowth.php )

Is there any sure way to know who is the father ?

Not if they are all standard grey and not knowing lineage on either father's side for any coloration genes.

Was the plan to separate the female and take her back with joey to your friends colony? That's going to cause a lot of stress and anxiety for all involved. The female and baby are now both a part of your colony.

There is no way you will ever know which of your males is the father.

If the plan is to return the female and joey to your friend, there are some issues to consider before doing so.

You should NOT return the female and joey until the joey is at least 8 weeks OOP and big enough to deal with the adult males.

YOUR gliders may show signs of depression if you remove the female and joey. You will need to watch out for over grooming, changes in eating habits and other behavioral changes. Be sure to keep them active - adding new toys or changing the cage arrangement to keep them entertained while the adjust to the loss of their family.

Your friend should plan on keeping the female and joey separated from the males for at least a few weeks so that the scent of the males she is currently housed with will have time to wear off.

Your friend will need to do introductions gradually - with lots of pouch and toy swapping before doing a face to face intro - and there is a chance that they will not accept the female and joey back as part of their colony. There is also the chance that the female will not accept her former cage mates.

If the joey is MALE - he must be neutered before he reaches 16 weeks OOP if the plan is for him to continue to live with his mother to prevent inbreeding.

Switching gliders back and forth between homes and colonies could be a very stressful for all of the gliders involved.