Hello, I have two 4 year old female gliders. I have had them for about a year now. Out of nowhere one of them has started to crab most of the night at the other (from her pouch usually. It is only when the one out and about starts to make noise or move around too much. I'm not sure what to do here. They both went to the vet 2 months ago and received a clean bill of health. Any ideas???

Sounds like the crabby one might be becoming pouch protective. When the other one is out of pouch being active she might be startling the crabby one.

What kind of sleeping pouch do you use for them?

How long has this been going on? If it's only a couple days she might just be in heat. One of my girls crabs and fusses at her cage mates like crazy when she's in heat. If that's the case, it should only last 2-3 days/nights per cycle.

They have all fleece pouches that they sleep in. This has been going on for a little over a week now.

Have you noticed any thee changes in her behaviour, personality or eating/eliminating habits? Has there been any changes in her cage/routine lately, anything that could e stressing her out? Anything at all...? Sometimes if a glider suddenly starts acting differently it can be a sign of illness. If you've noticed any other changes in her maybe another vet check for peace of mind would help. Has she had her full fecal checks at the vet? We try to rule out physical issues first to make sure we aren't missing anything.

If this is just behavioural, like Leela mentioned it could be she is becoming pouch protective. Basically a natural instinct harking back to when they lived in tree hollows and had to defend against predators/strange noises outside of the sleeping area. If her cage mate is jumping on the pouch or making a lot of noise in the cage she might mistaken her as a predator and start crabbing in defense. If this is the case, switching to an open environment type pouch (a pouch or sleeping space where she can see around without having to climb up out of the pouch) can help. In a pinch, you can use a square hammock or parachute pouch. Even rolling the sides down on a regular sleeping pouch may help as well. There are also pouches designed for gliders like these, or you can make your own.

I moved their cage location about 2 months ago. But didn't see any issues right then. She has never been a super active one like my other. She likes to climb mainly while the loves to run and run and run. Both have had full fecal on them, right when I got them and then again when I switched vets. New vet wanted to stretch out the number of days on the collection. Everything came back good. My boyfriend just had a suggestion though. His work shift changed and he ends up leaving the computer on all night. It doesn't make an intrusive sound to us...but it could be freaking her out some...I don't know. I will look into adding a different sleep pouch and rotating this one out. See if that makes any difference.

I would try an open environment pouch, but don't change it back n forth leave the open one in there for a while. It gives the pouch protective glider the ability to just lift their head to "see" what/who is making the noise with out leaving the safety of the pouch.

I will get one as soon as I can and see if it helps. Thanks!