My sugar glider has a swollen cloaca that is red when he poops/pees. Yes, I know this is very bad. I can't get him to a vet that sees gliders until the morning. Is it better to try and take him to a animal hospital now or wait until morning? I can't find a 24 hr hospital that states it sees gliders. Is there anything I can do for him at home? I'm located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of TX if anyone knows of a good place to go.

I've never heard of this. Any idea on the cause. If it's enflamed can you use witch hazel or a natural astringent. I'm just guessing. Now I'm gonna search it. Hope your Lil one is okay and gets well soon.

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If it's enflamed can you use witch hazel or a natural astringent.

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I would NOT use an astringent on the cloaca - the organ has multiple openings for both the bowel, urinary tract and reproductive organs - not the place for an astringent that may cause burning or pain for the glider.

I hope you can get the glider to the vet today. There is something causing irritation that needs to be addressed by a vet.

I took him to the vet today and he said to give my glider one or two drops of pepto bismol a night. Has anyone else heard of a treatment like this for gliders?

Does your vet have ANY experience with sugar gliders?

Did he do fecal testing for parasites to make sure that is not an issue?

I would NOT give peptobismol unless the vet described exactly what condition this might be treating. It may intefere with the glider's digestive process which is very different from most animals.

Does your glider have diarrhea? A small amount of canned pumpkin (no spices) can be safely offered - it helps with both diarrhea or constipation.

Treating diarrhea and or constipation ISN'T treating the problem, it's treating a symptom.

What are you feeding the glider ? not just what diet, but what exactly are you feeding IE diet, fruits, veg, snacks .... everything. Are you blending your fruits n veg? Are you feeding them nuts or seeds ( which can cause intestinal blockages, and constipation) ? If you only treat the symptom, and not the cause the symptom will likely just return.

Is there any bedding or anything in the cage that could be irritating the cloaca ? Like wood chip bedding.. some wood is toxic to gliders, some they are allergic to.

Preston Road Animal Hospital
Dr. Julie Chabira
6060 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, Tx 75240
(972)239-1309
1st wellness check is free for each pet
Fecal : $38
*They are not glider specialist but they see gliders regularly.

I feed him half soft food and half pellets each night. The soft food is a blend of fruits, veggies, oats, baby food, and yogurt with added calcium and mineral powder. I freeze it and heat it up each night. The pellets are Premium Sugar Glider Diet from Exotic Nutrition (I added pellets a few months ago for protein).

In his cage there's a tray where I usually put either paper towels or newspaper.

Does is sound like he's missing anything in his diet?

It is hard to tell if his diet is well balanced or not without knowing the exact amount of each food in the blended part.

Gliders actually do better with cut up pieces of fruits and vegetables because blending them forces them to eat the undigestable parts that they would ordinarily chew up, suck out the juices and spit out the fiber.

Pellets are hard for gliders to digest and will not keep your glider healthy for long.

Rather than guessing at a good diet it would be best to switch to one of the widely used staple recipes and feeding plans that are known to keep gliders healthy.

I have links to the widely used diets on my web page to help you locate the information

http://www.gliderkids-diet.com/Staple-Recipes.html

My own GliderKids feeding plan is one of several options you might consider. the others are listed with links on the left column of the page.