I have a brand new, 10 day old baby boy and a solo female glider aged anywhere from 6-8 that I've had for 3 years. She is on her third home and her previous owner wasn't sure of her age. I had two gliders when I got pregnant but then my 9 year old boy passed away( I got my girl to replace his cage mate when she passed). We knew we didn't want another glider with the baby coming but didn't want to rehome our girl so we spent a lot of time with her and waited to see how she handled being alone. She was doing great for he past four months since he passed but then the baby came. I've been super worried about her because we have only had 30-45 minutes for her per day (though my husband got her out for an hour and a half yesterday). I'm on maternity leave now so I imagine this will only get worse when I go back to work.

I guess my question is should I rehome my old lady for the 4th time in her life or stick it out with her on her own? She's been bonkers whenever we play with her because she isn't getting enough exercise and she is biting really really hard. I want to do what is best for her. Integrating a new glider is not an option (it took 21 months for her and my boy to get together, which was ROUGH). I am open to any tips anyone has for balancing glider and baby time too.

Where are you located? I'm looking for a cage mate for my new male glider...I'm in Houston though .

Unfortunately I'm in NY

Hello!
I'm sorry you haven't gotten many answers. It's such a personal decision, I know I'm not comfortable advising you on it. Whatever you decide, it's clear you want the best for both of your babies.

Congratulations on your baby boy!

I'm also in New York, but I already have six gliders and that's all I can handle! Best of luck to you. I hope you find a solution that makes you all very happy

Thank you. I have posted on several forums and gotten no responses, I assume because there is no good answer. I know it'll be ok in a couple of months when we can get him on a more predictable sleep schedule, but it's so hard right now.

I can't imagine how hard it must be! If you do decide to rehome your furbaby, try the Facebook group Sugar Glider Guardians to see if they can help. They seem like really great people there, and if I ever had to make that impossible decision, that's where I'd go.

If you get to a point where you really need help, and you're in upstate NY near Albany, message me and I'll try to help.

But hopefully you'll just find a schedule that works for you!

Have a great weekend. Try not to worry! It will work out.

Congrats on your new baby.

I'm going to go against the stream here and tell you it's ok if you don't have the time to spend with her that you used to. There are many people that don't do out of cage time, or bonding bag time with their gliders. There are many gliders that do just fine on their own too.

Breathe. It's ok. Your doing the best you can for her and believe me it's probably more than most people are able to do.

Personally I have 8 gliders now, I rarely do "out of cage time" because I don't need to. Their cages are set up with toys, wheels, food, all the things they want and need. When I DO do out of cage time, it lasts about 20 minutes if I'm any where near their cages. After 20 minutes... they all voluntarily go back to their cage, go inside, get a drink and go back into their pouches. They love their cages, it has all their fav stuff in them.

I do a morning check on everyone, and dish out treats, but they don't always come out of the cage or spend time on me like they used to. It's harder to do with 8. There are days I can manage to get them all out for a couple hours in a day but usually I rotate cages through the week. I get one cage out for the day then the next day or day after it's the next cage and so on.

this last march i had to go to Ny for the birth of my grand daughter. I was gone 5 weeks. My boyfriend tended to the gliders but didn't get them out the entire time I was gone. When I got home, they were all just fine and we got back on MY normal routine... life happens, we get busy, and the gliders will adjust to new schedules and routines.

I understand your concern is because she is a solo glider now, but the same applies to them. If you have a wheel and some toys and can keep her cage interesting she will be just fine until your routine levels out and gets on more regular schedule.

30-45 minutes a day is more than most people can manage and is more than enough and she can probably tolerate skipping a day or two if need be.

I can not tell you what is best for her, and what you should do. But I am saying a few months of getting a new routine established and life getting busy is quite normal and in the grand scheme of things is really not that long for a glider.

Is it going to tug on your heart a lil? probably. We all go through that at some point or another. The glider community puts some pretty high expectations on glider owners, and it can make us feel guilty if we don't meet those standards.

Make her cage interesting, with a glider safe wheel, and a bonding buddy to give her something to cuddle ( they are made of fleece and small and can go in the sleep pouch so they don't feel alone ) change or add new toys to give her some stimulation.... there are many things you can do to occupy her even if you have to reduce the time you can spend with her for a while.

Leela, thank you for such an encouraging response! I needed similar advice and am so glad I read what you posted. Thanks, Zehrapushu, for being so open about your dilemma. I know you will figure out what will be best for your suggie and your family. I have left many forums for the lack of encouragement to its members; everyone thinks their way is the best way. Owning a suggie can be so hard because there aren't clear cut answers. We need the encouragement! Keep it up, everyone!!!

Great advice Leela. I have my girl and boy and they are out 45 minutes to an hour a day. Sometimes less. They usually go back to their cage on their own. I pretty much let them out and they go back in when ready. I have not had a time yet where they have wanted to be out more than hour. Zehrepushu I think you are doing fine and will get a schedule down that will work for all of you. Keep up the good work and relax and enjoy all your "kids"