So I bought a single sugar glider back in October and she did really well being alone. But a new program I have applied to will take up a lot of my time so I decided to get her a cage mate. I've had this new female glider for 2 weeks now and she is so sweet and friendly and they get along great! however, I am worried about her health.

First, she's had diarrhea ever since I've had her. At first is was like water, so I called the woman I got her from and she told me to just feed her the BML ice cube and nothing else and see how she does. She's just been eating the ice cube for about a week and a half now. It has gotten a lot better since then, but its still extremely soft. I figure it's just nerves because if it was a stomach bug or parasite of something like that, wouldn't my other glider have it by now too?

And second, she does flips in the cage all night long. My other glider does not do that. I have plenty of toys and a wheel, and their cage is plenty big enough for the two of them. But she will do flips for what seems like forever and then stop to eat or to take a break for a short time and then start again. She's did't do this for about the first week I had her, but has just recently started. But it's loud and keeps me up at night and don't know what to do.

Sorry for the book. But this is my first post and am excited to read your feedback!

I have read that diarrhea is very bad for a glider, must watch out for dehydration.

We got a lone glider that did flips and was very spastic. once we got her properly introduced to 2 other gliders she stopped flipping and really calmed down a lot.

sounds like they are doing good together, but 2 weeks doesnt not give enough time for quarantine and scent introduction and then real introductions, so you put them together to fast. dont know if that has anything to do with weird glider behavior.

HI CourtneyB!
Welcome to the forum!
I agree with BYK...those are my first thoughts, too.
A glider doing flips is, from what I know, a sign of being stressed.

Could you answer a few more questions? That will help other members give you better advice.

Did you do a 30 day quarantine before introducing your gliders?
Can you tell us exactly how big your cage is?
What wheel do you use?
What diet are you feeding the two of them?
How old are your gliders?
What size are your gliders?

Those answers will be a good start. I know the folks here will want to help. We're totally ok with you writing a book! The more info, the better.

Kferg,

I did not do 30 day quarantine. The lady I bought her from said to just put her pouch in my other glider's cage and when they sleep in the same pouch together they are bonded. They got along great from the start, slept together in the same pouch that night!

I'm not sure of the dimensions of my cage, but it is quite tall with 3 stories.

I have a large wheel from Pet's Mart but have just recently realized that there are wheels made specifically for glider so I have ordered one and it should be in this week. I ordered it from sugar glider USA.

I'm am feeding them only one ice cube of the BML diet a night along with the protein pellets. When I called the breeder I got her from and told her of the diarrhea that's what she told me to do because that's what she's used to eating a night.
And for BYK, I know she drinks water so I don't think she's dehydrated. I have done the tent test and she seems fine. Could it be the change in water sources maybe??

My older glider is around 8 months old and this new one is around 5 months.

When compared, my old glider is quite noticeably larger than my younger glider. But they've have both been eating really well at night so I expect to see both of them growing.

I hope this helps! I also hope I'm not a terrible glider mom. Just trying to do the best I can!

Thanks for the answers!
I know you're being the best glider momma you can! That's why you posted in the first place!

From what I know, bml is a great diet. But I think you're supposed to do 1 tbsp bml, 1 tbsp fruits, 1 tbsp veggies per glider. So one possibility is she isn't getting enough nutrients. The protein pellets most people just recommend using as a treat or a snack, but not as a major part of the diet. If you click on the tabs up top you can get more info about diet and nutrition.

Even though they got along right away and slept together in the same pouch, maybe the introduction was too quick and the size difference might also be added stress as well. I'm not sure how to fix that...I'm hoping Leela will chime in after my response with her very knowledgeable advice! But regardless, one other thing I didn't ask is if you have at least two pouches in the cage so they can sleep separate if they want to. I'm glad you're getting a wheel from a glider site but which one?

Ok cage...some bird cages have three stories but are still too small...not to nag you but is it at least ...oh geez I'm forgetting how tall is the minimum...at least 3 feet tall? (Guessing...need more coffee...)

Because of the size diff and that your girl is already stressed I'm just gonna go ahead and suggest two separate feeding stations in your cage, spread apart, or one at the top of the cage and one at the bottom even. That's just in case one of the girls gets (or is) a little food aggressive which could also be stressful.

Do you have an extra cage in case you need to keep them separate? Or in case you need to do introductions again? Most folks have an extra, smaller cage for medical emergencies. Just FYI. Just thinking here but, if you do have a separate cage, maybe try putting her and some toys in it for one night to see if she still flips. If she doesn't, then I'd guess she's stressed over her cagemate and needs a slower, more gradual intro.

Have you brought her in for a health check up? If not, I would recommend that ASAP whatever happens.

That's all I can think of!

I have not had coffee yet but here are my thoughts.

Sounds like the pair is getting a long fine despite not doing a traditional introduction. I have done a pairing with no intro, no scent swapping, and it was successful. It's not what I usually advise a newer owner though. Which is here nor there at this point in this case, it's already done and sounds successful.

My concern is the runny poo. Diarrhea is a symptom of something else, most often something with the diet but that is not the only cause.

I know you said your feeding bml, but what is the exact recipe your using?

One of the most common mistakes with diets is modifying the recipe, whether you modified it or someone else did. Please post the recipe you are following so I can see if it's correct. Don't leave anything out. What fruits n veg are you feeding, how are you preparing them and serving them ?

The cage does sound like a bird cage which maybe to small for 2 gliders. However, I don't like to assume anything, if you can post a pic of the cage that would be more accurate. I do not judge, but will make suggestions if need be, if you rather pm me pics that is fine too.

The sugar glider usa store... looks like a distributor for Exotic Nutrition. The only thing I'd buy from Exotic Nutrition is the cages. The food, snacks, toys, pouches wheels are pretty much crap.

I did browse the store, really there is only one thing I would buy from the 3 pages of products I looked at and that is the bottle nurser with miracle nipples. Those are good to have even if you aren't a breeder, they are good for emergencies and rehydrating gliders or hand feeding if the glider is ill.

There are a lot of products on there that have issues or safety concerns for me. The Kaytee cleaner deodorizer spray for instance, an owner used this and believed it to be safe, on the website it says you can even spray it directly on the animal. Well she did and both her gliders died, this was 2 days ago.

I know your trying to do your best, and provide what your gliders need. I also know that these products seem like good options but most of them are not.

The wheel you ordered is probably the silent runner. While it is suppose to be an upgrade from the wodent wheel it still has some kinks that need worked out to be deemed a safe wheel by the community. One of the major issues with this wheel is it may not come assembled. This also means you can take it apart and put it back together. This would seem like a great idea right? well it's not. This means human error can happen and will more often with this wheel. Which means gliders are going to get injured.

For Glider products the best ones aren't commercially made. They just aren't. It would be nice if they were but unfortunately gliders are thought to be enough like rodents by the commercial companies, that rodent and other animal necessities like dust baths for chinchilla's are offered for gliders. This poses some issues, especially for new owners thinking they are buying the right things.

Do you have a glider vet? This would be my first suggestion. Get the gliders in for fecal tests and I would suggest not just one. Some parasites don't show up in the first fecal test. So a 2nd fecal test is needed 30 days after the first one. Tell the vet you want the one with runny poo tested for giardia and trich.
Both giardia and trich are highly contagious parasites and if one glider has parasites ( no matter what kind ) they will both need medicated.