Okay, so my mother bought a sugar glider, with a cage, heating rock, heating lamp, pouch, and a one month supply of "food" for it.

it's a he, 8 weeks old and has no friend.

I am extremely worried for its health.
I know I don't have the time to spend several hours a night with it for 15 years, especially with me getting ready to get a job and go to college and such.

I've started reading PROPER guides online, but want to gather all the information from everyone I possibly can. I'm very very worried for him and want him to live a happy life.

I would also be glad to sell him, however we've put in $700 and putting in another $200 for the licensing and whatnot is going to be harsh.

My mother is going to try to stop the credit card payment, and attempt to return it, but I suspect that this will not go through.

Right after I post this I will be finding alternative food for it, ( http://sugarglidercare.org/food-diet/ ) and taking the heating rock out.

I will also be searching for another glider because I feel extremely bad for the poor thing.

why are you concerned about his health?

What kind of food ? If it was a legit Pocket Pet vendor the food should be glider gravy and pellets I think and they advise to feed apples with it, you can offer more fruits and veg with it. Glider Gravy is actually Critter love complete
( repackaged for Pocket Pets ) which is a very widely used and accepted diet.

I said legit Pocket Pets because there are other vendors that set up their displays to look like Pocket Pets but aren't legitimate Pocket Pet franchises, there for they don't have Pocket Pets protocol. So their neutering policy may not be followed and the food may be different than PP

There are salads that go with the Critter love diets http://www.critterlove.com/salad-mixtures.html I'm not sure why PP isn't suggesting them it's part of the actual diet.

Once your first month supply runs out you can get the critter love directly from Peggy at Critter love or of course change the diet. The two diets I generally recommend are Bml and critter love. They are the only 2 diets that have been tested and as balanced as they can be. Both have been used for years. Of course there are other diets out there and everyone has an opinion about which one is "best".

I'm not sure I'd follow the info on the site you linked, some of the info is good but some of the info isn't as complete as it could be. For instance yes avocado can be fed, however it should only bed fed in moderation because it's very high in fat and can be hard on the internal organs and cause cataracts. Citrus foods can be fed however, again in moderation because they can cause diarrhea. Crickets some use as treats, but have a risk of aflatoxins if raised and housed in corn bedding. Aflatoxin poisoning is deadly to gliders and usually can't be diagnosed until the glider is already dead.

The heat rock and lamp are unnecessary yes, I'd remove them.

I'm gonna take a guess that you have read some things about Pocket Pets that has freaked you out ? There is a lot of misinformation and opinions about Pocket Pets out there. There are also many Pocket Pet owners that are very happy and had good experiences with Pocket Pets. If your on facebook there is a group that is Pocket Pet neutral https://www.facebook.com/groups/847319852005676/?ref=br_rs It's an awesome educational based group, many Pocket Pet owners are members there because bashing is not tolerated. Many groups make Pocket Pet owners feel guilty simply for getting their gliders from Pocket Pets, this one doesn't.

Some of PP information is crap, and some of it is genuinely helpful. Pockets Pets have adopted some information from some of the veterans in the community, I know they use some bonding information from Bourbon ( who is the creator of bml and the custom cruiser wheel ) and changed their previous diet to the critter love by Peggy. They also upgraded their woodent wheel to the silent runner which doesn't have a center bar like the woodent wheel had. They are taking steps to improve their program, but some items they sell are still crap.

Don't be intimidated about the amount of time they require! Yes at first it takes time for them to "bond" and if your considering a cage mate already he will eventually have company to keep him occupied when your life gets busy. But once they are settled and bonded to you and your family you don't havvvvvvvvve to spend hours and hours a night with them.

I have 10 gliders of my own and a medical foster glider in my care for the next few weeks. I do tent time during the day about once a week ( hardly ever at night ) at night they have all they need in the cage. We set the cages up to be stimulating and entertaining. Wheel, toys, foraging toys food water etc... if the cage is set up for enrichment and stimulation they don't neeeeed out as much in fact some of mine prefer to be in the cage with all their stuff.

My point is, once you get on a routine, "bonding" underway, it's really not as time consuming as it sounds. They will adapt to your routine and lifestyle.

For the record I don't promote PP but nor do I bash them. If your happy and love your glider it really doesn't matter where you got him from

Okay, so an update.
I've named him Applejack, if anyone happens to care.

I moved his cage to a warmer, and higher spot in my room.

I live in NW Washington and my room can get cold.

Earlier today I felt Applejack shivering in his pouch. I figured it was just too cold (it was perfect temperature for my taste, but I like just about 60°F.) I turned on his heating lamp a fair distance away from the pouch and he stopped shivering after a while.

I don't yet have a wheel, or a buddy. He seems to circle around the top of the cage and jumps around from wall to wall every now and then.
I see him itching more often than yesterday.

I know of a breeder in my area and will be seeing her sometime soon.

I'm worried that Applejack will start to over-groom and self harm before I can find him a friend.

Also I'm worried about the temperature.


Also, is the vitamin supplement which comes with the pocket pets food kit good? Or should I immediately look elsewhere.

I have him on a different diet, www.thepetglider.com/glider-care-info/nutrition-system#Recipe

He seems to like this.

Also, are cardstock structures okay for him? Or will he chew through them, or will he choke / hurt himself?

shivering doesn't always mean cold, sometimes they are just grooming so the pouch looks like they are shivering. 60* isn't to bad for them I live in fla and have my AC on constantly right now it's about 62 in here. They also shiver when they first wake up sometimes, to get the juices going and their body revved up to be active

The rule of thumb is if you are cold they are probably cold, if you are hot they are hot, like a baby. If you still feel it's to cold for him, cut up some anti pill fleece to put in the pouch that will keep them warm without using a heat lamp.

Do you have him in a pocket pet cage? If so, stealth wheels will fit in it, I have a medical foster in a PP cage right now, the cage is on it's side to make more room for the wheel. I think stealth wheels are the only safe wheel that will fit. http://atticworx.com/1Stealth%20Wheels.htm they also sell stealth wheels on amazon.

circling the top of the cage is usually a sign of boredom or stress. Try giving him some stimulating toys, easter eggs filled with treats, drinking straws cut up or curled to play with, plastic bracelets, ping pong balls etc... a wheel will also help.

I know of a couple breeders in washington , Dee McBride is awesome
and might can give you some more names so you have more options for reputable breeders. https://www.facebook.com/dee.mcbride.58

The vitamin supplement from PP is not what you need for the tpg diet. Tpg has it's own supplement specifically made for the tpg diet, you have to order it on their website. The tpg supplement is only used for the tpg diet, each diet uses a different supplement. 180 days worth for one glider of the tpg supplement is $22.00, a years worth for one glider is 44.00. When you get a cage mate those will feed 2 gliders for half of the amount of time suggested for one. So the 1 yr supply will last 6 months for 2 gliders. https://www.thepetglider.com/glider-supplies-store/sugar-glider-nutrition

Itching, is what it looks like when they groom themselves. Gliders are very proficient in grooming and keeping themselves and their cage mates clean. They sort of spit ( sounds like sneezing ) on their hands and use it to clean their fur by "scratching" they have 2 grooming nails on their back feet to "comb" their fur with.

Over grooming and self harm...

Over grooming can happen for many different reasons. Being a single glider is just one of them and not every single glider will over groom. Normal over grooming is around the head area. Over the eyes, top of the head, back of the head. It just looks like a lil bald patch. Sometimes it's a concern sometimes it's a behavioral thing that never stops. I have one neutered male with 3 cage mates, a decent sized cage, toys, wheel, and good diet that despite all that still over grooms. His gets worse if I change his cage set up to often, environmental stresser for him, so I don't mess with the cage set up as much as I do the other 2 cages.

As I said there are many different reasons a glider will over groom, If your's over grooms you will need to find the source that is causing him to and try to change it if you can. Boredom, add toys, cage to small up grade to a larger cage ( you can remove the shelves in the PP cage to give him more space the shelves are unnecessary so I'd try that first ) Address one thing at a time and give it a couple weeks to see if the over grooming stops, if not try changing the next thing and so on.

Self harm, gliders don't just self mutilate or self harm from being single gliders. That is a myth. Gliders that self mutilate have an injury or illness or some medical reason for the self mutilation. Many gliders do just fine as single gliders given the human can spend some extra time with them and provides stimulating, enriching things in the cage when the human has other things to do.

Cardstock structures, I'm not sure what those are can you post a pic or a link ??

I rescued a little dude about a month ago who over grooms. If you look at his head the lighter spots are where he is bald. Now you know what it looks like... Kinda.

It took him four months to get that bad. You have time to find yours a buddy.

Cardstock, it's like cardboard but without the space in between each layer. It's basically solid cardboard. I went ahead and put in a small box of it in their cage. They were nibbling on it, but not chewing on it. There is no sharp edges or anything. It's easy to clean too. They seem to like it as a little hidy hole.


Applejack has a new friend, a girl (9 weeks) (maybe going to be named lulu) and they've gotten together very very well so far. Of course, He is neutered. He hasn't gotten possessive / protective of lulu yet. He also stopped circling the top of the cage after getting a new friend.

I will be adding various toys today, some of which you suggested. Once I get a larger cage (30" x 40" x 53".) I will probably also build a stand for it to get it up high.

I absaloutely cannot thank you enough for your help. Everything finally seems under control (although I was probably over reacting to begin with)

Also, both Lulu and Applejack are biting.
They're not doing it very hard, but I don't let my family get hands on just yet, because they always jerk and pull away whenever bitten. (Although I cannot control that while I am at school)

Usually I let them continue to bite me, and I go "TSSST!" and if that doesn't work, I blow on them. Similar to a dog or cat.
Just wondering if you have a suggestion for training suggies to not bite.
I also read a ecualyptus stick will help them get the "bite" out.

as long as there is no glue holding it together it should be fine. Euc will help yes and they love it !