Sadly I lost my 9 weeks old baby girl today due to allergy.
Her cage mate is doing fine since she got sick. Now I only have one baby, what shall I do to prevent depression? Unfortunately It’s difficult to bring him a mate currently:( I’ll spend the whole day holding him not leaving alone.

I have heard several different theories on depression in gliders.
One being a lone glider will get depressed and self mutilate unless you spend a TON of time with them.
Another one is that depression is more of a myth then a reality. A long time glider owner on another website says that similar to dogs, that live in packs, but many people own only one dog and you become their pack then they live fine as a single dog. She states she has/had quite a few lone gliders (some just won't take other gliders) and they do fine and have never self mutilated.
We have one lone glider(plus two colonies), his previous owner had his colony mate die, and then left him in the backroom in a small cage. We put him in a big cage, changed him to a better diet, and give him more attention. But he came to us completely unbonded and very scared. we are taking it slow and he is getting better and friendlier but still very scared. We hope to get him in one of our colonies or give him to someone that only has one glider in the future. For now his is alone, runs in his wheels, is vet approved healthy and is active, curious and getting less scared. he also shows no sign of any self mutilation.

I suggest you should still consider a cage mate for him sometime in the future, but if not, just get him bonded to you, give him some time in larger glider safe area to run around at night for awhile. I don't think you need to panic about depression, keep your eyes on his behavior, is he active, healthy, curious, friendly, eating well?
taking him to a glider experienced vet, and asking some questions about depression is a good idea also.
I can only tell you what I have experience from our lone guy and read from another experienced owner.

copied information

6.TIME INTENSIVE
MYTH: “You absolutely MUST have at least two Gliders or they will die of loneliness…” “Human contact is no substitute for their own kind…” “You have to spend a minimum of 12-14 hours a day with a sugar glider or it will self-mutilate or die…”

REALITY: It is true that Sugar Gliders are very social animals by nature, and they make excellent “family pets” because they tend to want to bond to a whole “group” of people. In other words, they’re not usually a “one person animal” – and this is primarily due to the fact that in the wild they live in “colonies” of 10-15 other Gliders (and are instinctively very “communal”).

Having said that, ANY animal is always going to be happiest when it has a playmate of it’s own species – so whenever possible it is always optimal to get a pair of babies.

If your budget will only allow you to get just one animal, then the best thing to do is just plan on spending as much time with it as possible. Fortunately, this is usually a VERY easy thing to do, because unlike most other household pets, Sugar Gliders don’t require a lot of DIRECT attention. They are quite content just riding around with you almost anywhere - and hanging out in your shirt or in a pocket. Since they “bond” so strongly with their owners, it is VERY unusual that a fully-bonded Glider will ever TRY to leave its owner – and many people routinely take them everywhere they go; including grocery stores, movie theatres, motorcycle riding, etc..

To help new owners, many reputable USDA breeders also offer discounts for purchasing a second animal.

So sorry about the loss of your little girl. I know how heartbreaking that can be.

I don't have a lot to add since BYK_Chainsaw was so helpful and thorough. I am only able to have a lone glider right now as well, and she goes everywhere with me in a zippered bonding pouch...restaurants, hotels, theater, doctor/dentist appointments, stores, etc. Usually no one even knows she's with me and it's a great way for us to be together and bond (the one time she crabbed while I was in a store people assumed it was my cell phone ringer ). She's healthy, active, and has never shown any signs of depression or self-mutilation. At some point I will probably get a second one because I realize they are colony animals and benefit from social interaction. But for the time being, I spend as much time with her as possible and make sure her cage is roomy and stimulating, with toys, activities, wheel, etc.

If you do decide to get another glider, there are places that are looking to rehome gliders, including Craigslist. Sometimes people will offer them for free or very little cost, just wanting to make sure they go to a good home.

Thank you so much for your replies, I really appreciate it and it helped me a lot. I usually spend the whole day holding my suggies either in a bonding pouch or my hand since I don’t work recently and spend most of my time at home. at night I let them run around my room freely ( of course while keeping an eye on them ) until they feel sleepy and return to their cage by themselves. For the time being after she passed away, I’ll give my baby more attention as you said and take him everywhere ( is it okay for him to stay in zippered bonding pouch while we’re outside?). Unfortunately in my hometown, veterinarians aren’t very experts in sugar gliders that’s why I came here hoping to find an answer, and I did ! thanks again for your informations.

Sounds like you're doing a great job!

I would absolutely recommend keeping him in a zippered bonding pouch while you're outside. Not to scare you, but I actually had a glider run away outside because I didn't have her secured in a bonding pouch (she was in my shirt pocket). I was told that gliders won't leave you if they are bonded (of course I thought we were). So now I am super protective and use pouches that I can wear so my little one is always with me. Since gliders sleep much of the day, she does really well inside her pouch, even if I have to be gone for several hours or more. I let her out in a glider safe area every 2 to 3 hours for bathroom breaks then she goes back in her pouch.

perfect!! This will take our bonding to the next level xD Thanks again