I’ve been a mom to two female gliders for over a year now and recently decided to add another to the family. I purchased a glider from what seemed to be a reputable exotic shop with the goal of eventually integrating her with my other girls in the future (after getting her checked out at the vet, quarantining her, and slowly introducing her to my other suggies). When I was there I made sure to ask if the gliders were old enough to be adopted and they assured me they were perfectly fine to go to a new home. I picked out an adorable standard grey and took her with me.

When I got home I put her in her cage to let her get accustomed to her surroundings while keeping an eye on her, and realized she looked smaller than I initially thought. I called the shop and asked about their gliders’ ages and they said the glider I took home was between 7-8 weeks old. I know that 7 weeks is generally considered too young to be separated from her mother, so now I’m beginning to worry. I was upset with the store for not being upfront about how young their gliders were, but now that I have her I (of course) want to make sure she’s safe, healthy, and happy.

Is there ANYTHING I can do in order to make sure my new baby grows up strong despite her being so young? I’m absolutely terrified that I’m going to make a mistake and it’s going to negatively affect her development. She doesn’t look sick or underfed and overall seems like a pretty healthy glider. I feed my other gliders a HPW diet but I don’t want to put her on that if she’s not old enough for it.

Please, I hope someone can help me! I just want to take care of her and love her and help her grow without making any horrible mistakes! :-( Thank you so much!

The important thing to check is whether she eats normal food by herself or not. If she does, your regular diet should be fine, make sure also she can locate the water and knows how to drink.

If she doesnt appear to eat by herself, you may need to hand feed her, in which case this page might be helpful : http://www.suzsugargliders.com/handraisingajoey.htm

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Originally posted by sjusovare

The important thing to check is whether she eats normal food by herself or not. If she does, your regular diet should be fine, make sure also she can locate the water and knows how to drink.

If she doesnt appear to eat by herself, you may need to hand feed her, in which case this page might be helpful : http://www.suzsugargliders.com/handraisingajoey.htm

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Thank you so much for responding! She seems to eat well on her own and enjoys apples especially. The place I got her from had only pellets and apples in the cage but recommended giving her pedialyte. I’m going to gradually switch her over to hpw and then hopefully start slowly adding in other fruits and some veggies.

Her ears are up and her tail is bushy and I think I read those are good signs that she’s okay without mom? Her fur looks like it has a bit of cracking but I’m not sure if it’s just because it’s so dry here in New Jersey.

I also don’t want her to be cold, so I’ve been holding her with me in her pouch a lot while she sleeps. She seems to be adjusting to me pretty well so I’m starting to feel a bit better about her. She’s a real sweet heart and will grab at my fingers and lick me without freaking out. :-)

Please tell me if anything I’m doing here is wrong, I’m 100% open to critique. My concern is all about my new girl, who I’ve decided to name Maisie. :-) Thanks again for the help!

Thank you so much for responding! She seems to eat well on her own and enjoys apples especially. The place I got her from had only pellets and apples in the cage but recommended giving her pedialyte. I’m going to gradually switch her over to hpw and then hopefully start slowly adding in other fruits and some veggies.
sounds like a great plan


Her ears are up and her tail is bushy and I think I read those are good signs that she’s okay without mom? Her fur looks like it has a bit of cracking but I’m not sure if it’s just because it’s so dry here in New Jersey.
I have read that young ones need the mom to learn how to properly groom. so if yours is grooming, doesn't have dirty crusty fur, then you are in good shape

I also don’t want her to be cold, so I’ve been holding her with me in her pouch a lot while she sleeps. She seems to be adjusting to me pretty well so I’m starting to feel a bit better about her. She’s a real sweet heart and will grab at my fingers and lick me without freaking out. :-)
if your house is warm, over 70 degrees F, then with plenty of food and a thick fleece pouch you should be fine, but holding her will do wonders with bonding!!

Please tell me if anything I’m doing here is wrong, I’m 100% open to critique. My concern is all about my new girl, who I’ve decided to name Maisie. :-) Thanks again for the help!

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Originally posted by alyssajordan05

I’ve been a mom to two female gliders for over a year now and recently decided to add another to the family. I purchased a glider from what seemed to be a reputable exotic shop with the goal of eventually integrating her with my other girls in the future (after getting her checked out at the vet, quarantining her, and slowly introducing her to my other suggies). When I was there I made sure to ask if the gliders were old enough to be adopted and they assured me they were perfectly fine to go to a new home. I picked out an adorable standard grey and took her with me.

When I got home I put her in her cage to let her get accustomed to her surroundings while keeping an eye on her, and realized she looked smaller than I initially thought. I called the shop and asked about their gliders’ ages and they said the glider I took home was between 7-8 weeks old. I know that 7 weeks is generally considered too young to be separated from her mother, so now I’m beginning to worry. I was upset with the store for not being upfront about how young their gliders were, but now that I have her I (of course) want to make sure she’s safe, healthy, and happy.

Is there ANYTHING I can do in order to make sure my new baby grows up strong despite her being so young? I’m absolutely terrified that I’m going to make a mistake and it’s going to negatively affect her development. She doesn’t look sick or underfed and overall seems like a pretty healthy glider. I feed my other gliders a HPW diet but I don’t want to put her on that if she’s not old enough for it.

Please, I hope someone can help me! I just want to take care of her and love her and help her grow without making any horrible mistakes! :-( Thank you so much!

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I'm from NJ too. Wallington to be exact. Which pet store did u get her from?