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GliderGossip GliderGossip
Sugar Gliders
New Noise: MUFFLED CRABBING SOUND... what does it mean? HELP
New Noise: MUFFLED CRABBING SOUND... what does it mean? HELP
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Jan 19 2018
10:50:10 AM
DETAILED HISTORY, PLEASE READ ALL SO THAT YOU CAN GIVE ME ADVICE BASED ON KNOWING ALL THE DETAILS!
Hi everyone, I beg for your expertise!!! I have a colony of 5 since 2014. I inherited a mating pair, with the intention of neutering the male (by laser) right away so that the female could be free of breeding (I took them in from a person who just let them make babies for years just to sell and I wanted to stop that). Well I fixed Charlie (Male), but Alice(Female) had dropped NOT one, NOT two, but THREE babies over the next few months. So for anyone who didn't know if it was true that female gliders can store sperm to use when they're ready for a while, I'm confirming it, it happens. I went from 2 to 5 in less then a year and they were one big happy family; a father, mother and 2 male joeys and a female. They used to be in a cage that was 4 ft wide, 24 inches deep, and 22 inches wide. I recently built them a HUGE pvc cage, that is 8 ft high,with the same depth and width as the old one. The vet that checked them out said they were all healthy. I also had a smaller pair, totally separate, named Chip & Daisy, which I was able (for a 3 week period) to house with the family of 5 (There had been years of introductions prior including cages built side by side and nest swapping).... but that only last 3 weeks and I was unable to keep them all together in an 8 ft cage (was not big enough for everyone, as well as after a while, my female Minnie began to attack anyone who was not her family, so I separated chip and daisy again and everything was fine... I have spent years allowing them to meet, so there was no violent aggression, but I could tell the play time was over. (Always be sure you know your gliders WELL before attempting to aggregate a colony of a family and outsiders!!! With my experience of handling them daily I knew how to read signs to prevent any true damage. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they dont. Anyway, I feed them fresh fruits EVERYDAY. They have 3 silent spinner wheels (supposed to be one of the safest types of wheels). I have 2 hard food dispensers at different levels of the cage and separate water too. 6 nests. I feed them fruit on every level of the cage (there are 4 levels) so that there is some for all of them. But ever since the couple left, and the aggressive behavior has subsided, Minnie (my female joey, who is now a three year old adult female glider) has become somewhat territorial and/or VERY crabby and snippy, not attacking over food, but over eye contact from across the cage!! I didn't notice any real violent behavior until last night when I noticed some tail nipping during a crabbing stand-off. Minnie is seeking out Alice at times, going all the way to the nest she is in to display dominance. HOWEVER, the night before last, into last night, I heard something in the cage, that sounded like crabbing, but almost muffled.... as if she was crabbing from under a pillow... a very low, muffled crabbing that can last up to 45 seconds per fit.. and she has fits the most in the morning, at bedtime for them... Just wondering if anyone has any idea what might have triggered the fits of stress? Wouldn't eliminating Chip and Daisy back into their own environment have resolved the issue if it was a territorial display?
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Jan 19 2018
12:50:19 PM
sjusovare Face Hugger Visit sjusovare's Photo Album France 694 Posts
Hello, I often hear such noises in my cages, usually it's when one of the female who is not the dominant one is in heat (and usually the colony spontaneously split in 2 for a few days during that time, different pouches, different nestbox, and won't use the same wheel).

The stress does cease once the cause (in your case the foreign gliders inside the colony's territory) has been removed, but it might have changed the colony's dynamics, in your case it's possible that Minnie has decided she was the sentinel of the colony, and furthermore trying to become the alpha instead of her mother, it should settle once the new dynamics is stabilised.

On a side note, it is also possible that Minnie or Alice have an undetected health issue which triggers the change of behavior, so if it doesnt calm down, a vet visit can be a good idea.
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Jan 19 2018
05:29:45 PM
sofiedigital Starting Member Visit sofiedigital's Photo Album 7 Posts
Thank you for that advice, I wonder how long these territorial spats last, because its been over a month now, with the bickering (but non-violent) behavior... do you think she might benefit from some personal time? I can set up a smaller pvc cage (by small I mean 3-4 ft., as my big cage is 8 ft high, lol) next to the colony but give her some space... I just dont want that to make her more territorial by giving her a seperate space for a bit then taking it away.... but the momma bear is holding her ground, and has some weight on Minnie. I am very alert everyday monitoring...
New Noise: MUFFLED CRABBING SOUND... what does it mean? HELP

GliderGossip GliderGossip
Sugar Gliders
New Noise: MUFFLED CRABBING SOUND... what does it mean? HELP