Hi!
For a while now, I’ve been trying to introduce Comet ( one of my older gliders ) and Rocky ( my younger glider) so that they can finally be in the same cage together soon. I’ve tried everything.. switching the pouches for a while now, putting the cages next to each other, scent training with bonding pouches, and I’ve started putting the two in the bathroom. But every time I do it, they keep fighting! What will usually happen is comet will crawl into Rocky’s pouch and everything will be fine.. for five seconds. Then they start crabbing and biting. I know these things take time, but I’ve been trying for four months! And rocky has been alone in his cage for eight months, which can’t be good for him. I’m starting to get desperate. How can I get them to get along? Just keep switching pouches and putting them in the bathtub?

more info is needed....

Are they neutered males?

intact males?

male female?

is rocky's pouch clean or dirty?

are they ok when not in rocky's pouch? or do the avoid each other?

have you tried letting rocky go in comets pouch instead of the other way around?

have tried a new pouch (scent neutral) for both to go into?

have you tried taking one of rockys dirty ( and i mean stinky dirty ) pouches putting comet in it alone and rubbing him down with the dirty pouch and vice versa rubbing rocket down with comets dirty pouch before intro ?

have you let them both be on you at the same time? (this takes two people in case they fight on your back)

are you more nervous when they go into the pouch together?

are you manipulating the bottom of the bag when they start to fuss?

Thank you for your answer! I have all males, and none of them are neutered. Usually when I do this Rocky’s pouch is in the middle of being used, so it is dirty, but not ridiculously filthy. When they are not in Rocky’s pouch, they tend to avoid each other for the most part, but sometimes they run into each other and sort of crab at each other and they do that thing where they are just kind of jumping around each other ( if that makes any sense) I remeber one time when I did it, rocky crawled into comets pouch, and they stayed in there for 15 minutes without fighting. After fifteen minutes, they started to jump all over the place, lol. Other then that, I haven’t tried putting rocky into comets pouch. Come to think of it, there are some things I haven’t thought of ( oops, sorry!) I can’t think of a scent neutral pouch I’ve tried yet, and I haven’t tried taking Rocky’s dirty pouch and running comet with it. They both have been on me before, and they’ve never fought while on me before. When they are in the pouch together, I do get preety nervous, in case they start fighting and one gets hurt. When they start to fuss, I don’t manipulate the bottoms of the bag, I kind of panic and try my best to seperate them quickly. Another thing I think I probably should mention is after they’ve Been in the bathtub and in the pouch ( fighting) I’ve seen some fur on the ground, which makes me think while they are fighting some of their fur is coming out. I’m sorry if I’m rambling, I’m really open to any ideas. Thank you again for your time and help

ok the first thing is, your trying to introduce two intact males. They may not get along without getting them neutered. That said, they may not get along after neuters either since having scrapped a few times already.

The second thing is not using a scent free neutral pouch for them to get acclimated to each other. You have one intact male entering another intact males safe place/territory and it's an unwelcome intrusion. You're fortunate they haven't been more seriously injured than a little fur loss and if you keep trying it very well may escalate quicker than you think.

If it were me, I'd get them both neutered, wait a month or so until their hormones reduce and try again. If you keep trying without neutering you could be facing vet bills more costly than the neuters would be and or potentially one killing the other if you can't separate them in time.

In my opinion, this doesn't sound like merely pouch swapping or more time or even a different intro method is going to get the two together without neutering. There are some cases where intact male colonies work,but usually they are introduced as joeys before they've hit sexual maturity and started producing hormones or are siblings that have always known each other.

Yes.. I agree with you. 100%. It’s gotten to the point where they started chasing each other around the bathroom, crabbing, rolling into a ball, and leaving rocky on his side, crabbbing. Actually, they stunk up the room with their scent gland / defense stuff that I had to spray perfume to make the smell go away. I think I am going to do my best to convince my mom to get them both neutered. My question is, do I have to get all three of mine neutered? One of them hasn’t been introduced to Rocky yet. Do both have to be neutered, or can just one be neutered? Anyways, I’m definitely going to learn as much as I can about it and do whatever I can to get them neutered ( I’m just some thirteen year old, so I can’t really do anything without my moms ok, lol). Thank you so much for your time and help, without things definitely would have gotten much worse!

Oh yes!!! it is def time to put things on pause as far as intro's go. if you want all 3 together at some point then yes neuter all 3, it will definately help.

I kind of figured you were a teen doing the best you can If you have any questions on neutering feel free to ask i'll help as much as i can, then you can present your mom with some information on the benefits of neutering, maybe that will help. I will say I'm impressed and glad you reached out for help and are doing your best to take care of them.

I normally would ask where your from and suggest some vets in your area, but being that your a minor i feel that is inappropriate and unsafe for you to answer. If your mom is open to learning more and talking to me directly i'd be happy to give her my facebook info and help her find a vet local to you. i know its an expense, but its a necessary expense if you want them all in one cage safely.

In the mean time, don't worry so much about them being single. as long as they have stimulating toys, a wheel, and attention from you they will be fine on there own. I had a male that was single for a year before we got his mate and he never showed any signs that he was lonely.

GlidingCameron, how did you end up with gliders, if you don't mind me asking? My patents would never have let me keep such high-maintenance pets at that age. You must be one responsible guy.

Scoria- sorry, this is really late, but I guess I’ll answer your question. The truth in short is that I just was looking into getting a pet, and my mom saw them, did some research and then we just ended up with them. My mom helps me out with taking care of them ( aka buying almost ALL of their stuff because sugar glider supplies are expensive and I’m not old enough to get a job yet )