My three female gliders have lived together for several months without issue, but just recently my latest addition Maisie (who I’ve had for almost a year) has become more aggressive towards Zelda, who I’ve had for two years along with her other sister Brie.

Zelda is literally the most chill and relaxed glider in existence and is a bit chubby. Maisie and Brie are more hyperactive and I noticed about a week ago that Maisie had begun climbing on Zelda’s back. Since Zelda is so chill, she just let it happen without a fight. I checked her the two times I saw it happen and saw zero marks or wounds.

Today when I went to check on them I found a wound on Zelda that was definitely smaller than a dime but looked fairly deep. I promptly panicked and drove her immediately to the vet where she had to be put under so they could debride and clean the wound. They sewed it up with internal stitches and said since it’s on her back/neck area not to use an e collar.

I will separate her from her sisters until the wound is healed and her hair has grown back, and the vet gave me meloxicam and an antibiotic called clavamox to give her orally. Is there anything else I can do to help her heal? She is an absolute angel and I just want her to get better!

When we brought her to the vet she told us Zelda was the nicest glider she has ever met and the only one who didn’t bite her. Zelda will literally just hang out on my shoulder while I’m at home and chirp happily in my ear. If anything happened to her I would be heartbroken. im open to any suggestions!

Also, I’m not quite sure what to do when she’s healed. I’m considering separating them permanently, but since there’s three of them in not sure how best to do that.

Here’s a photo of her wound post surgery:

That wound isn't that bad and in my opinion probably didn't even need stitches. The only time neck wounds typically need stitches is if the wound is large large (usually large because the glider didn't get separated early enough so it went from a small dime size to a 50 cent piece size)

Having said that if it's your first neck wound they do kinda freak ya out and think it's worse than it actually is

The vet is correct to not use an e collar, it's not necessary for neck wounds and would only irritate it further. The meds he gave are widely used for gliders.

Def keep her separated until completely healed. She may not eat as much as usual and may lose a gram or two during her recovery but that is normal.

Normally I would suggest using vetericyn vf on the wound but the vet probably used dissolving stitches so just do your best to keep the wound clean and the hair surrounding it smoothed back so it doesn't get gunked up in the scabbing if there is any, it looks like they shaved a good size patch so that will be a little harder once it starts growing out again ....... if need be you can put some neosporin ORIGINAL formal NOT the kind with pain relief in it then smooth the hair back away from the wound.

Putting her back with the pair is totally up to you, we can't tell you it won't happen again nor can we guess that it will either. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't...

I've had two separate gliders with neck wounds that didn't regrow hair at the wound site. Those two gliders I re paired because I felt their bald spots would make them even more of a target for another wound. I've had some that the hair grew back and they went back in with their colony and never got another one and I had one that did get another one so he was re paired once healed. It really comes down to knowing you will need to monitor your gliders and hope it doesn't happen again but prepared in case it does.

Wounds of this size usually take about 3-4 weeks to heal give or take a week or so I hope she recovers well for you

Thanks for the advice. I know it looks small in the photo but that was taken after the surgery. Before, it was pretty deep and a little smaller than a dime. I know these types of wounds are pretty common, I just freaked out because it was MY baby, and it looked so painful! You know how it is I’m sure :-)
I’ll keep some regular neosporin on hand and keep a close eye on her. If anything, losing a couple grams could be a good thing since Zelda is my food loving chunky gal! The first thing she did when she woke up was eat a treat lol.
I was more considering separating Maisie out since she seems to be the only aggressor, but I’ll think about what to do if anything once Zel is healed. Thanks again!

yeh I JUST edited my post and added if its your first one it freaks ya out

I forget sometimes that I've seen way to many medical issues and what I think is minor isn't minor to other people, for that I apologize I didn't mean to minimize it in that way. I meant it more like most often neck wounds are treatable at home and don't require a vet despite the fact that it looks drastic also to reassure you it isn't really to bad I SHOULD have been more clear but I have to edit a few times to get all that I forget in there lol. i ALSO want to say separating her promptly was the best thing you could have done for her to prevent it from getting bigger.

As for who to separate thats a tough one that you will have to put some thought into as you know your gliders best. Would you keep the separated one single or get a new cagemate and how well would they accept a new glider?

It’s all good! I’m just glad I’ve got resources here with wonderful people who know more than I do so they can help me with my girls when my knowledge fails me! Thank you for taking the time to help me out. :-)
I’m a bit worried about having a wheel in the cage while she’s healing. I’m afraid she might use it to scratch or try to climb behind it and rub the wound on the back of it somehow. Zelda isn’t a very fast runner on the wheel or anything but Im just thinking of all the ways things could go wrong. :-/

Personally I don't put wheels in my hospital cages.

1 because when they are healing I don't want them
That active and 2 all but 1 of my glider safe
Wheels are to big for my hosp cages.

She will
be fine for a few weeks without a wheel. You can
Give her things like ball pits and Easter eggs
To keep her stimulated if you think she is bored
Or loose braided rex lace for her to untie feathers are always good too...

Ps I don't think you needed advice as much as reassurance

Your doing all the right things already :) but I'm the same
Way when it comes to mine even when I know exactly
What to do I consult with friends for confirmation

You can let her have supervised playtime with the others (if one of the others starts wanting to groom the wound or to be agressive, just redirect their attention to something else), that way if you decide to put them back together once she's healed, you won't need to do intro again.

Thanks so much guys, I definitely feel like my head knew what needed to be done but my heart was freaking out more than anything. I do appreciate the reassurance. I was having trouble getting her to take her meds and finally discovered she loves coconut flavored things so that seems to be working if I mix the meds in with it. The swelling has gone down on her neck and appears to be starting to heal. She’s being sweet as ever and lets me hold her in a pouch while I lie on the couch with her on my chest. I’ll give her chin scratches while she snoozes. It’s adorable!
That’s a good idea to have Easter eggs filled with treats for her to open, I’ll purchase some! :-)

Here’s a photo update of her bite wound from this morning: