I just found one of my sugar gliders dead on the bottom of the cage. Its a male and his cage mate is also male. I don't know why he died but his anus (I don't know if that is the right word) is surrounded in blood. I can't really tell if there are external wounds due to the blood, or if it was internal bleeding. I don't know if the blood is related to his death or if the cage mate did it post mortem. Do gliders ever do that? He seemed perfectly fine the last time I fed him and then I found his body when I went to feed them again. I am just trying to figure out his cause of death so I know if something needs to be done with the other.

Hello, I'm sorry for your loss.

It's really hard to tell what might have been wrong (the blood doesnt necessary mean something since gliders sometimes try to hide their mates body by eating them after death in order to prevent predators to be attracted to the colony).

They could have fought, he could have fallen and internally injured himself, he could have been sick (did you notice anything such as constipation, weight loss, change in sleep pattern, change in eating or drinking habits?), it's really impossible to know without a necropsy (and even with one, it's not certain you would have an answer).

I would advise to have your other glider checked by a vet to make sure there is nothing wrong with him, to keep a close eye on him to see any changes, and as a safety measure to clean and disinfect the cage and all toys.

Sjusovare

Thank you for the info. I was planning on bringing the other one to the vet to get him checked out.