Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site so not sure if this is the right place to post or not but I was just looking for some advice.
I have a 5 year old sugar glider, Bear, and I did not raise him right. I never got to fully bond with him and didn't take the time to play with him enough. He's alone so i'm afraid he's become depressed. I love him so much and want to be able to play with him more. I bought a big cage for him and gave him some new toys recently, but he doesn't seem to play with them. I give him treats everyday and he'll come on my hand to grab them but then he runs to the back of the cage to eat them. When I let him out in my room he runs by himself for a while and eventually will come to me, especially if im laying in bed. but he never stays with me, when I move its like he's afraid so he runs. I see him in his cage sometimes after he wakes up and he just sits on the ledge and doesn't do anything. I'm afraid now that he's 5 I can't bond with him anymore. Also, whenever I let him out he goes to the bathroom everywhere. In his cage he will even poop where his food is. I try to organize the cage so his food is up top so he can go to the bathroom towards the bottom but he doesn't. I feel so bad, like he's not happy. I want to be bonded with him so that he can stay with me and be happier. I was really hoping someone would have some advice. I know this is a lot but I figured I would just tell it all.
Thank you in advance,
Kristina + Bear

Hello,
What you are describing sounds very similar to my interactions with my sugar gliders. So my initial thought is that you may be more bonded than you think.
Sugar gliders go to the bathroom everywhere, wherever and whenever they please. They also like to explore, run and play, and stop by their human every so often to check in. It is normal for sugar gliders to run away to eat their treats- that's just what they do with food. They grab it and run away to prevent other sugar gliders from grabbing it away from them.
Does your sugar glider let you scoop him up/pick him up when you need to? Can you pet him? If you can do those things I think you are more bonded than you realize.
If he's depressed he would show signs of stress like over grooming or doing flips in his cage.
Some sugar gliders do survive ok on their own as long as they have lots of interesting toys and a wheel, foraging toys, and get lots of attention from their human.

things I would do.

1. during day, take out the sleeping pouch sit in bed and talk or sing to him. IF he is NOT going to bite put my hand in the pouch and try to let him sleep with
my hand. but this depends on the bite factor, if he is scared enough to blood bite I would work on OTHER things first....
2. he takes the treat then runs...great start. NOW put your hand in front of your other hand with treat, MAKE him step on your hand to get to the treat.
LIVE mealworms are the best, paradisepets fishsticks on amazon also great.
so work at making him step on your hand, farther and farther each day or week or
month. FINALLY get him to get all the way on your hand to get to the treat, then
if he doesnt stay, next time before he can jump away turn away from cage once he is on your hand eating treat, he has nowhere to go. EVEN my scared female with stay on me for the LIVE mealworm. slowly and gently pet his back leg. go slow and low.
3. during day if he is going to jump out of the sleeping pouch, put bonding pouch in cage for him to sleep in, then when ready zip it up and wear for an hour
or so. he smells you and hears your heart.
4. at night when he comes to you have a few LIVE mealworms ready for him, he will spend alot more time with you then. give him a chance to get used to you.