So, in my very horrific experiences I've learned how important awareness of self mutilation is. Here's a reminder on common illnesses both stress and diet related in gliders.

Self Mutilation The sound of a self mutilator can be heard here http://www.personal.kent.edu/~tbartz/media/banditnoise.avi It will ask if you want to save or open the file. It is a horrible sound that is also very loud and has the capability to awake you from a dead sleep. If you hear this sound, especially with a lone glider make a collar immediately. With gliders in colonies a similiar sound is made when they are fighting, so if the sound persist for more then three seconds or starts to sound desperate check on the gliders, separate them and make sure neither is self mutilating. If self mutilation is occurring get the glider in the collar and make a vet visit. At the vet have them run a urinalysis and fecal smear. If it's a lone glider also start looking for a cagemate. Self mutilation is most commonly in the cloaca which is also one of the most dangerous areas to mutilate. Mortal damage can be done within an hour, a collar is immediate.

Over-grooming
Similar to self mutilating, but no noise should be heard during the process. Signs of a glider that overgrooms are patches of fur missing. Depending on where the over-grooming is occurring would be how to treat it. Overgrooming on the torso, or arms the glider should be put in an e-collar. If it's overgrooming of the tail not only a collar but also a straw placed over the tail since the glider can still reach the tail with a collar on. Overgrooming is generally caused by stress, most commonly found in lone gliders or gliders who recently lost a mate.

Lethargy
Lethargy is when a glider is weak. Lethargy is usually a BAD sign. Gliders tend to hide their illnesses until the problem has escalated and if your glider is very weak you should go to a vet immediately. Do not hesitate. Sometimes vets don't understand when you call that your glider is dying and you might just have to show up. With any of the problems below if you notice sudden lack of energy then you should realize a problem is nearby. It's also best to weigh your gliders often if you have an electronic gram scale, which are often sold very cheap on Ebay.

Diarrhea
You're glider's stool is runny, this can be caused by many things. Common reasons:
Over supplementing vitamins- whenever you give your glider too many vitamins a sign is diarrhea. The stool will turn an abnormal color, a green-ish brown and be extremely runny and smelly. If you notice this please re-read all vitamin labels you have and make sure you aren't giving too much. Standard for calcium is a tablespoon of calcium powder per half pound of food, so if you are giving a teaspoon a night, this is too much.

Another cause is juice. Juice is a great way to make sure your glider is staying hydrated but will also loosen their stool. Unfortunately severe diarrhea can cause dehydration. IF you are giving a lot of juice and your glider has runny stool limit their juice intake. Try adding a teaspoon of apple juice to their water if you are worried about them dehydrating.

Poor diet, or sudden change of diet: A sudden change of diet can also cause diarrhea. Many common diets can be found at this website http://www.sugargliders.org/gliderinfo/diets/diet_index.htm

If none of these apply to your glider, or diarrhea lasts for more than a day please go to a vet. Ask specifically for a fecal test for parasites if one is not given. None of my information can replace a vet, but is just what I've experienced and learned from vet visits. Test for dehydration with the method explained next.

Dehydration
You can test your glider for dehdration by pulling the skin on the back of the neck, if it does not go down quickly then it is dehydrated and needs vet care immediately. As I've said earlier diahrea can lead to dehydration pretty quickly. You need to go to the vet if your glider is dehydrated as soon as possible. On the way to the vet some people recommend giving an electrolyte drink to your glider such as pedialyte or gatorade to hold them over until they get to the vet. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE PEDIALYTE OR GATORADE FOR A VET. DRINKS LIKE ENSURE ARE NOT GOOD TO GIVE TO A DEHYDRATED GLIDER


Constipation
Gliders often hiss when they poo, but if you notice your glider hissing and shaking while trying to poo and nothing happens it could be constipated. In the case of constipation give the glider some juice, or a little vegetable oil to loosen stool. If the glider still doesn't go to the bathroom within 4 hours make a vet visit immediately, it could be intestinal blockage.
Again, this information is not from a vet and nothing other than a vet can replace vet instructions and wellness.
Reminders



I remind you if you have an electronic (or any kind) gram scale to weigh your gliders regularly. Gliders hide illnesses very well and the first thing that can be noticed is weight loss and lethargy, but lethargy isn't easily detected

Don't forget, gliders need yearly wellness checks as well as humans and other animals!

If you have any questions about self mutilating gliders, or need support pm me, I can give you a phone number that you can call at any time for help. I may not be a vet, but this is something I have experienced and can be emotional and somewhat informative help. Self mutilation is stressful on everyone, not just the glider.

The only way to stop self mutilation is to be aware of the common causes, and the only way to save a self mutilator is to know what to do!! If you have the materials and the time it never hurts to make a collar before you only have minutes to make it!

I edited my "Self mutilations and other illnesses" to add about lethargy and dehydration on June 17, 2008.

Also here are some numbers of people with sm experience if you have questions or need a hand.
Dawn- 330-334-3078

bourbon-321-331-1608

Jen- 435-783-6097

Mary and Charlie H- 979-478-7546

Danielle 815-622-0146

i had a self mutilator and luckily we found out it was the diet. this was 6 months ago and thank god for this website and rockets vet!

Rheasha:

What an informative post!!!! I'm bookmarking this one!

I could not get the sound to play, is ther another way you could post it? I would really like to hear it. Thanks

i would like to hear it to and my comp is stupid so to get to sites i have to copy and paste so can someone get the site for me? Thank you so much

www.personal.kent.edu/~tbartz/media/banditnoise.avi

Copy/paste it will ask you to open or save. Saving it will SAVE it to your computer, opening it will open your media player and will not play after you close it.

http://www.personal.kent.edu/~tbartz/media/banditnoise.avi

when I click on the link the page opens up just white nothing to read or anything.

There shouldn't be a page, there should be a little box asking you to download. What web browser do you use?

I just got to listen to this it gave me cold chills. I hope i never hear this from my babies.

Great job!

Rheasha and tootles, thank you both for your guidance on this vexing issue. So far we have been Lucky but forewarned is forearmed...

Thanks you so much for taking the time to write this information. I know it had to be difficult for you to do but you have done a great service for others by sharing your knowledge. Big hug to you I am very sorry for your loss!

Maybe this one should be a sticky.

I'm bumping this up for our new users.

Again, I'd like to bump this up for new users. It's that time for home and garden shows so we should be seeing some new glider owners soon. Maybe they can read this and avoid the money and time I spent on vets.

I have never seen this post before but you did a wonderful job on it and it’s very informative for those who are new to gliders, great job and thank you so much for posting it and bumping it up for others to see. Super helpful!!

Thanks :) My first glider self mutilated and we went to a lot of different vets until we found the problem (an infected gland) and fixed it. He was in the collar from January until May and his infection came back in July then he went into surgery and did not come out.

So I can only hope through his experiences I can help others.

so sorry to hear that, i havent had any SM gliders yet and i sure hope i never do, sounds really scare. I am sure this post will help many new gliders and old glider owners. Sure will help me since I havent experienced anything like this yet.

bump

thats a sad sound :( poor thing! one of my gliders started to SM when she was only a few months old! that seems really young, i can't imagine what situation she must have been in. the breeder i got her from rescued her from her old owner and her tail had to be amputated. i'm glad i could give her a good home and a little friend glider after that.

How can you tell the difference between this SM sound and regular old crabbing?
*this makes me so sad*

Um, there is a pretty big difference, I can't explain it. They just sound different. I guess because crabbing doesn't happen too much out of nowhere.

If I can make a suggestion,
If the poo is just a bit soft it could be stress or diet and you can wait for a couple of days to see if it clears up, but if its really watery and smell very bad then dont wait three days to get it checked out. If it smells really bad chances are there is a bacterial infection happening.