Has anyone ever fostered gliders? Rather you were fostering for someone until they could get things together or fostering until you could find them a new home? I was thinking about getting into it but wanted some opinions on it.. Thanks!

That's sort of what this group does..... the members there have some good info. Usually they buy craigslist gliders and rehome them ( some feel that is not actually a rescue though ) but often times it is as many of them need vet care and such.... most of these people are not making a profit, they are probably losing more money than they make.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sugargliderguardians/

Okay thanks I'm just looking into ways to help.

I do fostering a lot. I mainly receive gliders that come to me or SPCa or abandon it seems like ( specially with male gliders that are not neutered . I am fostering a glider for a friend until we can get a chance to meet ( She in NY and I am in DE) I also looking at a pair but this pair will stay with us for their life as the one has some medical issues.. I am willing to keep all the gliders but sadly I would not have enough resources( until truck paid off ) or room to keep them all as I would end up having to sleep in the glider room once the wife got mad over the numbers I would end up with in a short time. lol Right now if i kept all the gliders I received I have about 13-15 gliders lol. and that would be like 5 males not neutered if I didn't take to the vets or re-homed them ( i had people want they glider intact ( and yet they only have the one or took a pair of boys ). I talked to the vet about the most recent boys and they getting done but it may be a month before i can afford it ( wife just switched Jobs)

Please don't take this personally, but I think this is an important point to discuss.... In my opinion, if your going to foster gliders and then rehome them, you should be neutering ALL intact males regardless if "some people" want them intact. Unless the intact male comes with his lineage, most don't, or they are a legitimate breeding pair both having lineage (unlikely they would be surrendered)

Most surrendered intact males and many that are "for rehoming fee" are intact because people either can't afford to neuter them or can't find an experienced vet local to them or intend on breeding.

If you are already planning to rehome them when you receive them and let them go to a new owner intact, you are promoting more irresponsible breeding.

Creating more babies to end up in more uneducated peoples hands who will turn around in a few months and start the cycle again by getting rid of the gliders. Not to mention the endless possibility of inbreeding and unhealthy lines.

As a "foster" or "rescuer" it's part of YOUR responsibility to do what is right for the intact gliders by getting them neutered, instead of helping the already problematic cycle continue to spin.

If YOU can't afford to do that, then you shouldn't be rehoming them to other people (that won't either).

It's also part of your responsibility to educated the people you are rehoming the gliders to. Educate them on proper dietary needs, cage accessories etc...

It's also part of your responsibility to make sure the new owners have an adequate cage to house them in, safe wheel etc... before releasing the glider to them. Otherwise they are just going to end up back on craigslist or fb groups looking for yet another "forever home" and the cycle continues.

I think given the opportunity we all want to help gliders in need. However, you also have to recognize your own financial limitations. Some of these gliders may need extensive vet care that can get pretty costly.

When "fostering" that money you invest in vet care is a loss. I say that because it's money you won't be able to recoup in a rehoming fee when and if the gliders are ever ready to be placed in a forever home.

Some of these gliders will also likely have behavioral issues from being either mishandled or neglected. You as a foster will need to invest a lot of your time to correcting some of that and getting the gliders socialized enough to be able to rehome them in a forever home.

If they are a single glider, you are responsible to pair them up with another glider. Unless a prospective adopter already has a single glider they should NOT be rehomed by themselves.

Before committing yourself to fostering all this and more needs to be considered, to be a RESPONSIBLE foster provider and then some.

Can you afford new cages and new wheels for all of these gliders you will be taking in? Most gliders that need foster care are in inadequate cages and unsafe wheels.

The things to consider go on and on and I haven't even had coffee yet. Please, think about all this before jumping into something that may be to much for you to handle. For me personally I would love to foster, realistically... I'm not in a position to do it responsibly for more than 2 gliders.

Even if you have the resources, know your limitations. What I've seen happening with a few rescues is that they have too big of a heart and can't say NO to a glider they see in need, and end up taking a lot more than they can handle. There is no fault in wanting to help, but know that if you don't limit yourself you can end up doing more harm in the end.

And thanks Leela for bringing this up.

Sorry this seems more like a rant than anything!

A lot of the issue I have had is the shear number of request to take in gliders at times. I would love to get all the males neutered if I could afford it. ( local vet wants 300 + 2 vet visits per glider) that more than I make in a single month at my current job( I only get to work 12-16 hours a week). I do work with people in teaching them the proper diet (we prefer the HPW diet), and proper caging. Most of these gliders are really not socialized when we get them. So I spend more time working with them and helping possible adopters setting up their cage and supplies before hand. ( i always suggest to people that they get everything but the glider before hand. SO when the do actually get the glider(s) they are have everything ready. I also remind them that it better for the glider and( lower's the males smell) lot once neuter. A lot of the gliders are just dropped off to the store or I am contacted by people that got my number from a friend that was in the store,seen me with my glider at the mall and such(when asking about gliders locally) Instead of flaming at me ( i am only trying to help the best i can with what I got ) jump on the people that sell them not neutered..


( If I had the materials I could to the neutering myself, but I would prefer to let the pro's do it. I learnt do a lot of things but I not certified to do any of them ( from electrical, plumbing, roofing, construction, basic heating ( duct work and such) , and some basic medical care ( stitching, neutering, splinting broken bones)These are all things i learned in my( ever so abundance of) spare time though books and self taught when repairs needed doing) But I lack the physical, endurance to do any as a living cause of the cerebral Palsy) My mother and others have told me I wen from a cold heart sob (not give a crap ) to being kindhearted since i met my wife. The only draw back was losing my Disability cause I got married,( resulting me in getting a part time Job to try to and help make ends meet). I do whatever i can to help the animals( gliders and snakes) that i can and to also prevent them from Going to the SPCA who does not have the proper equipment or personal to care for them. There is no rescue in Delaware that deals with either, and I doubt i could get cert to be one since i am more/less living at poverty level based on income. The Obamacare makes it even hard since we are now paying for medical insurance we won't even use (spent like 2k i medical between my wife and I and the includes Glasses, and we still have ot cover the first 11k out of pocket before it take up the slack.(I only made like 9k before taxes)

This was absolutely not a rant, and wasn't even directed specifically at You.

They are serious concerns that anyone considering fostering or rescuing should be made aware of. If I remember correctly I posted a similar response when you yourself posted a topic wanting others opinions on fostering and rescuing gliders when you started taking more in.

I'm sorry but if it struck a cord with you maybe there is a reason. What you described confirmed some of what I was saying. There is a huge need, and it's easy to get overwhelmed and over your head.

Even the rescue I'm familiar with knows their limitations and has to decline gliders and other animals when the rescue is full. She has a personal maximum limit because she needs to limit herself to provide the care they need. She has about 30 gliders in her care at any given time and 30 is her limit. When 2 are adopted 2 more come in. It's not easy for her to decline a glider but she has to otherwise shes really defeating the purpose of giving the ones she has what they need. ALL of the males get neutered before adopting out period. The neuters here are considerably cheaper and she gets a discount from the vet because she brings in so many that need it done.


Honestly, neutered males are more adoptable to people who want them as pets. Un neutered males are more adoptable to people who intend to breed at some point. And bottom line rescues should NOT be breeders anyway. You have no idea what their previous health was let alone their family trees. The fact that you even would consider doing neuters yourself is disturbing to me, And to be quite blunt YOU ARE doing the same thing as those selling them un neutered. I know a some electrical skills and know how to pull some wire, but I sure as hell wouldn't go wire someones house.


I do understand you are doing your best to help, but at the same time you are contributing to an already existing problem. Justifying it by not being financially able to have them neutered is one of the reasons you maybe shouldn't be "fostering" them. All your doing is recycling them. Your heart may be in the right place but really it's very sad.

The guardians group on facebook essentially do what your doing, however most of them are being neutered at the "rescuers" expense. If they can't afford to they don't get that glider as a potential foster, THAT is the responsible way to foster. Many of the gliders come in pairs that have mated before the male could be neutered, then they have the added pressure of raising joeys with no experience and scramble to get necessary supplies.

So again, someone considering fostering really needs to know what they are getting into. If it sounds mean or like a rant I'm sorry, but if you sugar coat it more people will get in over there heads and more gliders may not get the care they Deserve. It's not really admirable if you aren't providing whats needed. Neutering is needed.

I know it was not meant at me , as for doing the neutering myself i said i have the knowledge but lack the material and such to do so( aka I am book smart on it) but lack the practical ( and most likely the stomach to do it) just like i have a the knowledge to remove a limb but i can tell you I don't even want to actually do it. I can't even stomach field-dressing a deer, when I was able to hunt. I know my limits with the rescues i can do ( it about 6 ( outside of my own gliders) the last 3 males all came in at once) the last glider I got intact as a rescue went to a friend who had him neutered) I delivered a intact male for a friend cause I was going to the same breeder to pick up a Joey for a little girl to replace one that died due to a cage being defective, that was to save fuel, time as the guy was assembling the cage that got delivered late) I have handle a total of 5 intact males with 3 in my care now. If i had the funds I have the glider neutered tomorrow morning (would call out of work to do so) but I lack the funds. So the best i can do is get them sociable and on a healthy proper diet, and into hand of( hopefully ) forever home with deeper pockets with the bug planted that a neutered glider is healthier and better off. I am not sure about other SPCA in other areas, but the last time I dealt with them ( years ago and has resulted in the distrust of them) They took in some snakes and the one girl(she has known me for years) working there informed me that if they were there when the manager got there they be killed before closing. SO I don't trust them or even support them. I actually left a side job to go pick up 4 ball pythons. I also watched my mother get in over her head trying to save kittens ( must be were I got my willingness to do rescues with animals) so I seen the bad side of it all.

Back to topic. I fostering a glider for a friend until we can meet since she been working 6am-8pm everyday for the last 2 weeks. Her kids have been playing with the one glider (or should say spoiling him)

Understood and I'm glad you do in fact know your limitations, others however may not know theirs and they are who I was trying to reach.

I'm a big ol softy myself and would take in as many as I could, but I know I just can't. Instead I use that energy to help others find their gliders a cage mate that also needs a new home, or a safe place to surrender a glider too. I think I've helped a few people locate cage mates and One lady find a really nice rescue in ny who took in Josey it can be just as rewarding helping this way, at least for me. We do what we can, how we can...