So I have been researching for a while now and this weekend my boyfriend and I are picking up 3 male gliders with cage from off Craigslist.

I am planning on feeding a recipe from gliderkids.

Any good advice for a newbie glider parents?

don't get frustrated when bonding doesn't go as smooth or as fast as you hoped. they'll come around eventually.

Are they neutered? If they aren't expect them to be a little smelly. Make sure they have toys and a safe wheel. Take an old t shirt and sleep with it and lay it on top of their cage so they learn your scent. Congrats on your babies.

I am not sure if they are neutered. I will have to check on that.

I'm going to use GliderKids Leadbeaters Staple and then give a variety of fruits and veggies. Any suggestions for how to start with this?

i used the gliderkids egg and chicken recipe. i mix the recipe (5 cups) in the blender, then i throw the right proportion of veggies and fruit (7.5 cups each) in the blender, mix everything together, and freeze in cubes. each o my cubes is the perfect amount for each of my gliders so it works out really easy. when i feed them i put the cubes in about an hour before they wake up so they have time to melt and i sprinkle some vitamins on top. they go crazy for the stuff and are extremely healthy.

Please don't take or give advice on vague unspecified amounts of "vitamin sprinkling" contrary to what has been called for in an established and well researched diet. If a specific diet is followed as written, there is no need to add extra vitamins which can lead to an overdose.

Sky, congrats and good luck with your new gliders. I know that it is exciting to go meet your gliders for the first time, but please go with an open mind that you might not find these gliders to be right for you. They may have many issues which would make them "rescues" more than an adoption or purchase. In which case, as a newbie you may find yourself plunging into a world of large medical expenses and possible heartbreak.

If they are not neutered you definitely WILL have a very strong smell throughout your house. I suspect these gliders may be coming into maturity and may not be neutered which is why they are on craigslist. Three adult intact males aren't an ideal colony. But, they may be ok...it isn't a complete impossibility...just don't bring a female around! You will most likely find yourself wanting them neutered, due to dominance and fighting as well as smell. This is going to be costly, especially with 3.

Make sure you have found a reputable glider experienced vet. Ask about their pricing for various things and be ready to have an emergency fund.

Give us an update on how it goes! Best of luck!

Skyshadow3246 - Welcome to the forum and to glider parenthood.

No trick to getting your new guys started on the GliderKids Leadbeaters - Just serve it each night with the fruits and vegetables. If they have not been on a similar diet, it might take them a few days to get used to the new foods on their plate - but once the find out this is the good stuff that will be there every night they will eat it well. Be sure to offer a wide variety of fruits and vegetables - either one of each every night (my preferred method) or smaller amounts of 2 or 3 different ones. Just aim for offering different ones each night for variety. My gliders get at least 7 different fruits and 7 different vegetables each week.

One 2 tablespoon cube of the staple is perfect for 3 gliders.

dave.klatz

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i used the gliderkids egg and chicken recipe. i mix the recipe (5 cups) in the blender, then i throw the right proportion of veggies and fruit (7.5 cups each) in the blender, mix everything together, and freeze in cubes. each o my cubes is the perfect amount for each of my gliders so it works out really easy. when i feed them i put the cubes in about an hour before they wake up so they have time to melt and i sprinkle some vitamins on top. they go crazy for the stuff and are extremely healthy.

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Please read the instruction for the GliderKids Feeding plan again.

DO NOT sprinkle additional vitamins or supplements of any kind on the food. The staple already contains the needed vitamins (from the Wombaroo High Protein Supplement) and calcium (from the ingredients and the Now Brand Calcium Carbonate). An overdosage of vitamins long term can be hazardous to your glider's health.

Gliders should NOT have all of their fruits and vegetables blended. They have teeth and need to be able to chew these foods. Blending the fruits and vegetables also forces the gliders to consume more of the insoluble fiber they contain. Gliders quite naturally chew fibrous fruits and vegetables and spit out the coarse fiber parts after they extract (suck out) all the juices. The little moon shape spitlings found in their dish are the parts they do not need.


Another problem with this method is that you may not be offering the correct proportions of the fruits and vegetables along with 2 teaspoons of the staple.

When the fruits and vegetables are blended - their volume is greatly reduced. If you are starting with 7.5 cups of fruit and 7.5 cups of vegetables - once blended you might end up with roughly 10 cups of the mixture so you would need to calculate the amount of fruits and vegetables to serve each night based on the ACTUAL resulting volume of the fruits and vegetables divided by 120 to determine the amount to serve daily.

If your current mixture was divided into less than 120 per glider portions of the combined mixture then you are feeding more of the staple than your gliders need daily.

There is also a risk that your gliders will become tired of eating exactly the same meal every night for months before you prepare a new combination.

I just got three boys with a cage from craigslist I would say that don't get angry with them if they bite or with the bonding process

I have heard that it is a good idea to give them space for a couple of days while they adjust to their new surroundings. They might be scared and jumpy at first.