Suggies At Home

I hear this a number of times. Why do gliders bite? Well, any animal with a face would obviously bite if it is scared, it is an animal’s instinct, their way of protecting themselves. A young joey that in unfamiliar with handling will crab, raise a paw and act like it wants to bite. A joey normally does this when they are extremely scared, they just want to scare you off than to really attack you. Anyway, let me explain the different bites and nips gliders like to give us.

Joey bite

This is by young joeys, 8 weeks OOP…. their bite is usually a sharp prick if they do bite you. Doesn’t draw blood, hurts on a little. Like I explained earlier, joeys would normally do it when they are really scared and before they bite, there is usually a little crabbing. Now a 12 week OOP joey would give a different sort of bite, it would be march sharper, like someone pinching you. Again, it’s all fear. Now gliders are smart and learn quickly. If you show fear when a joey crabs and bite you, it will remember that you are scared of these actions and sounds and as it becomes and adult, it will just keep crabbing and biting you.

A contented glider gnaw

Sugar gliders often like to groom one another when they are happy or contented. Sometimes while your glider is sitting on your shoulder or head, you would feel an annoying scratch beginning and from just being annoying it can become a bit painful. Relax, your glider is not trying to eat you, it is just grooming you. They would use their teeth to scrape another glider’s fur but since we do not have fur, it’s direct skin so it can be a bit painful. It’s like someone using a fork scraping our skin. And be happy about it too cause it shows that your glider enjoys you and has bonded pretty well. Of course when it is too painful, just push your glider to another spot or offer a treat to distract it.
Finger nibbling

I actually have a few gliders that like to finger nibble. It has a few reasons. Gliders see us as food givers, we provide them with yummy treats so it is only natural for them to try and nibble our fingers to see if we have anything for them to eat. Another would be that we may have some scent of food or residue on our fingers and the enticing smell and taste may cause a glider to nibble out of curiousity. So just wash your hands and give a little food, it mostly would stop.

A warning Nip

Nipping is normal for even tame gliders. It is where a glider takes a sort of like a bite at you but it doesn’t cause any wound or draw any blood. It just gives you a sudden pressure on your finger, like someone using a toothpick to prick you. My gliders normally nip when I handle them in an uncomfortable way or I am picking them up at the wrong timing. This kind of nip is just to warn you that you are doing something wrong or uncomfortable to them. My gliders would nip when they are handled too often too, a sign that tells me it is time for them to rest. When a glider becomes really annoyed, the nip can be slightly more painful than usual, so don’t panic but just let your glider calm down for a moment, then proceed to pick it up or handle it with more care.

An angry bite

Now this happens to protective gliders and untame or unfriendly gliders. Can’t blame them for doing what is natural. I often get bitten by my breeding adults, particularly the males as they are being protective. What I do is just act normally, make a hissing sound and proceed with what I’m doing to their cage. Puncture wounds are normal when a glider bites you hard. With untame or protective adults, it is always wise NEVER to offer our fingers. The best way is to hold your hand into a fist and let them smell the back of your hand. If it does bite, it cannot grab hold of your skin or fleshy parts so it is quite safe.

Just remember a few tips when you bring home a new joey or glider, never offer your finger to it’s face. Never do sudden fast movements and never scare it with your hands. Gliders need to learn to trust you and feel safe in your hands and presence. So treat it with TLC.