I’d like to see what you guys comment about these 2 pictures.
If you were a sugar glider, would you like to live in a cage that small, fed with such food?
Archive for February 8th, 2010
08
Feb
10
A little test
08
Feb
10
Suggie bathtime
A number of times people have asked me this question:
How do you bath sugar gliders?
Er…. first of all, most animals do not require baths with shampoos and conditioners. Only humans use shampoos and conditioners and soap and we would “naturally” think that all animals that we keep as pets should have a bath too.
Well, it is a big No for sugar gliders. Why? First of all these creatures have thick fur, almost chinchilla like. It is already conditioned properly by the glider with natural oils. The fur is thick and dense, so it is very difficult to dry if it gets washed with soap and water. It is easier to dry if the fur is only wet with water but if soap or shampoo comes in, the chemicals and cleaning agent in it will strip off the natural oils, causing the fur to soak up water. It is very difficult to dry. But then why not dry off using a hair dryer? NO NO NO NO…. No hair dryers please, the heat actually can burn off the ears. Sugar gliders have very delicate skin and very thin ear leather, so heat can burn them and cause pain and lots of damage.
Gliders also can easily drown if you were to put them in a basin of water. So no way….. no water baths please.
So how to bath a sugar glider? A glider is actually quite a clean animal. It cleans itself like how a cat does. It uses it’s grooming claws, licks them and comb themselves with it. For a newbie, it looks like the glider is scratching itself crazy but it really is just grooming itself.
If your glider is a little grubby or dirty, just use a plain old damn cloth or some baby wet wipes to wipe your glider. Use only fragrance free baby wet wipes that are alcohol free. Also, do not get those “pet shampoo sprays”. I recently heard that many suppliers are selling these together with the joeys but these pet shampoo sprays are not meant for gliders. Loaded with chemicals and perfume, a glider is super sensitive to these perfume oils. Also a lot are just water base, so it will cause your glider to become wet and catch a cold and fall sick later on. Stay away from such products. If you need to get a bit of dirt off or clean the fur a little, you can use baby powder or pet powder made with corn starch. Talcum powder is bad for their lungs so only use corn starch.
A glider should only ever get a wet bath if it fell into paint or gotten oil onto it’s body or smeared life threatening chemicals on itself. This should be done with proper vet supervision.
08
Feb
10
Your 1st joey
Sugar gliders will always make excellent pocket pets because…. well…. they really can fit and ride in our pockets LOL. This here is my glider in my jeans pocket. But it is not advisable to carry them everywhere in your pocket. The best carrying unit is still the good old bonding pouch.
I find that many newbies or new glider owners often ask me this question after purchasing a joey:
“Why is my glider making so much noise and why it looks like wanna attack me?”
The truth is, when a joey is separated from it’s previous home and owner, it will of course go through a bout of home sickness. This is normally seen when a joey refuse food for the 1st night. Then they get irritated and scared with their new surroundings.
Normally joeys would react out of defense. The new owner is firstly, very new to the joey. My joeys have seen me since they first open their eyes and I handle them often, which makes them comfortable with me. My joeys can sleep in my palm, ride on my shoulder and sleep in my shirt without much hassle. But once it goes to a new home, I’m not there, so they become tense and scared. They react by crabbing at their new owners. Some would even go the extra mile by lifting a hand and act as if it is ready to pounce and bite. Believe me, all these are just intimidating stunts to make you scared of them. This is a born defense drive in them, they would react this way if a cat or a snake was in front of them.
As a new owner, you should never be scared of all these signs. If you act scared, the joey will then understand that you are afraid of noise. The more it crabs, the more you stay away, then you are in big trouble. You must understand, you have to create a bond with your joey.
Your first act would be to touch and handle your joey even while it is crabbing. If it jumps away, just gently grab it back in your hands and handle. Let it walk up your arms and in your palm. Try not to let it hide behind your back or your neck because you want your joey to learn that your hands are safe. After a few attempts, I would say in a day, your joey should have less fear of you. And in a few days time, your joey will enjoy each handling sessions.
So the big lesson here is, never be afraid of the noises and actions a little joey makes, it is all a show to make you leave it alone. Remember, gaining a joeys trust is by making it understand that you are it’s friend. A glider is not like a hamster or a puppy. It is totally different.
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