Monthly Archives: May 2010

Featured!!!!!

Today, Suggies At Home had another memorable moment. If you read The Star newspaper, 3 ethical breeders were featured in todays Weekender Article written by Ms Ellen Whyte. It was a wonderful article that focused on ethical pet breeders.

The other 2 were Tim from Truluvrabbitry.com and Alicia from Petepicure.com. So grab a copy of the paper today. I’m the one posing with Kuno, my male sugar glider. I will get a scanned copy or something up soon for those who did not manage to get the paper. Anyway, I’m very happy. Thank you Ellen for the opportunity to be featured in the papers.

Edited: Thank you Tim from TruLuvRabbitry.com for sending me the links for a scanned copy of the interview.

Look who is back!

Jenny and Russle are back. Their owners have to return them back to me due to some problems, so I without a thought took them back in since they are Keera and Kuno’s first joeys.

Just took a quick snap at Jenny. She has grown…. a lot!!!! After a good look at her, she really is big! But her weight maybe a little heavy since she is quite squeezeable. So she will go on a little diet.

Cracker and Cooper

Here are 2 little joeys Ms Juwai booked. They are 2 little brothers, OOP on 10 May 2010. I just weighed them today, and both are 21g each. So far so good. Cute little buggers. Cooper is a little laid back, he would allow me to place him on anything and he won’t try to get away. Cracker is like a firecracker, he is crabby at every little thing. And he cannot sit still, he must crawl and climb to explore.

Again…..

Again, I will rant out my opinion on how much I dislike people selling sugar gliders therse days.

Again…. it is the package system.

Hellooooooo…. why must a joey come with biscuits, shampoo and vitamin? What shampoo? Gliders do not need wet baths so why shampoo shampoo shampoo????? And biscuit….. butter cookies? LOL…. I’m positively sure it’s IAMS cat food or some cheapo brand that’s not worth buying. Money money money…. because packages sound attractive, newbies would obviously buy and then get cheated. Poor joey. Pity the joeys….. They get lame food and lame advice, lame supplements and lame shampoo.

Be wise. don’t support these people. Spread the word and educate those that are interested in getting gliders.

The Business

Recently I have seen many people introducing themselves as homebreeders or sugar glider professional sellers. Then they offer cheap prices. They aren’t exactly homebreeders mind you, I do know as a fact that some buy bulk joeys, around 20 joeys at a time from a mass breeder, then nurse them till they look like 2 months OOP since they get them as underage joeys. Then sell off as 100% homebred. I have seen some homebreeders, putting all the joeys in 1 cage. Then they normally do not have the parent gliders around, all the joeys are chucked in 1 or 2 cages, eating communally and sleeping communally. I never separate my joeys from their parents and chuck them in 1 cage with all other joeys. The most, I just separate a joey or a pair in 1 cage, and handle it myself to get it used to being away from mom and dad.

People, I understand they are doing the business to support their lives…. they need money, well, everyone needs money to live in this world. But if people always think of selling livestock as a means of getting income, then to me it is unethical. I don’t blame people for it, coz this kinda business is very tempting, I did it once but then only once because my heart cannot take it. To see newbies with no experience or knowledge, wanting the pet just coz it’s trendy and exotic and best of all cheap. Long gone are those days for me. I now breed gliders because I want the circle to end. If we keep buying from mass breeders or cheap gliders, there will always be a demand for it. People would then see it as an opportunity to start a business because cheap gliders, more profit if resell and they do not need to worry about breeding. Just buy stock and then sell. So if we support the proper breeders, this thing can die down or slow down…. less joeys die…. less gliders die from overbreeding…. it may be slow but it can help.

My advice, if you are thinking of selling gliders as a business, think twice…. think about the overbreeding of mass produced gliders, think about the silly impulse buyers when you offer them cheap gliders….. I know we can’t get away from mass breeders because all my gliders, are either 2nd or 3rd generation  from gliders that were bought from mass breeders or directly from mass breeders…. but I had to start somewhere as there were no proper breeders around last time. Since now there are a minority of them, support them. They need your full support. Remember, hobbyist never think about money, they care about who buys them. They would blast you with questions and drill you till you quiver but then there are reasons behind it, all for the sake of finding the best home for their gliders.

I enjoy my gliders, I never forcefeed or handfeed my joeys, I will reject people who I feel are not right to keep gliders…. I love gliders, I neuter those that should retire from breeding, I don’t force my gliders to breed or sell off those that cannot breed. I enjoy having them and that’s what you should too. To me, breeding gliders is a hobby, not a business. And my aim is to educate people about sugar glider care. If you have the same goal as me, then go for it….. don’t go and buy mass produced joeys and resell them…. to me, that’s pointless.

Free range vs. Cage

Question…. should we free range our gliders or cage them?

My answer is yes and no.

Suggies are very active animals, so they require lots of space. Letting your beloved glider free range a bit around your home or room is actually very good exercise but you have to make sure you glider proof the entire room. No holes, closed and locked windows and doors, no active electrical wires around. Make sure no holes, or chemicals lying around. When I free range my gliders, well, not all my gliders because some are not tame and bonded enough to be given full freedom, but anyway, mainly my Kiah, Kapi, Keera, Naya, Kuno and GipGip, they will climb up the curtains, hide in my cupboards and shelves, even chewed a hole in a shoe box to get in. And the best part, they like to use my old printer as a sleeping house. I was a little pissed but I didn’t mind coz that gave me a reason to buy a new printer. So my old one, I threw it away. Still, it is best to keep an eye on them because things can go wrong. Keera destroyed my PC monitor by peeing on it, sparks came out and my room was full of smoke. Some of my furniture and personal items had little bite marks on them. My handphone had little chew marks. But I’m ok with that, since sugar gliders are super curious but some people may not like it. So it is wise not to let them free range without supervision.

If your gliders are bonded and tame, free ranging for a bit is good exercise, your gliders would love it, climbing up and down, hiding and exploring, but remember, to always safely secure your electronic items and lock down all windows and doors. And make sure no other animal is in the room. This is all for safety reasons.

The cage will always and should always be their permanent home when you are not around. Why? It is a secure and controlled environment. It gives us a peace of mind that our gliders are safe and secure, away from danger. Gliders are just too curious, so leaving them alone in a big room full of fun stuff and hiding places is very dangerous and risky. A glider could end up electrocuted by chewing on live wire. It could eat some poisonous or toxic substance left by something in your room. So just be safe, never let them free range without anyone around. Caging is still the best.

Illegal in some countries….

I decided to write this because I realize there are a number of people who wanna get joeys and gliders from me, but then their country do not allow sugar gliders as pets.

Firstly, think carefully…. when it is illegal, it would mean there are no vets in the country that would know how to treat or do a health check up on a sugar glider. Some zoos are not allowed to have sugar gliders for display. So how? If the glider falls sick then what to do? And how about food? It is super hard to get supplements and the right staple diet for a sugar glider too. Then it would mean they would go undernourished and fall sick easily. Don’t you feel bad?

Another thing I would like to point out. If they are illegal, it would mean they need to be smuggled into the country. I would never EVER let anyone smuggle my joeys over. What happens if they get caught? Jail time…. and what would happen to the joey? Most likely die……

And recently a friend just told me that he knows a sugar glider keeper in the country next to Malaysia, that the owner is keeping of course, a sugar glider illegally and breeding too. And this owner, must be crazy. Baths and shampoos the glider, and gives it powder and hamster sand bath. I really really pity the glider. Who gave such advice or where did this owner learn to keep a glider?

When we take pets in, we have to give it a thought, will I be able to give it the best care? Is there a qualified vet that could treat my pet? I really would like a pet pig, but it is illegal to keep a pig as a pet and no vet would want to treat a pig at his or her clinic since it is illegal. Be wise, don’t follow your heart, but reason with reality and logic.

The misundertood pineapple

I know we tend to say, do not feed your sugar gliders with pineapple. Why? Firstly, the one thing about pineapple after we eat a few pieces if that our tongue will have this sandpaper feeling. Then it is acidic, beneficial coz acidic fruits are normally high in Vitamin C. Now that’s a plus factor for pineapples. But people generally do not understand that good things in small amounts is good for you.

The pineapple has a protein-digesting enzymes (called cysteine proteinases). This enzyme helps in digestion, very good for clearig the gut. It also helps in digesting fur and the hard exo-skeleton of insects that they sometimes ingest. Pineapple and papaya has this enzyme and that’s why when we want to, say, tenderize meat naturally, we extract some of the juices and marinade the meat in it. For papaya, it is normally found in young green papaya. I personally love the taste of the sweet juicy exotic pineapple than the bland funny tasting crunchy young green papaya. So I bet gliders prefer the ripe sweet pineapple than the bland tasting unripe green papaya. Studies have shown that when people are given pineapple after a meal, their digestion improves greatly.

Then it also has bromeline, which helps in reducing inflammation and swelling, which is why it is an important supplement for people who are suffering from joint problems. Even Dr Jenny advices feeding pineapple when a glider is suffering from digestion problems, joint problems. It helps.

Because of the high Vitamin C it has, it is a great antioxidant protection and immune support fruit. This is vital because it defends the body from free radicals and studies show that health improves greatly when antioxidant fruits are introduced to a diet.

One of the benefits of pineapple is that it helps to build healthy bones. Pineapples are rich in manganese, a trace mineral that is needed for your body to build bone and connective tissues. Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. The benefits of pineapple can effect the growth of bones in young people and the strengthening of bones in older people.

Pineapple is an excellent source the trace mineral manganese, which is an essential cofactor in a number of enzymes important in energy production and antioxidant defenses. For example, the key oxidative enzyme superoxide dismutase, which disarms free radicals produced within the mitochondria (the energy production factories within our cells), requires manganese. In addition to manganese, pineapple is a good source of thiamin, a B vitamin that acts as a cofactor in enzymatic reactions central to energy production. It also protect against Macular Degeneration.

 How about the calcium and phosphorus ratio? It can vary depending on the variety of pineapple, but on average, it is 1:1. So follow up with a fruit that is rich in calcium to avoid too much calcium lost.

This is why my GliderSLURP! flavour, Tropical Pick has pineapple included, just a bit is added to give that benefial enzyme for digestion and antioxidants. Just Google for Pineapple benefits to know more. I suggest if possible, we should let our gliders have a little pineapple once a week, be it fresh, frozen or in juice form but I generally say fresh is the best.

Happy 2nd year!

21 May 2008, that was the first post I made. So today, Suggies At Home turns 2 years old. Not bad. I’ve been in this hobby since 2006, started blogging in 2008. Through the few years, I have learned alot from experience and knowledge. Suggies At Home has educated hundreds of people so far on sugar glider care and that really satisfies me a great deal. Really happy. Through the ups and downs, the negative remarks and positive feedbacks, I have become wiser and more laid back.

Thank you everyone for your support. Already this blog has been read for more than 58k times, so that really is an achievement for me. So, happy birthday to Suggies At Home.

Pet Classifieds again…. sigh

Again, it saddens me that people…. I dunno how they use their senses but it breaks my heart to see how they go all out to sell their joeys.

I frequent Mudah.my. OK, I’m a daily Mudah.my browser, coz there are always lots of nice bargains to see, but then it is heart-breaking to see so called homebreeders trying to sell of their joeys.

One of today’s ads hit me greatly. Here is the information of the ad:

SUGAR GLIDER (Female, 1½ month old ) – 2½ weeks out of pouch
Home breed, Health RM280 (Fixed Price)
Can Pick up this weekends (pls tell me a place to meet)
PJ, SS2, Sunway, Damansara Utama/Jaya & etc

How can he or she, sell a joey that is only 2 and half weeks old? The poor joey is not even weaned!!!!! What the….. “toot”….. And the pictures that were attached, the joey actually has no fluff on the tail at all. The eyes just opened in less than a week. Rat tail joey, and this person wants to sell it so fast…. Why? WHY? WHY sell it at such a young age?

A joey shouldn’t be forced to wean from mom’s milk. I have seen so called “professional breeders” snatching the joeys away from their mom at 2.5 weeks OOP, then force feed using syringe or dropper with puppy or kitten replacement milk. Is that healthy? Dogs, cats, humans…. it is fine if they do not get mom’s milk because there is a bountiful of milk replacements in the market that can help them stay healthy, but their immunity will always be weaker than those breast-fed. How about joeys? Sugar gliders do not have milk replacements selling at every pharmacy or pet shop. So come on, think logic. If a breeder or seller is trying to sell a joey, with pictures of it drinking from a syringe or they mention to you to feed milk, forget about these sellers. Worthless mindless money minded greedy sellers…..