Hello, everyone!
I'm new to the forum, so I thought i'd say hi. I posted a HUGE introduction in the "New Introductions" section, but I figured that i'd post the "Sugar Glider parts" of my introduction over this way, as they're the reason I joined.
I recently added two new additions to the family.
My family had sugar gliders for a short time when I was young, and i'd often thought about getting them again...but they're a lot of work, and we have no reputable breeders close to us, so I never pursued the issue.
A few weeks ago, I saw an ad in our local classifieds, for two gliders WITH their cage, for $300. I emailed the woman and found out that she'd gotten the gliders, thinking they were like hamsters, and had decided that they were too much work. I didn't have the $300 at the time, so I told her that I wasn't able to purchase them right away, unless she could hold them for me, until payday.
She told me that a LOT of people had inquired about them, but that none of them had any previous experience with them, and often just wanted them because they were "cute". She told me to bring a post dated cheque and they were all mine, as she wanted me to have them.
I drove the 2 hours to pick them up.
Their cage alone was well worth $300. It's 5ft tall, 3ft deep, and 4ft wide. The bars are also safe for sugar glider hands.
She'd been feeding them baby food and cat food, along with a sugar glider pellet. They were VERY underweight. She didn't know how old they were or what sex they were. I took them home and immediately started them on Zookeeper's Secret, along with fresh fruit and vegetables. I also feed mealworms and crickets, eggs or other protein sources. Generally, I like the Suncoast Sugar Gliders diet, and that's what I feed my guys.
The first few days, I let them get used to their surroundings. Then I started packing them around, one at a time, in a bonding pouch. They crab all the time, and i've been bitten A LOT. They draw blood...they mean business. They have almost no socialization skills.
My take on bonding though...is that if we can commit to carrying a baby in our stomach for 9 months (closer to 10, actually) when we're pregnant...then i'm not going to be too worried if it takes my suggies that long to trust me. I have all the time in the world.
They are friendly enough now that I could handle them and sex them. I believe I have a male and a female. No idea if the male is neutered...and not knowing their ages, I don't know if they're capable of reproduction yet or not. (I'm guessing the male is intact, as he still has his "bald spot".)
Their previous owner never had them reproduce though. I'm currently trying to find a vet who can neuter the male for me. If they do reproduce, I would keep the joeys...but it's just better for all of us if he gets neutered.
They are steadily gaining weight, and have great apetites. I often watch TV with one or both of them in the pouch and carefully sneak my hand in there (hopefully without being bitten) and cup them in my hand while I watch TV. They've started accepting it and will sleep in my hand, or roll on their back and let me rub their bellies with my thumb while I cup them. No sudden movements or loud noises though, or the cuddling ends and I get bit. lol
I'm looking forward to learning more about my new guys, as it's been years since we've had them and I was a pre-teen at the time, and was not the primary caregiver for them. So it's a learning curve.
My suggies have their own bedroom, which will be modified to be suggie proof soon. I let them out with supervision right now, as the room isn't 100% safe yet. Hubby is building me a PVC frame for a tree right now, which will go up in the middle of the room with arms to the walls. It will be covered in removeable/washable velcro fleece, and fake leaves. Then I can hang toys and all sorts of fun things from the tree. Their room is about 8ft x 10ft...so it's perfect. I'll be sure to post pics when it's up.
I tried to contact their previous owner to get more info on them, but she will not return my calls/emails. They were moving, so it's possible that she's not avoiding me...but has already moved away.
I'm new to the forum, so I thought i'd say hi. I posted a HUGE introduction in the "New Introductions" section, but I figured that i'd post the "Sugar Glider parts" of my introduction over this way, as they're the reason I joined.
I recently added two new additions to the family.
My family had sugar gliders for a short time when I was young, and i'd often thought about getting them again...but they're a lot of work, and we have no reputable breeders close to us, so I never pursued the issue.
A few weeks ago, I saw an ad in our local classifieds, for two gliders WITH their cage, for $300. I emailed the woman and found out that she'd gotten the gliders, thinking they were like hamsters, and had decided that they were too much work. I didn't have the $300 at the time, so I told her that I wasn't able to purchase them right away, unless she could hold them for me, until payday.
She told me that a LOT of people had inquired about them, but that none of them had any previous experience with them, and often just wanted them because they were "cute". She told me to bring a post dated cheque and they were all mine, as she wanted me to have them.
I drove the 2 hours to pick them up.
Their cage alone was well worth $300. It's 5ft tall, 3ft deep, and 4ft wide. The bars are also safe for sugar glider hands.
She'd been feeding them baby food and cat food, along with a sugar glider pellet. They were VERY underweight. She didn't know how old they were or what sex they were. I took them home and immediately started them on Zookeeper's Secret, along with fresh fruit and vegetables. I also feed mealworms and crickets, eggs or other protein sources. Generally, I like the Suncoast Sugar Gliders diet, and that's what I feed my guys.
The first few days, I let them get used to their surroundings. Then I started packing them around, one at a time, in a bonding pouch. They crab all the time, and i've been bitten A LOT. They draw blood...they mean business. They have almost no socialization skills.
My take on bonding though...is that if we can commit to carrying a baby in our stomach for 9 months (closer to 10, actually) when we're pregnant...then i'm not going to be too worried if it takes my suggies that long to trust me. I have all the time in the world.
They are friendly enough now that I could handle them and sex them. I believe I have a male and a female. No idea if the male is neutered...and not knowing their ages, I don't know if they're capable of reproduction yet or not. (I'm guessing the male is intact, as he still has his "bald spot".)
Their previous owner never had them reproduce though. I'm currently trying to find a vet who can neuter the male for me. If they do reproduce, I would keep the joeys...but it's just better for all of us if he gets neutered.
They are steadily gaining weight, and have great apetites. I often watch TV with one or both of them in the pouch and carefully sneak my hand in there (hopefully without being bitten) and cup them in my hand while I watch TV. They've started accepting it and will sleep in my hand, or roll on their back and let me rub their bellies with my thumb while I cup them. No sudden movements or loud noises though, or the cuddling ends and I get bit. lol
I'm looking forward to learning more about my new guys, as it's been years since we've had them and I was a pre-teen at the time, and was not the primary caregiver for them. So it's a learning curve.
My suggies have their own bedroom, which will be modified to be suggie proof soon. I let them out with supervision right now, as the room isn't 100% safe yet. Hubby is building me a PVC frame for a tree right now, which will go up in the middle of the room with arms to the walls. It will be covered in removeable/washable velcro fleece, and fake leaves. Then I can hang toys and all sorts of fun things from the tree. Their room is about 8ft x 10ft...so it's perfect. I'll be sure to post pics when it's up.
I tried to contact their previous owner to get more info on them, but she will not return my calls/emails. They were moving, so it's possible that she's not avoiding me...but has already moved away.