Our Male has a knot in his tail

Question
We discovered a couple of days after we brought our glidder that he has a knot at the base of his tail which makes it kind of crooked. I was a little concerned about this but Elliot did not seem to be having any issues with it so we just assumed it was a birth defect and he was ok. He is actually my daughter's and she has had some difficulty trying to bond with him. He tends to bite and really squirm when she takes him out of his cage and since her hands have sustained considerable scratches and bites she has taken to retrieving him with the pouch and wearing him most of the time in his pouch.  I was wondering if perhaps his tail causes him some pain because he will freak out at times more so than others. He is our first glidder so we had no idea how aggressive they can seem to be, but she is determined to keep trying to bond with him.  He has a large cage and several toys he enjoys playing with.  He has the sand paper wheel to help file his nails down and seems to really enjoy using it.  He is drinking and eating well. He just really objects to being held and placed in his pouch.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated. He is an adorable creature when he is playing around in his cage and I love watching him consume his apple slices.
We are hoping with time that the bonding will work.  He was 8 weeks when we got him.

Answer
Jayne,

Do you think you could send me a photo of Elliot's tail?  One of my gliders had a curl in her tail caused by stress.  Once she calmed down, the tail relaxed and was back to normal.  

What does Elliott eat besides apples?  Proper diet is essential to health and well-being.

It sounds like everything else is going well.  Your daughter is correct to have Elliot spend time with her during the day.  Please go to my website and its links for further information about bonding and diet. nc.sugar.gliders.googlepages.com

I hope this helps. I might be able to be of more assistance if I know more about the knot.

Thanks!

Betty