Female glider ate her baby

Question
I had no idea my glider was even pregnant until the other night when I went to feed her I seen her eating her baby! Is that normal? Why would she do that? And also the baby was about the size of a grape so how old would it have been?

Answer
Valerie,

I am so sorry for your loss.

This unfortunate situation can happen for several reasons.  I would need more information to know why it might happen in your case.  If it happens once, it does not mean it will happen again.  If it happens several times, then neutering the male is recommended.  

Here are some of the situations that could lead to cannibalism of glider joeys:

If this was the female's first joey, she may not have known what to do.  

The joey could have been ill or defective.

The diet may be lacking in protien or other essential nutrients.

The gliders could be overly stressed.

Living conditions could be inappropriate, such as a cage that is too small, too hot, too cold, or unclean.

Try not to put human emotions onto the mother glider.  She is not evil or cruel.  This is just something that happens in nature.  If you see to it that she is eating well, is emotionally healthy, and has great living conditions, it probably will not happen again.  

If the joey's body was about the size of a grape, then it most likely was about ready to come out of the pouch, or would be about 6-8 weeks old since venturing into the pouch after birth.  We usually talk about glider age as weeks since exiting the pouch, so this joey would br around 0 or negative a week or so.  Does that make sense?

I hope this helps.  Good luck to you.

Betty