weaning my new suggie

Question
Hello,
My female Luna has one joey that has just come out of the pouch. I looked inside her sleeping bag last night and the joey was completely outside of the pouch. Within a few seconds the joey crawled right back in the pouch. Is this normal behavior? Is there anything that i should be doing for the baby? After how long should i begin to wean the joey and what are the steps in weaning?

Answer
Hi Michael,

Gliders are excellent parents.  You don't need to do anything, except be sure the mother is getting proper nutrition.  Is there a papa glider?  He will babysit while the mother goes out to eat and takes a break.  Yes, the joey will go in and out of the pouch as long as it is small enough to do so.  Don't worry about weaning.  The joey will be ready to go in eight weeks.  

So, just relax and enjoy the baby.  You can begin petting it with one finger, but don't take it from the mother.  When the joey is old enough for the mother to leave it alone, you may hold it for just a little while.  Keep the joey in sight of the mom, so she knows where it is.  

Have fun, let me know how it goes.

Betty