death in the colony

Question
hi, my male sugar glider died. He was two years old. He was very smart and a great leader, so smart he learned how to break out of his own cage when he left like it. i never cared since he went back in himself, and never really had a problem. One day somebody left the toilet seat up (i always kept it down as a habit knowing how smart Joey is) and he unfortunately drowned. The female spent days on end looking for him (she's not as smart she cant escape from the cage) and in my opinion she committed suicide after two day. She kept on going on to the top of the cage and falling down. (not gliding, falling on her side). I tried to put her in a cupboard so she would stop, but she was sad. and when i thought it was okay i let her back in the cage (so she wouldn't catch that hind leg paralysis). But one day she fell so hard that she died.  
My question is i have 4 month old female joeys. They seem happy enough, but i don't really know what's in their head. Will they do the same as my poor mother?
just incase, my sugar gliders are very healthy. They get 1/4 cup yogurt a week (plain), frozen/fresh veggies, tofu, chicken, and soybeans for the protein.
By the way the 2nd day Joey had died i noticed they stopped cleaning themselves. they had peed all over themselves, so i gave them a bath in luke warm water. dried them off with a towel, and a hairdryer (low, warm heat) and then gave them peanuts and fed them some honey water through a eyedropper. and 7 hours later when they seemed happy (after all the comfort food) i let them back into the cage, and it was 7 hours later that the female mother had died.
the death of my sugar gliders break my heart, because i truly thought of them as my friends. but all i could really do is take care the female joeys they left behind. Do you think they would be alright? i can't really bring them to a vet since there isn't a vet here that knows what a sugar glider is.

Answer
Hello Dawn,

I am so sorry for your losses.  Losing two gliders at once must be heartbreaking.  I have heard of gliders grieving, but I haven't heard of the kind of behavior you described.  Was she completely healthy before her mate died?  Does the diet include vitamins and calcium?  Are they getting enough protein?  I feed my gliders BML and fresh fruits and veggies.

Please do not bathe the gliders in water.  They chill very easily, and can become sick in no time.  Use a damp cloth to clean them, if necessary.  Do not overdo the peanuts.  Even though they love them, they are not very healthy for sugar gliders.  

As for the babies, they should be fine.  They will grieve for a while, and will need some extra attention.  You could keep them with you to comfort them.  Keep them in a pouch, and hold them while they sleep. Let me know if they show any strange behavior.  I hope this helps.  Good luck to you.

Betty