one of my sugar gliders personalities have changed

Question
QUESTION: Hi Betty,
  My name is Katina,  my husband and I live in Nevada and have 2 sugar gliders that are a little over 1 year old: Pixie and Baby. We bought them at the same time July of '07 and they get along great together. In the beginning, Baby was a little stand offish and if I ever left their cage door open, she would use that opportunity to get out and run around,( she was always pretty easy to catch again) and she also seemed easily annoyed and would make noises, all the while Pixi would sit and watch her, we thought she didn't know how to make noises for she was so quiet, she seemed to want to sleep more than anything, while baby was always up and about (Pixie had a nice and quiet disposition from the 1st day).
  Now, it seems they have switched personalities. Lately, I've been accidentally leaving the cage door a little cracked after feeding them, the door can be hard to push down. Pixie will take every opportunity to get out of the cage and run around everywhere and Baby will sit back and watch- even after they spend time out of the cage in their playroom, Baby and Pixie will hop on me, then Pixie will wait until I get close to her cage and she'll run away. I understand wanting to run around in an even bigger area for a bit longer (their cage is of great size) but it's her temperment, Pixi has actually gotten a little mean. My husband or I will pick her up as gently as possible and she'll bite continuously to get away - we can only handle those sharp little teeth for so long until we give in and let her go. She used to fall for little treats. I'd show her some fruit and she'd hop on me and eat it and I'd place her in the cage. She doesn't fall for that anymore. Instead of Baby making noises when annoyed, Pixie is now the noisy one. Something isn't right about this and I'm actually having a hard time sleeping at night thinking, "What are we doing wrong? Are we not treating them right?"  
   Please please please help me. Is she going through a stage? Does she not like us anymore? What do we do?
  Katina

ANSWER: Hello Katina,

This is quite an unusual situation.  I've spent all day trying to think of why this is happening.  Does Pixie get "mean" only when she has the opportunity to get away to run and play outside the cage?  Once gliders have a taste of freedom, they really enjoy it.  Could it be as simple as that?  If you take her out of the pouch at sleep time, is she friendly?  

If she is feisty at other times, perhaps she was hurt or upset some time in the recent past.  Can you recall an incident that may have upset her?    

In any case, try doing some bonding.  You may have to start over.  I have detailed this process before, but for you, try the pouch bonding.  Keep both gliders in a pouch or pocket.  Carry them around with you all day.  Put your hand in the pouch and hold them as often as possible. Try this for several days to see if she becomes friendly again.  If not, let me know and I'll give you some more suggestions.

I hope this is helpful.  Please keep in touch.

Betty

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Betty,
  Thanks so much for your first response. As for answers to your questions: She seems to only be mean when she has the opportunity to get away to play outside the cage. I said the exact thing to my husband, " I think she has had a taste of freedom and loves it." But we give them freedom all of the time, she used to hop on my shoulder with Baby and stay there until I got to their cage and they'd crawl in or rund around the cage area - but I never had to chase either of them as much as I chase Pixie now.
 They both sleep in a hammock in the warm season. Everyday I put my hands in their cage, and hold them in my hand while their still in the hammock and I pet them and talk to them.  They know i'm there and neither of them make a sound, so I'm sure their not angry. Physically, my husband and I have  never hurt either of them. I won't even do their nails in fear of them holding a grudge. We take them the pet store we bought them from and they clip their nails for us. The people whom the pet store gets the gliders  from are breeders that sell them to the pet store a little after they're born (when the gliders are almost 6 in long) so they didn't come from a family that couldn't handle them or would hurt them. My husband can be a tease. But he's stopped that because I told him, too much aggitation can cause them stress and they won't like him.
He used to make some blowing noise that bugged them and they'd make that angry chiring noise and everyone thought it was funny. Then another friend would do the same despite everyone telling him to stop - he 's not allowed back over. Maybe Pixie's holding a grudge over that? It's been a little while since the last time my husband did that.
  I'm worried about taking them to get their nails cut this month. I'm afraid Pixie will run away in the store. One of the gliders ran in the store before- i think it was Baby -  she didn't get far and she was  pretty easy to catch. But i'm afraid Pixie will run and jump and hide.
  I'll try the pouch method again.
  Thanks so much, hear from you soon.
Katina

Answer
Katina,

Thanks for the detailed account of your glider's behavior.  

As for Pixie's early development, it is not advisable to take a joey from his family before eight weeks out of pouch.  He needs to learn how to be a good sugar glider from his parents.  He learns to socialize, to take care of family, to play and share, and sometimes how to babysit new joeys.  As part of this process, in an ideal situation, the parental bonding with a human is passed on to the joeys.  I have never had to do bonding exercises with joeys born to my families.  If Pixie was taken from his family too early, and was not hand tamed at an early age, it is possible that he doesn't really know how to get his way, other than to crab and bite.  Since he seems to be so anxious to get out, and is calm otherwise, it seems likely that this is the case.

I used to let my gliders roam around one room in my old farmhouse.  They would rush the cage door when I opened it, and fuss at me if I tried to stop them.  It was nearly impossible to catch them if they did get out.  Sometimes I'd have to wait for morning and find them sleeping somewhere.   Now that I live in a new house with carpets, they don't get out as often.  They are calm when I open the door, and if they get out, they just hang out on the cage sides.  

So, this may sound too simplistic, but Pixie could be just a brat wanting to get his own way.  He is a bit older now, and has learned that biting and fussing will work.  Maybe you need to keep him confined to his cage for a while.  Then get a small tent and set it up in the house.  IF Pixie will come to you nicely, you can take him to the tent for playtime.  He needs to relate you to the playtime.  In other words, he won't get to play unless he comes to you calmly.

Give this a try.  Let me know how it is going.  I am sure that we can work together to solve this problem.

Good Luck,

Betty