Two male Gliders Fighting

Question
I have two male gliders that are about three years old. They reached maturity long ago. Never had a problem with them fighting.
Tonight I witnessed some aggressive behavior. One of them (Mike) was holding on with a  death grip to the Ike's back and I believe he was trying to mate with Ike... I think? The were yelling at each other and the Ike was desperately  pushing Mike off. This went on about 5-7 minutes till they finally retired to their bag. They squawked a bit longer, then silence. What the hay could that have been?

Answer
Dear Amy:

This is a very common problem with un-neutered males after they are sexually mature.  I will assume that they are not neutered since you didn't mention it.  Your only hope is to get these two males neutered.  I am frankly surprised it took this long.  It will take about 6 weeks for their hormone levels to drop and hopefully, the aggressive, dominant behavior will cease.  It is really not a good idea to house to intact males together.  I have seen huge quarter-sized holes ripped out of their necks from this kind of behavior.  You should probably separate them at least for tonight and then watch for signs of aggression.  Make sure when you feed them, you feed two separate dishes.  If it happens again after you put them back together, you will probably have to keep them separated permanently.  

If, however, they are both neutered, you will want to watch them carefully and feed them separately.  If it continues, it may require a permanent separation.

Best of luck,


Laurie