wierd sound

Question
QUESTION: hi my name is nate and my wife and i just got 3 girl sugar gliders female one mom and 2 babys the mom is 2 years old and the baby girls are 1 year to 1 and a half years old. any way we are having a hard time bonding with them and they keep making a wierd noise like a mix between a whine and a his usualy about 3 to 4 time and then they stop for a while then do it again. they are only awake from about 1:30 to 5 am then they sleep all day do it is a little hard to play with them what do i do i am worried. my wife and i love them so much but we get so sad because they do not like us yet. we feed them a mix of baby food and vegies and fruit like the guy before us that had them was feeding them.

ANSWER: Dear Nate:

Congratulations on your new gliders.  I don't know what the guy that had them before told you, but it takes time to bond with sugar gliders.  Even if they were tame when you got them, it will take weeks/months before they get to know you and your wife and trust you both.  These animals take time and patience.  I suspect the noise you are hearing is crabbing, but it's hard to tell from your description.  You can do a little research online and some websites have recorded all of their sounds, crabbing, hissing, barking.  

It is also normal that after such a big change in their lives, they don't come out very much.  However, it could be that the temperature is too cold for them and they are only coming out to eat and going back in where it's warm.  Make sure you have the temperature in their area a constant 72-82 degrees.

Of greater concern is diet.  We so often see poor diet information passed along.  Baby food and fruits and veggies is not a complete diet for these guys.  Please thoroughly research sugar glider diets and pick one that works well for both you and your gliders.  Stick with it to the letter and don't mix components of diets.  Also, don't forget the supplements and vitamins.  It's extremely important they get their calcium.  Here's a place to start.  

http://www.glidercentral.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/98

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QUESTION: yes i have looked into it and its more of a hiss with a sqeek at the end i am not sure but i think it means that she is hungery but she will not eat unless i hand feed her and she is very picky about what she will eat (this is the mom babys eat all the time) she really likes animal crackers but i do not want to feed her them because i dont think it is good for them am i wrong?

ANSWER: Dear Nate:

I would say that your instincts are correct.  It's best to stay away from the animal crackers or any other processed food that has sugar and added salt.  For this reason the baby food is also not a good idea.  Also please check out the link I sent you earlier.  The diet they are getting is no where near complete.  You can choose from BML, Priscilla's diet (this is the diet I use), Suncoast, HPW (I've heard some good things about this one) or PML.  I would check them out and get her on a proven, complete diet.

Best of luck,

Laurie

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QUESTION: we use the BML diet and it has baby food in it that is what i meant by we feed them baby food. i could not find any info on the pml diet could you send me some thank you.

Answer
Dear Nate:

Oh, BML is fine.  Baby food and fruits and veggies is not.  I am not crazy about BML partly due to the baby food and I like feeding my gliders only things I'd be willing to eat.  I'm sorry you could not find info on PML.  If you follow the link I provided previously, you will find that PML is the third diet down.

http://www.glidercentral.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/98

I hope this helps.

Laurie