new gliders not taken care of

Question
hi my name is nate and my wife and i just got 3 sugar gliders that have not been well taken care of they do not let us hold them and and will not stop crabbing at us and nibbleing at us when we try to present ourselfs to them. what can we do? we want to hand tame them is it to late? is there any hope?

Answer
Hi, Nate:

I want to commend you for taking on the responsibility of these three gliders.  It is not uncommon that these three gliders would be frightened and not tame.  It happens more often than not.  As far as whether it is too late or not, I can only say that I never give up.  You didn't give me any information on their sex, age, neutered or not, but I  believe that with gliders like these, there will be ups and downs, but they will improve.  It may not be quickly and some of them may respond quicker than the others, but most of them do improve.  If you don't mind, so I don't have to type it all over again, I am going to cut and paste a previous answer to taming and bonding with biting gliders below.  Please feel free to contact me directly by e-mail for any further information at lauriegall @ cox . net.

Yes, biting gliders can be tamed, but it takes a lot of time, patience and unconditional love.  

1.  Sleep in an old T-shirt for a couple of days and put that inside his cage (you can put his pouch right inside of the shirt).  Sugar gliders bond by scent, so as much of your scent as he can get the better.

2.  Use a zipper or drawstring bonding pouch (during the day only) as much as possible.  Eventually he will begin to fall asleep in the pouch.  3 to 4 hours a day would be optimum.  An easy way to get the glider into the pouch with a minimal chance of getting bit is to open the bonding pouch, take his sleeping pouch (with the glider in it) and put the open end of his sleeping pouch into the bonding pouch as if you were pouring him in.  He will likely stay in the sleeping pouch until you sort of squeeze the from the bottom down (like a tube of toothpaste), the glider should then move down into the bonding pouch.  When he has, pull out the sleeping pouch and zip him up in the bonding pouch.  When you are done, you can just put the bonding pouch back in his cage and open it, he will come out and go back into his cage/sleeping pouch when he is ready.  

3.  Play time.  Your glider should have a couple of hours of play time each night.  For a biting, unfriendly glider, I would suggest a "bonding tent."  This is just a two person tent like the one you can find at Walmart for about $25.  Don't use an old camping tent.  Bring the glider (in his pouch) into the tent with you along with a toy and a treat.  You can unzip the windows so family members can watch and you can hear and see what's going on in the room around you.  The whole point of this is to let the glider come to you in his own time without you trying to "hold" him.  Right now he is frightened of your hands, but they are curious animals, so don't be surprised if after a few times, he runs and jumps on you.  The tent helps keep him contained while removing the distractions he would find otherwise in a room.

4.  Treats.  Whenever you approach this glider for any reason at all, come bearing gifts.  You want him to learn that only good things come from your hands and fingers.  So  offer him mealworms (usually their favorite) always by hand.  You can also give him dried papaya or mango and Yogurt drops.  Once you determine his favorite food, you can give that to him by hand as well.  He may be hesitant at first, but don't give up.  

5.  Licky treats.  After he is comfortable taking treats from your fingers, try coating your fingers with blueberry  yogurt or applesauce and let him lick it off your fingers.    Licky treats are a great way to begin to insert your hand into his pouch.  Don't try this for a few weeks, but once he seems to respond and trust you a little more, use licky treats to get close and then slowly slide your hand into his pouch.  Eventually, you should aim for sliding your hand in  during mid day while he is sleeping and groggy and see if you can't get your hand underneath him.  Then just leave it there so he can get used to your hand being there.  

This is a lot of work.  We aren't talking a few weeks.  We are talking months.  Don't measure your progress continually.  Just love him and work with him.  Eventually, you will look back and see how far he's come.  But if you are committed, eventually you will see progress.  Don't get discouraged.  He needs you.  Someone else might not take the time to even try to work with him.  So be happy with whatever he is willing to give and don't be surprised if you look back in 6 months or so and see a big difference.

Hope this helps.

Laurie