First Glider

Question
This is really my first sugar glider and I have been reading up on some things about them. I got mine from a friend and I'm not sure how it was treated but he says it's quite "anti-social"...but from what I've read, gliders are VERY social. I want to bond with it so it wont be so afraid of me. I put my hand gently in it's cage and waited for it to crawl up to my hand but it started biting me. Not just your average nipping; it really hurt. It also started clawing at it like a crazed cat. I'm now actually too afraid to put my hand in it's cage now, but I know if I dont play with it, it will get depressed and die...and I dont really want it to do that. Maybe a pet bat would have been easier?

Answer
Hi, Kathleen:

   Congratulations on your first sugar glider.  You didn't mention the age of the glider or whether he is neutered or not.  For now, I will assume he is a young adult and probably not neutered.  

   First of all, you got bit and he probably drew blood, which is very common with a scared, frightened glider.  So that is very normal for you be be afraid right now.  Unfortunately, your friend either was not informed or just did not inform you on how to attempt to bond with your new pet.  We can probably assume that if the glider is "anti-social" that he probably has not had much attention thus far.  Social is a term for sugar gliders' behavior as a whole in the wild and describes their behavior when they form a bond with a human.  Your glider is clearly not bonded to you and I doubt it was bonded with your friend if he was labeled anti-social.  I also want you to note that he is very much alive.  It is not entirely true that if you don't give them attention they will become depressed and die.  

We can assume that due to the change in his live and new surroundings, we can assume that you have a very frightened, stressed out little boy.  So the first thing I would recommend to you is a visit to the vet and a wellness exam and fecal float.  Ask the vet to clip his nails, most of them will do it for free.  

The next thing you have to do and this may be the most important thing you do, is to research diets.  Sugar glider diet is the single most important factor in keeping your glider healthy.  It is also one of the most hotly debated topics in the glider community.  There are 4 or 5 healthy choices:  BML (Bourbon's Modified Leadbeaters) The Pet Glider Diet or Priscilla's Diet (this is the one I use), Sun Coast Diet are the top three.  You can research many places online.  Here is a link to WSGN:
http://worldwidesugarglidernetwork.com/board/index.php
Once you decide on a healthy diet, stick with it and don't mix parts of one diet for another.  

Once you know you have a healthy animal, you can begin to work on taming him.

You have to understand what's happening in this glider's world.  It sounds like he wasn't given much attention to begin with, so he adapted to just being alone and doing his own thing.  He is especially afraid of hands and faces.  His instinct may kick in and tell him when he sees human the size of you and me that that two big eyes, a big nose and a big mouth means I'm going to get eaten.  He also may have had some traumatic experiences before you got him.  Maybe he got loose and was chased, cornered and caught.  

   So you need to understand that you have made a commitment to this animal.  You will need to provide love, unconditionally and simply accept whatever he can give you in return. The other thing you need to do is be patient.  Don't measure success by days or even months.  Sugar gliders live 10-12 years if healthy.  You will need to measure his progress over several months at a time.  I can tell you that I have tamed and bonded with gliders that were extremely frightened and wild.  It can be done, but involves extreme patience.  Now, unfortunately, it may also involve getting bitten at times.  But the good thing is that it probably won't be worse than you have already been bitten, so you can be prepared.  The other good thing is that you have a lot of progress to make, so your success in taming this glider will give you great satisfaction if you up to the challenge.  

Here is what I would do.  Assuming you just got him, give him a couple of days to get acclimated to his new surroundings.  Just feed him and talk softly to him and don't ask anything from him for 48 hours.  

Get a small 2-person tent from Walmart or Target, etc. about $25.  Great to use for play time.  You bring his pouch into the tent with you and sit down in there with some treats and  a feather teaser.  He can't get into any trouble, there will be no distractions and he can come to you on his own terms.   Again, don't ask too much from him.  

Buy some mealworms at your local pet store.  Feed them by hand to him while he is in his pouch.  Mealworms are usually their favorite food, so his favorite food should come from your fingers.  Make sure you have plenty of worm showing, you don't want him to lunge for the worm and miss and get your fingers.  They can get pretty excited over mealworms.  You might try feeding them when he first wakes up and is a little groggy still.

Get a bonding pouch.  Either a draw string or zipper type and carry him around under your shirt as much as possible every day.

Wear an old t-shirt 2 nights in a row and place it in or over his cage so he gets your scent when you are not around.

Always move slowing and talk softly.  Bonding time is for day time and play time is for night time.  While he is in the bonding pouch and has gotten used to hanging out with you, try coating your fingers with apple sauce or flavored yogurt and allow him to lick your fingers.  Move very slowly as not to frighten him.  Eventually, he will learn that only good things come from your hands.  

Other treats you can give him include Yogies, dried papaya or mango bits, raw unsalted sunflower or pumpkin seeds (in moderation).  Don't give so many treats that he is not hungry for his real food.  

You can e-mail me directly at lauriegall @ cox . net for any further questions or to give me an update.  

Best of luck with this little one.

Laurie