Squeakers continue to do well!

I haven’t updated in a while, sorry!

Currently my two glider babies (well, they’re much bigger, so I guess not babies anymore!) are well adjusted to being around people, and with the hope of a nibble of dried papaya, will willingly (though cautiously) approach is while outside their cage.  Inside the cage they come right up to meet us when we’re near. I think they hesitate from approaching us outside the cage because they’re afraid we’ll put them back in the cage, and freedom trumps treats, but then if they could have both … well, that’s why the treats win them over in the end.

I’m really looking for strategies to bond with them beyond just them tolerating us. I want them to willingly come over and hang out, not just sniff and whiz off.

Vet check-up

Lulu and Chou-Chou went for a vet check-up today at SEAVS, who I officially highly recommend to any sugar glider owner in NoVA. The vet was clearly very accustomed to working with sugar gliders and did a very thorough physical check-up, and also asked good questions to make sure they had a proper diet and cage setup. They even had another glider in the same time I visited.

The physical exams and fecal samples went well for both of them. Lulu weighs in at about 55 g, and Chou-Chou is about 75 g (or about 1.9 oz and 2.6 oz respectively). For comparison, sugar gliders are often 3.5-5 oz as adults. They’re currently 4.5 in. and 4.75 in. in length, and will get about 6-7.5 inches.

Lulu got special praise. She was so cooperative and didn’t crab at all, and the vet said that this was probably the sweetest glider they’ve had! Chou-Chou is always more nervous than Lulu, but his crabbing was very minimal and not very loud (the volume seems to intensify depending on how scared/threatened he feels).

When the visit started, before I’d taken them out, the vet tentatively asked if I had gotten them at an expo or something. When I said that I had gotten them from Suncoast and was following your diet, he actually sighed in relief and said something to the tune of, “Oh good, Suncoast is great, you are definitely on the right track.”

And here’s an obligatory photo, in which Lulu is eating a frozen wild blueberry.

Stealing mealworms

On Saturday night I tried letting them crawl all over me for the first time. They were less interested in exploring, though, and much more interested in snuggling into a bit of my shirt that I had folded up for a makeshift pouch. I tried waking them up with some mealworms, which really only had the result of them enthusiastically eating mealworms while snuggled in the fold of my shirt. However, it did provide me an opportunity for some adorable photos:

Sugar Glider Cage

Here’s a photo of their cage. It’s pretty tall, about 3 ft. I got the cage and most of the cage items from Suncoast Sugar Gliders (same place I got my babies from). The only exceptions are most of the silk plants around it (which came from Michael’s) and the fleece cloth by the food dishes to protect the carpet (from Jo-Ann’s Fabrics). There are toys on the ceiling, which of course they haven’t really touched as far as I’ve seen. They love the rope vines and fake branches though, and also that log. I not only see them nestled in there with some small fleece squares, but also playing or wrestling with each other on top. The boy really seems to like crawling all around it, and even takes his evening mealworm treats while hanging upside down on the side. However, it also gets pooped on, so I think I should replace it every year or two.

If you’re wondering about the scarf and tee-shirt on top, its to provide the sugar gliders with the household members’ scents.

It’s the place to be

One of my gliders has taken to curling up in the food dish while eating. Then she curls back up and naps for a bit before continuing to eat dinner.

1st week

Can’t believe I’ve only had these little guys for a week.  It feels like I’ve been adoring them for ages already. I’m so completely smitten. They also have shown a lot of progress in the bonding process.  For instance, when I put my hand into their bonding pouches, they crab only until they can get a good sniff of my hand and then stop. Then they are very willingly curl up in my hand, as long as the hand stays within the bonding pouch or my hoodie pouch.  When I bring it out while they’re asleep, they’ll stay curled up and asleep for a few more minutes before waking up and realizing they’re looking at a lot of strange things. I usually just offer them the bonding pouch and they crawl right back in.

Due to this, I’ve been able to get a good few pictures of them in my hand:

Another sign of progress: Friday morning they were awake when I got up, and they romped right over to me at the cage bars, likely waiting expectantly for some mealworms. They are mealworm addicts!  Their eyes get all wide and crazed, and they are a lot braver in crawling over my hand or any obstacle in order to get to a mealworm they’ve spotted.

First 24 hours

The babies came on a flight yesterday afternoon right on time. We (B. and I) picked them up at the cargo area of the airport, which was a little sketchy on the outside, but inside they were nice and very curious what a sugar glider was. One hinted that he’d like to see one, but I didn’t take him up on it. All we needed were two scared baby sugar gliders running amok around the office.

In the car, though, I wanted to make sure they were alive and both there before driving off. After some struggling to open the container they were sent in, we took a look inside the bonding pouch they were snuggled up in. There they were, smaller than I imagined and one almost completely blocking the other.  This tough guy was on its hind legs and all its limbs were stretched out wide, apparently protecting the other, while it made the loud crabbing sound they make when scared. (It sounds like a cicada.) B jumped a bit when it started up, surprised at how loud they were.

I’m fairly certain at this point that the big bad protector is the boy; he’s bigger and tougher and I couldn’t find any pouch slit indication when perusing his belly earlier. The smaller, quieter one is the girl. Both crab, but only the boy has tried lunging forward to nip. The girl crabs and then just tries to hide further in whatever she’s in.

Once in their cage last night, they spent a good two hours just slowly exploring each and every fake vine, branch, and leaf in the place. It took them a while to find the food dishes, which are in a more exposed area of the cage (less leafy foliage — mainly for easy feeding access).  In the meantime, the girl fell asleep half upside down (see here), and the boy stuffed a little fleece cloth into his wheel to snuggle in between laps. Eventually they found the food (went for the dry food first, likely because it’s the same as the breeder’s, so it was a familiar smell and taste), then discovered the mealworms (with kiwi) and crunched those suckers down. I noticed this morning that the bottom of the cage was littered with crumbs of dry food and bits of kiwi, but not one piece of mealworm was discarded.

Today I successfully hand-fed the girl a nip of honey, and later I got both girl and boy to lick yogurt off of my finger. Their little tiny tongues were so cute, and felt so funny licking my fingers. While they were sleeping in their bonding pouches today, I was able to pet both of them. The girl curled up so much that I could only really get to her head and behind her ears, and at times a little of her back, but the boy was so out of it while sleeping that I got his whole belly, chin, toes, and more. He seemed to particularly enjoy his armpits and tail joint/rump scratched, which I found peculiar but rather endearing, especially as he squirmed around to lean into it. I also think he was dreaming of eating, because his paw went to his nose and mouth and he made some sucking sounds.  Soooo cute.

After a few hours of hanging in their bonding pouches and sleepily tolerating me petting them, I put them back into their cage pouch so they can eat when they figure out that dinner has been served.

Well, I’m off to finish laundry and dread work tomorrow. At least I’ll have to warm fuzzies to come home to!