Hi there, first time using this sort of website so please forgive me if this is in the wrong section or there are any errors!

I've owned my three gliders for 8 years. Two sisters and a castrated male. They've got on throughout the years, but the male (who was introduced a year after I got the girls, so he's a year younger) has always been antisocial and timid. Where the girls were always friendly and no issues, he's always been very much a 'leave me alone to do my own thing' which I have done, I've mostly let them do as they please - for example only handling them to check on their wellbeing, or to catch them for vet appointments.

Additional info; they are in a huge cage with different floors, plenty of toys and pouches, and two suitable large wheels (on different levels so spreading out resources) and also get free roam access in the room they are in. I change it every couple of years with a new cage and keep a couple of their toys and pouches to keep their scent between new set ups. Room is always kept at 22oC.

There are other animals in the room but they have no contact - pygmy hedgehogs (in vivariums so the gliders cannot access them anyway) and ball pythons (also in vivs so the gliders cannot access them). I've had hedgehogs here since before the gliders, and the ball pythons have been there for over two years now so it doesn't match up timeline wise with the behaviour issues. I also have dogs that come in when I'm feeding the animals at night, but they're shooed out of there once I let the gliders out for their free roaming, so there's no direct interaction between them either.

Anyway so for the last seven years the trio have got along swimmingly, no issues. Always all clear at vet check ups. The male just likes to do his own thing and I leave him to it, whereas the girls will come out and hang out on me or explore the room, he has never wanted to go out of the enclosure. Always been good eaters, groomed each other and played together well.

THE MAIN CRUX OF THE POST / MAIN ISSUE - in the last few months the male has become extremely aggressive to the girls - he won't let them eat, he won't let them play, he starts crabbing as soon as they try to come near him and chases them away. Initially I didn't want to split the group up and tried giving them time apart during their free roaming (which, again, the male doesn't go out of the cage anyway and the girls were happy to get away from him) I've put different food bowls around to spread out the food, ensured there's plenty of it. He jealously guards the food, dashing between each bowl and attacks them if they go near any of them, it's like the mere sight of them eating food sets him off. He has also been overzealously grooming them to the point their tails were losing fur and starting to become patchy, his tail was fine. I had to stay and monitor them to make sure the girls were getting food and got to the point I'd take them out to eat away from him to give them some peace from him chasing them.

It was when I saw him attack one girl so violently he drew blood from her face that I decided to separate him. The girls are so much happier without him, their tail fur has grown back in, they are back to eating well and playing. They aren't cowering in fear in their pouches or dashing out of the cage to get away from him.
It's been three weeks since I split them up, and the male has since been kept separate from them, but within visual distance so he's not totally isolated. He's becoming more aggressive(unsure if this is just lack of confidence as he's alone now and uncertain) and launches himself at the bars if he sees me or my partner try to open them up to feed him, tries to bite my partner's fingers. He's been over grooming his tail and it's now a patchy mess. He frantically scent marks everything in the enclosure again and again. He is still eating and he uses his toys and the wheel, but he's clearly not happy.

Honestly I'm not sure what to do with him. I don't want to re-introduce him to the two girls as he will likely just go back to beating them up and resource guarding. I'm uncertain if introducing a younger, castrated male will help either. It's clear he isn't happy by himself, but I'm unsure if he's safe to be around other gliders again. I'm open to getting him on some kind of calming medication if such a thing exists for gliders, I do wonder if he's maybe got something going on with him internally that isn't obvious and that's caused his massive insecurity and aggression.

Has anyone dealt with this kind of thing before? If anyone has advice or words of support, I'd appreciate them!

Hi im new here.

I screwed up massively. I got a cage in person and did not check the bar spacing till a brought it home and assembled it...
The bar spacing is 1" by 4".
I know, escape waiting to happen.

I was wondering if a certain type of mesh (linked at the bottom) is safe to use?

(The link is a is a 1/2" inch (0.4" to be specific) plastic hardware cloth, but I don't have gliders yet and can't estimate if they are chewers.

Will be attached with a great number of zip ties.)

I've heard not to do metal, and vinyl-coated galvanized steel is debated, so I'm playing it safe with plastic hardware mesh.

My main concerns:
1: Could the gliders chew through it to escape?
2: Is the door openable by them

Please look at the link for the mesh and the image for the doors if you can.

Link for mesh below
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fencer-...Hardware-Netting-PGC-B3X15MF12/309600225

Hello all-
I am a returning member to Glider Central and I am heartbroken to see "latest postings" in various categories with dates as far back as 2018. I hope everyone is well and still actively enjoying life with our beloved sugar gliders. I completely know and understand that 'life happens', it did to me, but thankfully all is well now and I'm looking forward to rejoining the wonderful family here on Glider Central.

Hi All,

It has been a few years since I have been on here. I created my account 13 years ago when I got my first glider Princess Juliet. As I was a new glider mom, I wanted as much information to provide the best care for my new baby. I then added a friend a few months later, Gizmo. I had these to wonderful girls for 12 years and I spoiled and loved them with all my heart. They were well traveled, as I took them on many a road trip visiting several states in the US. I lost them both last year to old age within a couple of months apart. It still breaks my heart thinking about it. Five years ago a friend of mine worked with a lady that had a 2 year old little girl that they no longer had time for, so I adopted the sweet Zelda or Ms Bitty (which is what I mostly called her). After Juliet and Gizmo passed I found a companion for Ms Bitty, so she would not be lonely after the loss of her sisters. Ms Bitty passed unexpectedly Saturday night. I am not sure what happened, just that I found her in the bottom of the cage. I looked her over and could not determine what could have happened. She is now buried with her sisters in my rose garden. I now have a broken heart and a dilemma. My poor Mr. Winston is all alone and I cannot find anyone locally (St. Louis, Missouri) that breeds or has a glider that needs to be rehomed. I checked the links on the page and the breeders do not seem to be active anymore. I am leery of being scammed, does anyone on here know anyone in my area I could contact?

Hi all!

I am a new sugar glider mama as of about a month and a half ago! I don't have any pressing questions or concerns, I just wanted to drop in here and say hi!

These little babies have absolutely stolen my heart and our bonding is going very well! If there are any tips/tricks that you wish you knew before getting your babies, what would it be?

Hello, everyone 😄 I am a new glider owner with some questions any help would be much much appreciated 😊

My question is about bedding....

I have a cage that does not have a drop pan and since the people I bought the gliders from used pine pellets that is what I used. They have been using pine pellets for 3 months now and no problems. They're doing absolutely great 👍 (in direct contact with pine pellets. Cage doesn't have a drop pan)

I however found the pine pellets to be messy so I was going to swap them over to the bedding we use for our guniea pigs and bunnies. Kaytee Clean and Cozy Lavender Scented Bedding.

However upon more research I found out that scented bedding may not be the best since they are scent based pets and have sensitive respiratory systems. I could always buy unscented though if that was the only issue.

I also read posts about them not needing to be in direct contact with the bedding because they may eat a piece and it could cause blockages. I never had that issue with my other pets but I am not sure about gliders if they would try and eat it or not.

I do not own a cage with a drop pan so my question is should I stick with the pine pellets or could I introduced then to carefresh or kaytee bedding? Also should it be unscented or could it be scented? They use real lavender buds so it seems to be the healthiest and safest scented bedding out there in my opinion.

Any advice on what to use for bedding in a glider cage would be great and much appreciated (they'll have direct contact with it so it would need to be 100% safe for them)💕