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Strange Behavior #1386864
02/16/15 06:47 PM
02/16/15 06:47 PM
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 3
Wisconsin
G
GabeAxelDad Offline OP
New Member
GabeAxelDad  Offline OP
New Member
G

Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 3
Wisconsin
I have two male gliders. Gabe (white face male, neutered, 8 months old) and Axel (black beauty male, un-neutered, and 7 months old). I have had both gliders since they were 8 weeks old and all has
been going extremely well. No obvious signs of sickness, bonded well, get along with one another great,
eating good, friendly, very active during our daily playtime, no crabbing, larger than average cage with
plenty of fun toys......the list goes on. Our usual playtime occurs between 9:30 PM-1030PM every day.
By this time, the boys have usually eaten dinner and are ready to play. I know this because they are
typically hanging on the door waiting for me to open their cage so they can jump to me. Playtime
occurs in our glider proofed bathroom and always has.

On Saturday evening, I went to get boys for playtime as usual. They happily greeted me, and we
made our way to the bathroom. After we were in the bathroom for a couple of minutes, everything
changed. Axel suddenly freaked out. He appeared to be completely disoriented. He was frantically
running up and down my body, jumping directly on my face, and gliding directly into the wall. For a
moment, I thought he was just spooked….but his behavior didn’t change. Once off my body, he hid in
the darkest corner of the room and started barking…..barking like I had never heard him do before. He
wouldn’t come to me like he usually does—he would just run away. His movements were very twitchy.
He could still hang on to things, but it was like he had never seen me before. It was like he went from
bonded to un-bonded within a matter of seconds!!!! As a result of Axel barking, Gabe did too. After
about 7 minutes, the barking stopped and I was able to get them both back in their cage. Once in the
cage, they hid in their pouch. I left them alone for the rest of the evening to calm down.

I took Axel to the vet on Tuesday (earliest I could get him in), and everything checked out okay.
The vet gave him some calcium and suggested I rework their diet. Axel is also scheduled to be neutered
on 2/25/15. I was feeding them the Pet Glider Fresh diet (as this is what the breeder recommended),
but am in the process of switching them over to a new diet (as a result of this episode, but otherwise, they have been on this diet their entire lives).
His behavior seems to be getting better since the episode, but he just not the same. He’s not as
friendly and cuddly as he used to be. His appears to be more nervous than usual, and his movements
aren’t as fluid as they used to be. I’ve also noticed that during playtime, out of nowhere him or Gabe
will start barking at each other and both hide as if something scared them, but nothing that I can see or hear to cause them to do so is apparent.

Has anyone ever had this happen? If so, any idea why or what I can do to fix it? Should I start the bonding process all over again? I’m really at a loss as of what to do because earlier that day, they were just fine. As his health appears to be fine, I’m left to assume this is a behavior thing. I’m just not sure where we went wrong. Any ideas and/or insight would be greatly appreciated!

Best,

Derek, Gabe & Axel’s dad

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Re: Strange Behavior [Re: GabeAxelDad] #1386868
02/16/15 07:15 PM
02/16/15 07:15 PM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,389
Maryland
T
Terry Offline
Serious Glideritis
Terry  Offline
Serious Glideritis
T

Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,389
Maryland
I'm not an expert but the "frightened like" behavior in even bonded gliders can be normal if they are startled as from quick,abrupt movements, or possibly sudden loud noises. It is possible a strange odor could cause alarm, or perhaps something they perceived as a threat. Being in the same play area consistently usually avoids this from happening, but doesn't mean it's impossible that something you didn't detect was picked up to your Axel. I wouldn't usually think that a frightened reaction episode would be related to diet, but the changes in the way he moves could be. The current diet you're feeding uses a "sprinkle" method for the vitamin and calcium, is that correct? When using a "sprinkle" method, you can't be sure who is getting enough or too much of the nutrients it contains and either way, it can result in health issues. Changing their diet may be a good idea, but you can stir the supplement in their food just prior to serving and make sure it's mixed well to prevent one glider to lick most or all off the top prior to the other glider getting to the food dish.

Please keep us posted. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will have more or better answers

Last edited by Terry; 02/16/15 07:16 PM.

Lives with:
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Re: Strange Behavior [Re: GabeAxelDad] #1386871
02/16/15 10:36 PM
02/16/15 10:36 PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,979
Wisconsin
Feather Offline
Administrator
Feather  Offline
Administrator

Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,979
Wisconsin
Hi Derek,

Glad to see you made it here. Hopefully one if the other older glider owners can chime in on behavior other than what we talked about.


Kimberley
Feathers-Sweetie, Mister Peanut & Big Mack
Fur-Guinan, Mr. Spock, T'Mir, Cho, Toothless, Maverick & Maharet :bb: T'Pol, Elizabeth & Curzon :wfb: TY, TJ, Light Fury, Madison & T'Pring :rtmo:
Forever in my heart, Gizmo, Tucker, Khayman and the rest of my babies over the :rbridge:

Re: Strange Behavior [Re: GabeAxelDad] #1386873
02/16/15 11:35 PM
02/16/15 11:35 PM
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,138
Lutz Florida
CandyOtte Offline
Serious Glideritis
CandyOtte  Offline
Serious Glideritis

Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,138
Lutz Florida
Were you using the Vitamin Supplement sold on Priscilla's web page specifically made to go with the Pet Glider Fresh diet?

If so, your gliders were getting the vitamins and calcium they need daily.

If you were not using the vitamin supplement called for in this diet, they may have some nutritional issues.

Which ever diet you choose to switch to - use all of the ingredients including supplements called for in the staple recipe in the amounts listed in the recipe.

As for the behavior change - it is entirely possible that he saw, heard or smelled something that alarmed him. A new soap, shampoo or cleaning product used in the bathroom before play time could have made him feel threatened. Unfortunately HE cannot tell you what upset him. The scent from just about any product may have lingered at a level he noticed, even if you did not notice anything different. They have sensitive noses.

Another thing gliders often respond to are pressure changes due to weather changes. If you are in an area with a cold front moving in the barometric pressure may be dropping.

I would not call this 'unbonding'. He just needs some time to get used to any changes he may have sensed.

Last edited by CandyOtte; 02/16/15 11:36 PM.

Candy Otte
& the Glider Kids
Sassy, Corky, Mehitabel & Missy
Wacco, Yacco, & Dot
Mindy, Kanobles, Elmo, & Chipper

http://www.gliderkids-diet.com

CandyOtte@aol.com

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