After loosing my dog of sixteen years I decided to get a new pet. I discovered gliders from a local pet store and fell in love with the idea of them. I decided to look for a place that probably took better care of their gliders then a pet store. I found a pet store that said they got their gliders from a
breeder uppon request, so I got one from them. The glider I got was a little crazier then expected. I spent all day,everyday with that glider; named Sugar. After a week she was starting to come around. Then one day I awoke to find her lying on the bottom of the cage. I scoped her up and took her to the
vet. She died an hour latter. The
vet had no clue why. I did'nt do anything wrong and had her for only a week, but still I was devestated. I was overcome with saddness and guilt. <BR> I then decided to find another glider. one; becaues I really wanted one, and two; becaues I wanted to prove that I was a good owner. I found a good
breeder and was able to get a neutered boy in a months time. Jesse was way crazier than I expected. The
breeders said he was, unfortunatley, the worst they had ever had, and did'nt know why. I spent all day everyday with him, but got no change. After a few months I was very discouraged and called the
breeder to get some ideas. I had tried just about everything and nothing had worked, so he recommended I get another, and maybe that would calm him down. In another month I got Katie, a little sweety. She was an angle from the second I got her. It took awhile for her to become friends with Jesse, but they finally became roomates. They did'nt love eachother, but they got along ok. Jesse calmed down, but was still very untrusting. That was one year ago.<BR> About a week ago I was seeing that Katie was not as active as she used to be. I soon took her to the
vet who told me he had no idea what was wrong with her. I decided to get some more vitamans, make sure she was eating well, and seperate her from Jesse who I knew could be a bully. I watched her closely for the next few days. She was eating and drinking, but not that much, and she was getting worse. I searched and searched and found a second
vet. He was much better. He ran some tests and found blood in her urine. He gave me some drugs, and gave her some stuff right there. She made an immediate improvment. However, this past Sunday, two days after the
vet, she woke up in pretty bad shape. I gave her her medicine and let her rest in her pouch with me the rest of the day. When I took her out in the evening she was much worse. The
vet happened to just then call to see how she was doing. I said, not so great, but he did'nt have much advise. Just to keep forcing fluids and the medicine, which she hatted. <BR> I fought with her for about two hours, on and off. Untill the last time I noticed her inabitity to struggle, keep fluids down, or keep her balance. She was struggling to breath. It was 10:00pm on Sunday, and there is no emergency place that takes care of gliders. I tried one more time to give her fluids, but nothing stayed down. I put her down and she feel on her side and lay there nearly paralized. I made the decision to not torture her in what seemed like her last hours. I held her tight, talked softly, kept her warm, and whatched her die. She died at 3:30am on Monday. She was wrapped in a small pecice of cloth like a big blanket and lying on my chest. I held her until morning when I burried her in the yard. She was a wonderful pet, and now I am left heart broken and overwhelemed with guilt. I dont think I did anything wrong, but I could'nt save her, and now all I feel is empty.<P>*Two reasons for writing my first, and probably last, message. One; I needed to get this off my chest. Two; now I have a glider who I love, but is very untrusting and gives nothing in return. Having Katie helped Jesse but he was still crazy. I dont know if I can deal with just him, and I dont think I can deal with trying again with another glider, and I dont know how I would deal with giving him up. Im spending a lot of time with him, but he is already reverting back to the way he was. I dont know what to do.<P>sorry this was so long. Thanks for listening.