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Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? #33001
01/04/05 05:58 AM
01/04/05 05:58 AM

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</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
When I had gliders on modified leadbeaters, they would always leave a "sand" in the bottom of their water dish, from eating and then rinsing out the hard bits of wheat germ that they didn't like to swallow. As far as I know, gliders who drink from water bottles do not "rinse". Like I said before, I don't know if this is a positive think, I would love to have someone do research on it though, lol.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

[:"blue"] I would love to hear more about this "rinsing" behavior as it is a totally new idea to me. Since I have never used water dishes, I have never observed this behavior. A couple of questions come immediately to mind.....a couple specifically for Mage and a couple just thinking out loud.

Firstly, for Mage.....have you actually observed gliders "rinsing" or are you just speculating based on finding this "sand" in the water dish??

Secondly, is this "rinsing" a real phenomenon? Gliders are notoriously messy eaters. My gliders usually have quite a bit of the BML built up on the fur around their mouth. Maybe the "sand" you see is just the result of that material being washed off while they are drinking?? We all know that gliders attempt to cover any nearby walls with food as they eat. Maybe some of the food headed for the walls ends up in the water dishes. And maybe some of this stuff actually comes off of their feet rather than out of their mouths.

Admittedly, I don't sit and observe my gliders eat like a scientific investigator might; but even in my minimal experience, I don't see my gliders running back and forth between the food dish and the water bottle. If they really are "rinsing" to get rid of objectionable material, I would expect them to see them eat a little and then rinse a little and continuously repeat that pattern and I don't. I see them eat and then eject a little half-moon pellet and then eat some more and eject another pellet. When they are done eating there is a food dish filled with little pellets. Presumably the pellets contain the material you suggest they are trying to "rinse"? Maybe the residue you are seeing in the water dish, is the last pellet(dissolved) of the eating session just prior to a drinking session. maybe the glider carries that last pellet of a feeding session to the water and expels it just before drinking?? Since gliders eat several times during the evening, there may be several pellets deposited in a water dish during the course of a full evening??

If, for the sake of argument, we accept that this is a real behavior, how do we know gliders don't do it when using a water bottle?? Obviously, if gliders rinse when using a water dish. the water dish will collect the residue of the process. If gliders rinse while drinking from a water bottle, the residue will end up in the material in the litter pan!!

The rinsing behavior does not seem to be consistent with what little I know about the eating habits of wild gliders. In the wild, gliders are away from their nests for hours at a time scouring the treetops for food. I can't say for sure, but it seems reasonable to assume there is not ready source of standing water available for them to rinse while eating??

I must admit I need to get a lot more information before I am convinced that we are talking about a real glider behavior. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/read.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/read.gif" alt="" />

I sure would like to hear what other think or have observed. [/]

Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33002
01/04/05 08:47 AM
01/04/05 08:47 AM

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This almost sounds like a behavior observed in some horses refered to as dipping. Since hay is rather dry, some horse will dip their hay in water to soften it up and make it easier to swallow. I've observed my gliders running from thier food bowl to their water bottle several times while eating. Is it possible that their eating process dries out their mouth causing them to get a drink while eating? I think, like Randy suggested, that the sand in the water bowl is an effect of their drinking, not the reason for it. They do tend to get food every where, including all over themselves...

Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33003
01/04/05 09:16 AM
01/04/05 09:16 AM

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Maybe it depends on the animal. I've never seen my gliders "rinse". Also my horse does not dunk his hay (that's what we call it here.) He always has clean water buckets in the morning, while other horses water is so soiled from hay dunking it looks black. Maybe depends on the animal.

Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33004
01/04/05 09:33 AM
01/04/05 09:33 AM

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I don't know about my glider, but my gray parrot certainly dips his food! I have him on a pelleted diet rather than seeds and he always dunks the crunchy pellets. Sometimes he lets them float in there a while and sometimes he either can't or forgets to get all of them out, so they sink to the bottom when saturated. There is always "silt" in the bottom of the water bowl after a meal.

But since glider food is already moist, I wouldn't think they'd need to do this.

Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33005
01/04/05 09:23 PM
01/04/05 09:23 PM
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St. Johns, Florida
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Randy, check my response to this in the other thread!!


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Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33006
03/18/05 02:47 PM
03/18/05 02:47 PM
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 294
Waxahachie, Tx
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Waxahachie, Tx
My glider does that! I've never seen it, but when I check on her in the morning there is always stuff at the bottom of her water dish. It does look like sand, as you said.


:rbridge: R.I.P. Sandy 5/1/2004-8/29/13
Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33007
03/19/05 06:59 PM
03/19/05 06:59 PM
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deer park new york
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thats a good question i'm gonna but a water dish in my cage tongith and let you know what happens


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Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33008
03/20/05 04:39 AM
03/20/05 04:39 AM

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</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />
My glider does that! I've never seen it, but when I check on her in the morning there is always stuff at the bottom of her water dish. It does look like sand, as you said.

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[:"blue"] Just wondering.....?? If you haven't seen your gliders do it, how do you know that they do?? Gliders are well know for their "food fights." Their normal eating habits include slinging food..... especially BML.....all over the place. How do you know the "sand" in your water bowl is not just the result of flying food rather than "rinsing?" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nixweiss.gif" alt="" />[/]

Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33009
03/20/05 08:34 PM
03/20/05 08:34 PM

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Hey, well actually I have seen my glider perform this behaviour several times. I've always used BML as a licky treat and I often see the little moon-shaped debris pieces fall out of his mouth and into my hands or his pouch. I offer him some BML on my fingers every morning and I'm quick enough to catch Dante in the act of glider spitting every now and then. I find Dante sort of chews the BML and moves it around his mouth while swallowing (the swallowing makes a soft beat sound) and then before you know it the piece or pieces fall out of his mouth rather discreetly. It's quite cute... lol.

Mikey <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dance.gif" alt="" />

Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33010
03/21/05 12:23 AM
03/21/05 12:23 AM

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[:"blue"] Mikey: I think you have misunderstood the point of this thread. No one is disputing the fact that gliders leave little half-moon pellets as residuals of their evening meals. The question is whether they purposefully visit the water dish and rinse out their mouths to clean out this residue and leave the remnants in the water bowl. And additionally whether this rinsing behavior is exhibited by gliders who drink from water bottles. My take on this is that seeing a little food residue in a water dish is not proof that gliders purposely rinse out their mouths. I think it much more likely that any food residue in the water dish is simply incidental to their drinking and not proof of a specific alternative behavior. I'm not saying they don't do it, just that we haven't seen any proof of it yet. [/]

Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33011
03/21/05 12:30 AM
03/21/05 12:30 AM

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Ooooohhhh! My bad... Right on...! Thanks for clearing that up. I thought we were talking about something completely different! LOL. That's what happens when you don't read everything properly! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/read.gif" alt="" />

Ahh... yeah, I have Dante on waterbottles so it would be hard to determine the validity of such a postulation in my case. I wonder how much water is really available to gliders in the wild for "glider rinsing" to be incorporated as an integral part of their behaviours. Much of their food stuffs in the wild exists as plant exudates which are naturally rather high in water content. Hmmm...

Also, I've noticed that Dante will feed on his BML in the evening and while smacking on it, visit his waterbottle to drink. Perhaps for those using water dishes, the half-moons fall in for owners to discover in the morning... Or, food particles can easily be relased into the water simply during the act of drinking, much like how dog owners often find peices of dog food floating around in the dog's water bowl....

Mikey <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dance.gif" alt="" />

Re: Glider Rinsing---Is It A Real Behavior??? [Re: ] #33012
03/21/05 03:59 AM
03/21/05 03:59 AM

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I have 3 different cages with gliders(of course). They each have a water bottle but also a water dish. Every morning when I remove their water bowls there is always food or residue of sorts in them. Also the water bowls are not close to the food which makes me wonder what they are doing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nixweiss.gif" alt="" />
I know when I had my exotic birds i switched them to water bottles because they were forever making 'mush' in the water bowls. JME <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/heartpump.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/read.gif" alt="" />


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