I think of my little Tinker everyday. She ment so much to me and since I lost her, I have felt like little things dont matter to me. Many of you know that I lost Tinker on Christmas Eve after a very long 2 week battle. I blame myself for her lost, I am not 100% if what I did caused her death, but if I can help even 1 glider from this, than I feel like Tinker death was not in vain.
We were given Tinker by a guy my husband worked with in November of 2007. I had never heard of a sugar glider before we got her. The guy we got her from did not know if she was a boy or girl. There was a bugs bunny bedroom shoe in her cage that she slept in, and a little bird bell that she played with. We were given a little clear bag that that small circle pellets in it that he said to feed her and that we could give her apples, sugar water, or baby food as well. Since I never heard on them, I figured he knew what he was talking about and took his word on this. I never researched them (I really wish I had of now).
She did not like people. She would not let us hold her. It took me about 6-8 months to even get her to come to me and not "Grawl" at me. I don't know how she was treated before we got her (I don't even know how old she was, she was not a baby though). She must have been ingored to have acted the way she did, sadly probably her whole life.
I had never heard of the BML
diet or anyother
diet for the matter. I bought a lot of baby food for her because I thought it would not only be sweet to her, but have vitimins in it too. She did love when I would put apples or bananas in there.
On December 14th, 2008 I noticed that Tinker wasn't herself. The night before I know she was fine because she was barking at my cat( they always gave each other a hard time). I noticed that she was favoring her back right paw. I though that maybe she had just hurt it jumping around in her cage the night before. But soon after church relized something was wrong. She was in pain, she was pacing in her cage and not sleeping. She could not climbe up the bars, she would try and "hop" up them and just slide back down. I was trying to find a
vet and I was not having much luck. That next day, Monday I took her to the
vet I always to my cat too, and he told me that he did not know anything about Gliders, but called one of his
vet friends that has 2. After they spoke, he gave me some meds for her and was to give it to her for 3 days.
She did start to get better, but then thursday/friday she took a turn for the worse. I woke up everyday thinking the worse had happen. And everyday i looked in her cage and saw she was alive, well I though all the more she was fighting to be with me. We
bonded so much in this 2 weeks she was sick, which made it loosing her that much harder. I called many
vets trying to get someone to work with me on payments so she could be seen. One
vet had the nerve to tell me that the only ADIVSE they would give me was to bring her in and have her put down because I was being selfish to let her keep suffering.
On Christmas Eve, I found a wonderful
vet that would see her. He looked at her and said that she was very sick and probabley not going to make it. She was in need of fluids so bad.... At this point, she had either liver or kidney failure. She was too sick to take blood and heart rate was so slow.
She passed away in my hands later that night. She was in pain as she passed, she would just look up at me like she knew it was her time to go and wanted to some how see how I was holding up. I was looking down at her, tears running down my face fell onto her head. I was rubbing her, trying to see if I could get her ears, anything to move. I knew she was gone, but I wasn't ready to let go. It was Christmas, the happiest time of the year,and yet, here I was wishing it would never come. I feel kinda like Christmas took my little Tinker with it.
Now with her story being told, here is the big thing I want people to know. If I had only had her on the correct
diet, I might still have my Tinker with me. I want to somehow find a way to let people know the correct way to care for a glider so there wont be any more story's like Tinker. Sometimes I like to think that maybe I rescued Tinker and showed her love that she never knew, but then again I blame myself for her loss because I didn't know the correct
diet for her.
I dont want anymore unnecessary Animal deaths. It has been 3 weeks since I lost my little girl. I still have her cage just the way it was when she passed. I think it would be to much of a reatily check if I didnt have a little piece of her here while I am still healing with her loss. I look in thinking I am going to see her jumping around in there, waiting to talk to me about her day. I cry so much over her. She ment the world to me. She was so beautiful. There are times I wish I could just hold her and feel her fur and know my little girl is ok. I know this will never happen, all the more reason why I cry.
I hope Tinkers story can inspire new sugar parents to take the time to learn what is the right way to care for these little babies. They are nothing like a cat or dog, they require so much more time. I hope one day I can think up of a better way to help people, but for now I hope sharing Tinkers Story will Help someone somewhere.
I will always love you my little Tinker! You were so strong!