My gliders came with a heat rock and I've taken it out since reading about them on here. But now my gliders seem to hardly ever come out of their pouch. Is there a safe alternative to the heat rock that doesn't involve me having an insanely high heating bill for my entire house?

Do you see them come out at night at all? What do you keep your house temp at? Remember gliders are nocturnal so they don't venture out much during the day and if they are young they won't get up and stay up even at night for long periods of time. You could try adding fleece blankies in the pouch. Have you taken them in for a vet visit yet?

Mine are around 4 months old and they will get up at night roam,eat,play,go back to sleep and repeat several times through the night and I barely see them at all during the day except for when I harrass them.

Generally if you are comfy they are. I keep my house set at 70 degrees year round which seems to be average temp.

Yes they come out around 8:30, but are hardly up before they're asleep again. I checked on them at about 2:30 am and they were still in their pouch and hadn't eaten anything else. They used to stay out and play a lot more when the heat rock was in there, that's what made me think it's a temperature issue.

I keep my house at about 70 degrees, but they're in the basement so I'm wondering if it's not warm enough for them?

Mines at 72 but the room they are in has windows so I use a little heater that I plug into the wall at night when the temps drop. I just position it outside the cage, about 18-24 inches away, never allowing them the ability to be overheated or get a hold of the cord. I ran this heater last year and only saw a $20 increase in my heating bill/month. You could also try an oil heater? I dont know is this has any toxic capabilities towards gliders though. I ran one all winter last year day and night for my rabbits as well. I put it on a timer so it was off during the warmer day hours though.

Mine dont wake up til 11. I associated this with the room they were in was super dark and they went off the timer for the fishtank when the moonlight lights came on so I moved them into a room where they have natural daylight now. They would be up for a few hours, they were groggy at first and just hung out..around 1230ish they got real active til about 4am, went back to sleep, and then back up around 6am until they called it a night around 730-8.

you can get a thermometer to put down there. Like those digital ones people put outside that way you know for sure. you can get a space heater with the auto thermostat to shut off once it reaches destined temp. How old are they? Have you been to a vet to run tests and verify age? They are propably getting up more than you see and if they are young they may not appear to eat what they actually are. You can begin weighing them daily to ensure they are gaining weight.

I haven't taken them to a vet to run tests and verify age, should I? I bought them from a pet store that is USDA certified, but it was kind of like (PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets, we didn't get to hold them before we bought them. I know, I was very naive!

I'm not sure I could weigh them, they hardly let me hold them. And I'm wondering if a trip to the vet would just shock them?

They need to see a vet ASAP!! They could have a parasite or could be a lot younger than you were told. They should be vet checked regardless of where they came from. It helps establish a base line with your vet for the future visits as well as tests that can pick up anything that developed stress wise just from the new move.

Okay, so give me tips on the vet visit... I can easily get them there in the pouch, but how is a vet going to examine them without getting bit?

What should I take with me to help?

A large fleece square is helpful to handle them and for them to sit on instead of the cold talble. Your vet may have towels or something on hand to use as well.

I do not know the size of your basement but I use these and they are awesome and VERY inexpensive to use. Very safe, especially around children and pets. Heater Panels
You can do a general search on line for Econo-Heat Heater Panels and there is a lot of info about them.
Pat

Pat those are awesome!

Another thing you can do is make a fleece cage cover; one that covers at least the top and three sides of your cage. This will help hold some heat in. As mentioned above, a quick fix is to add little fleece blankies in their pouch. They will burrow in them and cover themselves up.