GliderCENTRAL

New Sugar Glider Mom

Posted By: Suggiefan2017

New Sugar Glider Mom - 03/11/17 03:47 AM

Hello, this is my first time on this site and I just joined up. My partner and I recently adopted two sweet suggie boys from a breeder. We've had them about 3 weeks now, and they have come along way with getting acclimated to their new home. We spend at least an hour an night in the tent and they spend the majority of it on my shoulder. We do bonding time on my days off during the day (unfortunately is it only 3 days a week) and my partner does bonding when he gets home from work on the nights I am working late. I feel we have a routine down and I just want to know if the shoulder sitting is a good sign? I never put my hands near their face, I always let them come to me and I know it may be a long time before they let me pet them. The only other question I have is they sometimes still bite my hands, and it usually when they are using it as a perch they only bite my fingers but it is hard but never breaks skin. I'm used to being bitten (I work with animals and I have tamed my hamster) and the breeder did warn me about it but I was wondering if this is aggressive grooming or fear behavior? Anyway, I am excited to have joined up and I can't wait to read more of these forums!
Posted By: KarenE

Re: New Sugar Glider Mom - 03/11/17 04:30 AM

:welcomegc:

The bonding process seems to be coming along very well, and the shoulder sitting is a good thing wink

Now the biting the fingers is something that needs to be corrected before it gets to the point of possibly drawing blood. Right now it might be a game, but it's something that should be discouraged.

Usually a strong tssk tssk sound with a stern NO works as you encourage them to another activity. Exactly how you would a human child. Some people find "No Biting" and removing them from your hands also works. In extreme cases, a short time out in the cage with the verbal "No Biting" has actually been found to be effective with some gliders. Just long enough for them to get the idea - very short time out in the cage wink
Posted By: TwoDog

Re: New Sugar Glider Mom - 03/11/17 06:55 AM

Suggiefan hey!
Sounds like you are doing great. Three weeks in and they are sitting on your shoulders...
...and tolerating ANY contact with your hands is great at this point.
There's a lot of different kinds of bites. These little guys explore the world with their teeth.

...and those giant eyes can't seem to see what's right under their nose--so I figure they sometimes bite, just to see what something is, or what it's made of.

Karen, above, laid out the methods.

Do a search here on biting...loads of good info.

At this point, I don't think mine will ever get to a point where they never touch me with their teeth. They just instinctively use their teeth so much.
But with patience and consistency you can get it down to nearly nothing.

Good luck and welcome to the addiction. :-)
Posted By: Suggiefan2017

Re: New Sugar Glider Mom - 03/11/17 03:02 PM

Thank you so much for the information! I will try the "tsk" noise more, I only did it once and they got so scared I didn't know if it would make things worse.
Also, they've jumped on me from day one, I just didn't know if the shoulder sitting was because they wanted to be somewhere where I couldn't see or reach them because they were scared.
The breeder we went to was really nice and had a lot of information. She had brought four joeys into her tent with us and when these two boys wouldn't get off my head she told us those two were the ones we should buy. I love them both so much and I am excited that we are doing the right training with them. :D Again thank you for your help!
Posted By: Hutch

Re: New Sugar Glider Mom - 03/11/17 09:27 PM

I agree with the others, the shoulder sitting is a good sign. None of my four wanted to come near me at first. It is great they're willing to come to you like that.
Posted By: Feather

Re: New Sugar Glider Mom - 03/12/17 12:37 AM

:welcome2:
Posted By: Suggiefan2017

Re: New Sugar Glider Mom - 03/12/17 03:16 AM

Oh jeeze forgot to mention my boys names. The only way I can tell them apart so far is their tails, one has a longer darker tip than the other. Narry (short for Nyarlathotep) is the one with the longer darker tip, and Raggy (short for Ragnalla) is the one with the shorter. Both their personalities are coming out but Raggy seems to be the one always sitting on me or using me an a launch pad in the tent. smile
Their names are from H. P. Lovecraft stories.
Posted By: Hutch

Re: New Sugar Glider Mom - 03/12/17 12:08 PM

Originally Posted By: Suggiefan2017
Their names are from H. P. Lovecraft stories.
:thumb2:
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