What should i do with my gliders?

Hello there!

I adopted a pair of gliders that are both 5 months old. I notice that the female would make this "zzt zzt" sound randomly when both the male and her are in the pouch sleeping together, he may be annoying her or something im not sure. 

The part im worried about are how they behave at night as they will ball up and kinda seem like fighting for a bit with the female making the same sound again. The other point is i notice the male would use his hands to grab on to the female. 
But they will sleep snuggly together in their pouch at the end of the day (with the zzt zzt sound made from the female time to time). 

Here are some points i think u guys will wanna know: 

1. The male isnt neutured. 
2. The size of the cage is followed by the reccomened size
3. They do not fight for food. 
4. I notice the boy seems like a biter due to him always biting on the tag of the pouch. 

Soo i wanna know if the balling up was a legit fight or were they just playing and what is the male trying to do by grabbing on to the female.

I would really appreciate if anyone of you can help me thank you for reading!

Hi and welcome to Glider Central.

Male and female gliders can become sexually mature as soon as 4 months out of pouch. I'm guessing they are trying to mate and maybe the female isn't quite ready.

You may want to separate them for awhile or get the male neutered.

Keep an eye on them both for any mating/ dominance wounds.

Alright i will take note of it. Is there anyway to stop them ehen theyre in the middle of balling up?

Try distracting them with a toy or food.

Is there a reason you do not want the male neutered? If you are wanting joeys and they are not hurting each other, then I would suggest separating them until the female is a little older and is more receptive. If the male is indeed trying to mate it appears she is simply not ready. She could end up with some expensive injuries.

Hi there!

They do have food that i prep for them at night. But they normally ball up when i was just about to sleep (as they wake up kinda late).

Yes, im planning to have joeys. Is there any way to know if the male is trying to mate?? I will take note on seperating the two of them.

Another thing is i discovered the zzt zzt sound actually came from the male that is cleaning himself up. His was a lil high pitch so i mistook the sound he made.

If he's trying to mate her, he will try to climb on her back. Since they've been together for a bit, she may see him coming from behind and gets ready to fight him off and turns around.

Just in my observation of my gliders ( my boy is neutered, but wants to be the alpha), I see a lot of body language before a conflict starts. It's in how they stare and look at each other.

The male only knows what his hormones are telling him.

Food is a good way to try to end a fight, but if you feel the need to intervene, be sure to have gloves on or at least a large piece of fleece to protect your hands. Sometimes we get the worst end of their fight.

I hope this helps and keep us posted on how it's going.

Thank you on the info!

Hmm... i do notice he sniffs near her butt on multiple ocassion, i guess is a gesture of him trying to hint?

So.. in the midst of the fight i offer them food?

Lets say i do plan to get the male neutured, once he is done with the op do i have to seperate him from the female? If yes how long and do i need to re-introduce them

You can try to offer a treat. Talk to them, they may stop what they're doing for a treat.

I'm not sure which procedure they use for neuter in Australia. I would recommend not to shave the procedure area as they tend to notice it and will groom. In the states if all goes well, you can usually put them back in with their mate.

Feather can help with the different types. Hopefully she'll be on here soon.

I did read up a bit of post op in neutering, some said their gliders just seems as per usual after that they just keep watch on them for 24 hours and give them medication for pain relief. But they did state if the glieder was alone ornwith his cagemate.

Oh ok, i will wait for feather's opinion on this. thank you bery much. You guys were a big help!

Im planning to call the vet tomorrow as rhe clinic im looking at is closed for today.

Hello all

We made an appointment with the vet and will be visitng her on 14th July. I will take note about the shaving issue. Im sorry but i have another question which is about seprating them. Since he is always trying to mate with the female i plan to serperate the two of them up till he is done with his neuter. Since its gonna be more than 10 days. It is needed to reintroduce them? and if its needed to reintroduce on average how long will it take them to get along? Is it also possible she will reject him?

Im really hoping the neuter will make him more mellow and making the female feel so annoyed.

Hi, If you do separate them until the neuter appointment, then let them have supervised play time until they can be together again. He will try to mate with her even after he is neutered until all of the testosterone is out of his body.

The different types of neuters are pom on, they make an small incision in the scrotal sack and pull the testes out and crimp and cut, usually leaving the small opening to close on its own. Pom off with laser, they just laser it off about an 1/8 of an inch from the belly. Ask your vet not to take it to close to the belly or it leaves a hole. Pom off using a crimp and cut method, they take a forceps and clamp the spermatic cord (again about an 1/8 of an inch or more from the belly) cut the cord farthest from the belly and then wake him up. Once he starts to wiggle they take the forceps off.

You Do Not want them to use glue or stitches.

As long as he doesn't go after himself, he can go back in with her.

May i know what does this mean?
does that mean self mutilating himself or him licking the wound around the opt area?
thank you so much for the fulfilling info!
It really helped me a lot and understood much much better about this! thanks again !!

Based on your suggestion, i would put them in a tent to play together (as my room isnt glider proof), but i used the tent to bond and have play time with another pair of gliders, if i do a wipe down before letting them in to play, would that be enough for them to feel safe to play in?

If theres a small opening.. may i know how long will it take to heal back itself? Sounds a little scary..

I don't have first hand knowledge of this procedure. Mine were done pom off many many years ago. I would imagine it wouldn't take long at all since that skin is very thin and should go back together very quick much like ours would.

Be sure to ask your vet this question.

Thank you Karen, will make sure to ask the vet about this.

I have another issue with them which is the both of them bites me. They dont crab and then bite me, they will sniff my finger, give it a lick and start biting on the same spot again and again. They do the same to the new toys that are hanged in their cage. Is there any way to kick the habit away? or is this a phase? or any suggestion to prevent them from doing it? because my worry is that they make it into a habit and they start destroying almost anything that is in the cage.

Some gliders are chewers and others are not which accounts for the items in their cage.

Now for biting your fingers, that is something you want to stop, and they have given you a clear signal when this is going to happen ... sniff, lick, bite Some gliders just go straight in for the bite which can be a surprise.

As soon as they sniff and lick, pull your finger back with a stern "NO biting" You will be surprised at how quick they will catch on.

So i assume this is not a phase? as i read some posts saying its a teenage phase and they will stop eventually. Because of them being younger that was an assumption that they will stop.

i will try the suggestion you suggested. I'd been doing the "psst" sound whenever they bite eventually they stop.. for me,
For my partner they will climb on him and start to bite/scrap their teeth on him so hard that it actually draws a little bit of blood and whenever he tries the "pssst" method they ignored him. He even tried blowing at them but they will just go to another spot to continue their biting/scrapping.
And also once telling them "NO biting" do i let them sniff my fingers again or what actions am i suppose to do after that?

From what i know without crabbing and biting means that they're not biting because they're scared.. right?

sorry for asking so much, because my first pair were really mellow and gentle unlike the second pair that im dealing with now.

Don't apologize for asking questions. Whether a phase or not, you still need to deter them from the behavior.

With your partner, because they are more aggressive, you may need to try the 'time out' method with him. For some gliders this actually words. Still use the stern
'NO biting' but then place the glider back in the cage for a few minutes (like 5). Repeat for each time the biting starts again on your partner.

Yes, as long as he isn't going after himself as in chewing on the surgery site.

Thank you. I just discussed it with my partner and he jokingly said "they might just stay in the cage since they always bit me!"
Is it possible just to put the hand in and when they bite sternly use "NO biting" then putting the hand in after a few minutes?

Thanks again!

Alright, thank you Feather!
Wiping the tent down before letting them have play time, will that help to eliminate the smell from my previous gliders?

Yes, that is another possibility. He could also distract them with a toy or food when out of the cage on him. Either should work.

ok! noted on that, they go crazy when they see new toys and start to bite on them and bring it back to their pouch, its really amusing haha. I think food would be a better choice haha

So instead of an open hand, make a tight fist. They seem less bothered and the skin is tight so if they try to bite, they won't grab much if anything. Just try not to flinch...

Hello guys! I will put the questions im asking in a different colour for you guys to take note.

An update on my male glider! He has been neutered on 14th of July.
For the past two nights he has the habit to lick his wound. The vet suggested us to separate them while he is healing from the opt.
He was in a pet carrier for one night so we can observe him and stop him from licking his wound.
Yesterday night we moved him to a bigger cage and put it right next to the female's cage.
He is climbing, jumping and playing well, doesn't seem to be licking his wound, which is good news to me!

BUT im not sure if it is because he is not caged in the same cage as the female or some other particular reason.
He has been hissing . I do notice he hiss when she's eating or when she is climbing around.
May i know why is he hissing? im very confused, it sounds a little aggressive, i will include the audio here. https://voca.ro/6PgeJYpn0DM

Another thing I noted was that his behavior seems.. weird? I have been exchanging their blankets so they will remember each other scent.

But the male has been marking the blanket whenever we exchange, and he tends to bite on them.
im not sure if he is being really aggressive or he is just doing the biting out of habit, because i notice the female tends to bite on her blankie too.
Should i be concern about this?

I have only ever separated one glider after a neuter and that was because the new vet at that clinic botched the neuter then glued it, a big no no. I would try putting them back together and see what happens.

Hello feather, thank you for your prompt reply!
ah.. i get it now.. thank you for the answer is heart wrenching to know that but i was worried of many possibilities that might happen.
i will try to get them back together by tent time to see how it goes as I'm really worried she might go lick his wound.
i forgot to mention that his netuering method was Pom off using a crimp and cut method as you have said so there's quite an opening around that area which makes me worry.
should i do anything to take note of it or stop the female from licking his wound?

Hello guys! Sorry i havent been updating about my boy, he has healed up a lot!
The boy is back with the girl after a week and they're still friendly! Plus they dont fight as much anymore!
Thanks for all the help guys!

So glad to hear the good news. Keep those good reports coming