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Putting them together! Scared!

Posted By: Anonymous

Putting them together! Scared! - 10/12/11 02:59 PM

Ok so I have been doing the intro's for the last month, like usual, as I did all my others BUT putting Gunnar & Gwenolyn together makes me nervous. Gwendolyn isn't scared of him, but runs away from him. I guess I'm afraid of him hurting her! mating wounds and all. She is 4 months OOP, I thought that was old enough.....
Any advise is welcome, thanks
Posted By: StitchsMom

Re: Putting them together! Scared! - 10/13/11 02:25 AM

How old is Gunnar? How are you doing your intros?

Let me tell you one of my experiences. Maybe it will help. Lafayette has been a sweetie since day one. He's gentle yet brave and loves to explore. Soon after getting him, I decided to keep one of my joeys, Coraline, to put with him. I had never had an issue introducing gliders so I expected no trouble.

Once she was old enough and I had been doing pouch swapping and such, I decided to do a face-to-face intro. I brought a comforter into my tub in the bathroom. I brought both gliders in with me in their own pouch separately and laid the pouches down in front of me. I have a glass sliding door to enclose the shower, so I shut that door. Using just a curtain would probably be fine too.

Well, each glider comes out in their own time. Lafayette was first being the brave one. Coraline is sweet, but she is more timid than he is. She finally ventured out and was doing fine until she saw another glider in with her! She froze and stared at him. He came over and tried to sniff her. He was as slow as a snail as he approached her, but she still flipped out! She reared back and waved her little hands and crabbed like crazy. It was so unlike her. Then she bolted. She tried to climb the shower curtain and leap up the walls. It was awful. So, I decided to separate them and try again later.

Day two, it was the same thing. I was worried at this point. Maybe it wouldn't work?! I put it out of my head and decided to try again another time.

Day three, I set her pouch in my lap so that when she came out of the pouch I was right there and she could see Lafayette across the tub in front of her. I passed out treats to keep Lafayette from running over and checking her out and to keep her more calm. This time, I fed her another treat while he finished his up and came over to check her out. She was so busy eating her yogie that she didn't seem to care that he was sniffing her and looking her over. Then he grabbed her face and while she munched her treat, Lafayette started licking her cheeks, forehead, and neck. By the time she had finished the treat, she was no longer afraid of this new glider.

Then they did all the normal things. They sniffed each other, hugged each other, kissed each other. They have been inseparable ever since!

So, all intros are unique and everything depends on the gliders personalities and the owner's ability to work with them to create the best situation for success. Try to stay positive. Gliders will pick up on your mood. If you are tense and nervous, they will be too. Even if things don't go perfectly, try not to expect issues. Every day is a new day. smile
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Putting them together! Scared! - 10/13/11 02:35 PM

Thank you Jenny for your post:
Gunnar is almost 8 mos OOP. His OOP is 2/15/11.
You think he is to old for her? This is my first breeding experience so sorry for all the questions.

My Intro's go something like this.....switch blankies X 2-3 days, switch toys X 2-3 days..... Put them next to each other for maybe 4 days. Then switch the gliders themself to each others 'other' cage 2-3 days. Then in 'tent time' with me do face to face intro's, (watch closely, see how they interact and all) then do more if needed like you and go from there! Sound all good to you?

Now last night I intro'd Gunnar into Gwendolyn's cage, sat and watched and she didn't run away from him while he tried to sniff her! She sniffed him a little and then was off to run in her wheel while he marked ALL OVER her cage. And she walked around with tail curled on her back (not unusual)but almost with her butt sticking up in the air. (mating sign?)

Thanks again, and I have calmed down more!
smile
Posted By: StitchsMom

Re: Putting them together! Scared! - 10/13/11 11:35 PM

When you go to put them together in a cage, it should really be a neutral space. The cage shouldn't smell like either glider. This makes sure that each glider is on even ground while getting used to living together. It encourages them to claim the space as theirs together rather than one glider taking over another glider's space or one glider dominating a space. Make sense?

Other than that, everything sounds pretty good. Just be aware that at 8 months old, Gunnar is probably able to produce joeys. Females are capable of conception as young as four months with six months being more average. So, if you do put them together soon, it is possible that you will have a set of very young parents on your hands. I am in no way discouraging you. I've actually done intros with gliders around the same age. I just wanted to make you aware of how quickly nature can begin to take it's course.

Keep us posted!
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Putting them together! Scared! - 10/14/11 09:03 PM

Thank You! I will do that.

I so appreciate all your advise! and Yes I will keep updated.
smile
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