GliderCENTRAL
Gliders of the Round Table 9
Posted By: Hutch
Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/13/19 03:35 AM
Well, with another 100 posts down it means it is time to begin another chapter. Sorry, no fun attempt at a funny or special introduction today. Picking up where
my last thread left off, Gwynevere & Morgana have a problematic yoggie addiction, Merlin's anxiety-related medical issues return, & Arthur remains a royal pain in everyone's hiney.
The story continues...
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/13/19 06:12 AM
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/14/19 02:07 AM
Yesterday was quiet for the rest of the night & this morning they were all in the same pouch. Tonight, so far, they've been behaving... okay, yeah, they've been behaving FOR THEM (better?). It seems that Arthur got the message, at least for now.
Kimberley, you just have to get the last word(gif) in on the last thread, didn't ya? hahaha! Now if I could just remember what movie that was from... I tried asking Gwyn, but she just kept looking between me & the yoggies.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/16/19 01:27 AM
So, yeah, I may have become a little tired of "them" acting like butts to me the last few nights... so I made them work for dinner. I sliced a lengthwise slit along a banana & pulled it a little loose... & served it to them this way.
The fuzzbutts hopped right over to investigate. Lots of sniffing, noising, & pushing. A couple of glares. Then Arthur grabs the opening, raises it up like a child would lift the lid of his or her toy chest, & crams his head in with a happy chirp. Less than 1 minute.
Okay... maybe not the challenge I thought it would be... & it made them happy based on the chirps & squeaks. I doubt they got the message I was annoyed with them after all.
Today's Score:
Gliders: 4 / Hooman: 0
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/16/19 06:19 AM
You do realize you will never win this battle or war. Time to surrender now.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/17/19 02:56 AM
Code of Conduct Article II:
I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/17/19 03:31 AM
When the military came up with that slogan they didn't know what sugar gliders are. You throw all that out the window when you are a slave to the Fuzz.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/18/19 06:07 AM
'Tisn't a slogan
Furthermore, sugar gliders ain't got nuttin' on a career military man's stubbornness.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/18/19 01:36 PM
Ain't that the truth!!!
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/18/19 02:11 PM
'Tisn't a slogan
Furthermore, sugar gliders ain't got nuttin' on a career military man's stubbornness.
They just let you think that you are more stubborn than they are. Bahahahahahahaha
Posted By: Claralice
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/19/19 12:07 AM
I cannot help but laugh as I read this and keep up with the nonsense...I mean posts!
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/19/19 09:49 PM
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/26/19 05:44 AM
Arthur was in quite a mood. He was crabbing at me from the pouch at the mere sound of my voice. After almost a solid non-stop minute, I finally just raised my voice to speak over him: "If you don't stop for a breath so my ears could have a break, I'm going to skin you tail and rebrand you as an opossum."
It bought my ears three seconds of silence before he picked it back up.
Crazy thing was, I was bringing their nightly treats! The others were suitably welcoming. Pfft.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/26/19 06:56 AM
Obviously you didn't get those treats there fast enough.
Posted By: KarenE
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/26/19 02:47 PM
So good to see you back posting, Hutch
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/27/19 02:31 AM
Gwyn made me come back. According to her, and I quote: "HIss, pop, Hiss, crab, Bark, bark-bark, chirp, bark-bark, Eep, pop-pop-pop!!!" Which, as far as I can tell, translates to "You are letting my loyal fan-base down, hooman!!!"
Then again... it might have had something to do with yoggies. After she heismaned Merlin to get her bedtime treat, I'm wondering if there's a Yogurt Drop Anonymous in the area.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 02/27/19 11:43 AM
Good to hear from you!!! I hope you have a good supply of yoggies!
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/10/19 03:43 AM
This morning, right after breakfast, I bought the fuzzies down with me to chill & cuddle for the day. I figured the occasional butt-scratches, head pets, hand-cuddles, etc. would be good for all of us. Well, that was the plan anyway.
It has been a long week of late nights & early mornings. Today was very chilly, even in the basement, with thunderstorms outside, so bundled up with them against my chest in a nice comfy mink blanket. After doing a little computer work, I reclined back to watch the show. So, there we are, warm under blankets in a chilly room, the sound of heavy rain & gusty winds outside, the volume set low on a generic show, & the furballs popping away contently on my chest. Yeah, I totally fell asleep. I stayed that way until well past dinner.
I woke with them still happily popping away & not interested in moving other than the occasional shift of position or grooming, even though it was around the time they are getting ready to leave to pouch & 'hunt' for their dinner. I peak in & they're still dead to the world. I guess I wasn't the only one comfortable & content. It wasn't for another hour or so before Merlin & Morgana started to stir. I finally got my butt moving, got them back to their cage, & served dinner.
I may have missed most of it, but I think I'll label this as a good day.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/10/19 02:20 PM
I may have missed most of it, but I think I'll label this as a good day.
Nah, you didn't miss much... What you didn't miss was comfort and contentment... The fuzzbutz got to sleep most of the day listening to your heartbeat... They will want to do that again real soon. I'd be surprised if they didn't wait up for you this morning so they could snuggle with you.
Fiona loves 'her' mink blanket. It's a ratty but soft green throw I bought at a yard sale to make in to an alligator for one of the grandkids just before we got in to gliders... Now it's Fiona's hooman blankie.
Posted By: KarenE
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/10/19 03:07 PM
It has been a long week of late nights & early mornings. Today was very chilly, even in the basement, with thunderstorms outside, so bundled up with them against my chest in a nice comfy mink blanket. After doing a little computer work, I reclined back to watch the show. So, there we are, warm under blankets in a chilly room, the sound of heavy rain & gusty winds outside, the volume set low on a generic show, & the furballs popping away contently on my chest. Yeah, I totally fell asleep. I stayed that way until well past dinner.
I may have missed most of it, but I think I'll label this as a good day.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/10/19 06:05 PM
I miss doing that, but with two cats in the house now I can't risk it. Did it all the time with Tucker. Did it with Gizmo, Zoey and Widget and they would crab at me if I didn't take a long enough nap.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/11/19 03:01 AM
I'd be surprised if they didn't wait up for you this morning so they could snuggle with you.
Well, they didn't wait up, but they did get another day of snuggling when I brought them downstairs with me after breakfast. I had computer work to do, so no unintentional nap-time for me. Still, they again stayed dead asleep past the time they normally start scurrying around. It was another nice day.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/19/19 04:20 AM
This weekend I did some mixed time sitting by my quartet's cage reading and having their pouch inside my vest. I noticed something that amounts to proof of the whole bonding thing:
When next to their cage, but still close enough to hear whenever they moved, I heard the occasional popping, chirps, and shifting of the pile of bodies. Overall, they were very quiet.
When I had them in my vest against my chest, once they settled, I heard a lot of pops and they spread out more. The occasional face would peak out to give a little squeak before going back to sleep.
I've learned to equate glider popping to a feline's purring... so, I translate that as they were more content/happy against my chest. Bonding = FACT
Posted By: KarenE
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/19/19 02:25 PM
Yep, they do you
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/02/19 03:34 AM
I isolated Arthur twice this past weekend due to his bickering with others. He seemed to get a clue the second time, which was almost five hours (twice Saturday night's separation). He's been nice quite towards the others tonight, as he was after I returned him to his colony yesterday.
Part of me thinks I should take him back to the vet, the other part thinks he's just being Arthur.
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I did get to spend some cuddle/nap time with them, but since I spend quite a bit of time at the cleaning new guns, then at the range, which meant cleaning the guns AGAIN... I didn't want to subject them to the chemicals & lead involved. So, not as much time as I was hoping for or prefer, but I'll take the little we had. My sister pointed out the irony of being more than willing to kill myself slowly, but not even allowing them in the same room when I'm using such chemicals. I told her "they're cuter."
Now if I could just get them to stop barking so I could get some sleep. One of the few nights I get to try to sleep early & they keep calling for more treats *sigh*
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/02/19 02:45 PM
We understand the lead thing... Hubby reloads too... All cleaning AND reloading is done in another building. Not for fear of the babies being exposed, it just keeps that stuff out of harm's way. Out of my kitchen
(That was his place of choice.) We have a range, so he cleans and reloads frequently.
I'm so glad you posted!!! I have a dumb question. Your crew eats bananas, right? How ripe are they when you offer them. I'll offer a range of 1-5. 1 being green, and 5 being ready to toss or bake in banana bread.
Mine won't touch them, but will eat strawberry banana yogurt. I haven't tried chips, but they don't like banana flavored yogurt drops...
Posted By: KarenE
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/02/19 02:47 PM
Poor Arthur with his time outs, however, I am one who thinks those are very effect with these little creatures. I do think they work ... most of the time.Part of me thinks I should take him back to the vet, the other part thinks he's just being Arthur.
It never hurts to have a vet check just to be safe when they are acting out of sorts. Only you will know for sure. We all know how they can hide those illnesses. Better to spend the money unnecessarily than to have something go wrong. Sometimes it's hard to know.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/02/19 04:05 PM
Poor Arthur with his time outs, however, I am one who thinks those are very effect with these little creatures. I do think they work ... most of the time.Part of me thinks I should take him back to the vet, the other part thinks he's just being Arthur.
It never hurts to have a vet check just to be safe when they are acting out of sorts. Only you will know for sure. We all know how they can hide those illnesses. Better to spend the money unnecessarily than to have something go wrong. Sometimes it's hard to know. Oops! I forgot about Arthur... I am seeing a trend in aggressive behavior in the glider world (domestically). Stewie and Dot are at it nightly... Dot wants to nap and Stewie can't come to bed till he's ready to snuggle and nap). His shenanigans are really over the top some nights...
I'm not sure if it's because it's spring, weather's probably got something to do with it too... Temperatures just in one week can vary here from 25° to 75° in just a few days...
If Arthur hasn't been to the vet in a awhile, it never hurts for a check... All of mine went about 5 weeks ago.
But try this. Change up their sleeping pouch with a clean everything... Move it to another spot in the cage... The pouch may be over marked... I'm not saying it's not clean, or that it's stinky, but give it a try... It worked for Dot and Stewie for about 3 days. No excess fussing in the pouch... But Stewie is still not allowed in till he runs a mile on the wheel first... I've been changing their pouch about every 3- 4 days...
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/03/19 01:10 AM
We understand the lead thing... Hubby reloads too... All cleaning AND reloading is done in another building. Not for fear of the babies being exposed, it just keeps that stuff out of harm's way. Out of my kitchen
(That was his place of choice.) We have a range, so he cleans and reloads frequently.
I'm so glad you posted!!! I have a dumb question. Your crew eats bananas, right? How ripe are they when you offer them. I'll offer a range of 1-5. 1 being green, and 5 being ready to toss or bake in banana bread.
Mine won't touch them, but will eat strawberry banana yogurt. I haven't tried chips, but they don't like banana flavored yogurt drops...
You have your own range!? So jealous. I just bought a $300 guns since it came with a $150/year indoor range membership free, and I'm still looking for a rifle range that offers competitions. It is insane how expensive shooting sports are here in IL. I miss Alaska
Any-who... yeah mine eat bananas. On a scale of 1 to 5, they'll eat 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. hehehe Seriously, they generally get the same things I'll eat (mostly 3/4) as I'll pick myself up a could for weekend cereal; two for me & one for them from the same bunch. That said, I have yet to have them turn their nose up for any banana I don't consider trash-worthy-only.
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As far as other comments, I appreciate the feedback & will comment more on that later. I was debating on doing a full cage reset anyways (hard scrub plus all freshly washed furniture), maybe it might not be a bad idea. We'll see, I need a weekend it doesn't rain on me so the cage will actually dry outside.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/05/19 10:13 PM
How to ell when the furfaces do not appreciate your choice for their dinner:
In the process of filling their tray, the girls came over to see what I was offering. I held a thin piece of carrot out to Gwynevere. After a quick sniff, she batted it rapidly until it fell from my fingertips (3-4 good wacks), then pushed it away from here before looking back up at me.
Brat.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/15/19 02:37 AM
My little (ahems) had still been bickering quite a bit lately... again! Since moving here, whenever I think they've gotten past whatever their issue is, it picks back up. I'm confident it is Arthur + whomever he's irritated at the moment, but they've become much better about stopping & looking innocent by the time I've made it to the cage.
It concerns me as I worry about it going beyond bickering & noise, but I'm not sure what to do about it. The last vet visit didn't find a problem with any of them. I've thought about separating Arthur for a longer period than just overnight, but they all act distressed when I take him out for more than a few hours.
Since Arthur still hisses when doing his business, the vet offered to try different antibiotics than we've used in the past for a little longer time period, even though the tests don't really show an infection. As he put it 'something is causing the hissing' and maybe that is making him such an, umm.... let's go with jerk.
I don't know at this point. I'd hate for both of us to go through the process of dosing him for two full weeks if it does nothing besides make both of us miserable.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/15/19 01:06 PM
Have you tried diluted cranapple juice yet?
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/15/19 09:43 PM
Ask your veterinarian about the Covenia injection. It is a long acting antibiotic. Then he will only be [censored] off for one day.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/22/19 02:12 AM
Spoiler: Arthur has become food-aggressive.
It took me a while to figure that out. I've heard frequent bickering mid-evening, which is after they've been up & about for a while. Many of the other fuzzbutts have already been nibbling their way through dinner by the time it picked up. I've been so busy with homework +housework +yardword... lots of 'work' hehe... that I wasn't able to just drop what I was doing. So, by the time I did look, they were no longer bickering. There have also been several times when I've NOT put the dish down before they wake (for whatever reason that night) & they've all face-dived into the dish together without complaint.
This evening I was determined to find out what's been going on since late winter. They followed their normal routine of waking, messing, a little wheel, then seeing what has been served tonight. The last few steps get repeated quite a bit. Eventually, Arthur worked his way down, ate some while others still nibbled away, then stood back hissing & eyeballing everyone else. Then it happened: he started jumping at the any of the others that came near the bottom of the cage, chasing them away, & crabbing the whole time. Yelled at him & he retreated to a corner, grabbing a bite of food as he hopped by. With a sinking feeling, I sat back to watch again. About 15 minutes later, Arthur resumed his post, tail twitching & mouth a-hissin', eyeballing his cagemates again. Once one came near, he went after them AGAIN.
This time I removed him. He's in the spare cage, with their second wheel, a little more of the dinner, & a bottle of water. Of course, I'm also frustrated at this new behavior. I'm kinda hoping it's medical (I'm going to talk to the vet about a Covenia injection as you suggested Kimberley) since that would be an easier 'fix' than undoing whatever caused this behavioral change.
I'm also debating on how long to leave Arthur separated. I think tonight he'll remain all on his own & maybe return him to the others after EVERYONE has had a chance to eat. Him coming out out the pouch only when he feels like it makes it hard to try & feed him separately; well, short of pulling him from the pouch when I go to feed them, anyways.
As crazy as everything has been, I feel like I've been neglecting them (playtime wise). I can't help but wonder if this is a sign of that, maybe Arthur being frustrated & venting. Then again, it has been a long time since seemed into our playtime. I don't know. Like I said, frustrated with this latest development.
Thoughts, suggestions, opinions are always welcomed. Glider prozac would not be refused
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/22/19 11:36 AM
This is my least favorite issue... Since I am dealing with this too...
I know time out from the colony helps. Just watch Arthur for stress. It has to be at least a couple of days... If I had a 3rd adequate cage and wheel, I'd do this for a week...
I would like to come up with a feeding station device where each glider has their own locked door and their own combination lock... Once they go in and eat in peace, they can exit and play with their mates... wouldn't that be awesome?!?!? Lol! Ok, back to the real world...
Dot must visit all the dishes and find the choice foods first. And we go through this at least two or three different times a night after their nap. This makes me want to pull my hair out! Lol!
If I'm watching them eat, all is good. It's when I walk away things go a bit haywire... It does help when Dot is separated. I haven't done it for longer than 3 days. She has Stewie trained to just get out of her way... When Fiona was part of the mix, she waits in the pouch till Dot goes back to bed and is asleep, and then she sneaks out to eat. She's been conditioned to do this for so long, she still does it now... So, I'm not much help... Sorry...
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/22/19 10:58 PM
Hutch,
A simple fix for this would to give them at least three feeding stations located around the cage. He can't guard them all. Put them on different levels if you can.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/23/19 03:32 AM
I left Arthur on his own all night. In the morning before heading to work, I took him back out of the travel cage & returned him to the main cage to sleep with the colony. He accepted me taking him out of the pouch with no fuss & very little resistance, so I'm guessing he was quite lonely. After a quick sniff all around, the colony went inside the pouch together to sleep away the day.
They had to wait for me to prepare their dinner. I was out in the garage until the sun was almost down (getting too dark to work). Had to move some packages in & do a quick wash-up. They were all up when I retrieved their dishes & Morgana leaped aboard for the ride. Sliced up an apple, placed in the cage, provided the tag-a-long with a treat before returning her, then laundry... all with an ear for the cage.
Nothing. More laundry, restocked refrigerator, & still nothing. A little homework... still peaceful.
Until just about 30 minutes ago. By the time I get to the cage, I can't see what was going on. Twice now & in spite of placing their dishes as far apart as I could. I'll listen a bit longer & if it occurs again, I'll separate him for another full night.
Dawn, I've been following your posts about Dot's food aggression. Part of what me concerned is that is hasn't been going on long; this is new behavior. Still, I saw an uncomfortable amount of similarities with your most recent problems & it has me wondering with there is an exterior reason versus yet another veterinary visit. Mind you, I still plan on getting Arthur seen (again), but I can't help but wonder
Kimberley, I'll look at adding a third. I'm frustrated since I've never needed this before. I frequently use two, but it isn't uncommon for me to use only one & I've never hard this issue. I'll have to break-out the side-hooks to hang them on different levels. Four levels, I guess, since the dry food is already on another level.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/23/19 10:35 AM
When I have a moment today for research, I'm digging into the archives. If you remember Terry, she had Lulu, Skadoosh and Ollie. They had food aggression issues too. She ended up concealing each dish (3) from view of the other dishes. I believe it was Ollie who had issues with the other two. He also had an issue with the floor of the cage. It and all the toys on it were his.
Then I think he mellowed out about the floor....
Since Fiona is out of the big cage picture, Dot and Stewie still struggle with food aggression, just in a different way. As long as I'm present, all it well. Stewie can sit right next to her and eat. Dot will move to another dish and Stewie will follow, but keep his distance. When she's had enough, and goes back to her dish, he'll start in on his dish. I leave the room, and the bickering starts. But it's quick. I have yet to purchase a camera to observe what happens when I'm out of the room.... I'm still not sure of the most reasonable priced version with night vision. But I will have to get one soon.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/24/19 03:56 AM
Dawn, they make inexpensive baby monitors (night-cam-types) that should meet your needs. My sister has one that wasn't much (I forget, but low enough I was impressed) that provided a good enough picture you should be able to watch gliders... well, being gliders. Or being little !!!!s. Such as Arthur.
About 30min after I hear the wheel start to thump go (& go & go & go), I hear the loud crabbing. When I look, Gwyn is in the wheel (no longer spinning) looking very still, Merlin is in the top corner looking down, & Morgana is 3/4 up the wall also looking down. Arthur is on the bottom, centered between three dishes, & eyeballing the other three. Yup, out he came & into the travel cage. Pulled some food to leave in the cage with him, moved the spare water bottle back, & he'll spend the night alone again.
I still think I'll return in him the morning to keep the colony huddled together during the day. The way they all act, when I return him before heading to work, makes me -believe- they're all happier that way. I do keep the cages close enough they can see & hear each other. I don't know if that helps, hurts, or is indifferent :-/
Hindsight being what it is, I should've made more effort to figure out what was going on or to catch them at it when I was noticing all the extra bickering. Still, even knowing about it, I feel my options are limited. Still looking for my cage hooks for their dishes that I used in my older cages (pretty sure I kept them) & am looking at other ways to reorganize their cage. Maybe create more blind spots between the dishes like Dawn was talking about.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/24/19 12:56 PM
I did find one of the posts I was looking for:
http://www.glidercentral.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1385290/Searchpage/2/Main/140888/Words/%2BFood+%2Baggression/Search/true/re-the-ollie-lulu-skadoosh-diaries#Post1385290
When you search food aggression, I came up with about 18 pages listing posts and replies.
This one has pics that may help.
I'm comming to the conclusion I may need a bigger (taller) cage. I've been holding out till Stewie turned a year old. But he can still cover the entire cage, run on both the wheel and the treadmill, in less than 7.5 seconds... Then he'll do it again...
I do plan on reading through more food aggression posts to see what other suggestions, issues have been covered...
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/25/19 06:10 AM
Tonight Arthur was fine with the food dishes. Instead, he became protective of the pouch. Like, he wanted it all to himself. So, I let him have it... all to himself in his own cage. This is becoming so beyond frustrating, but it again leads me to believe it is internal, not a response to something external.
While I was moving him, each of the other three decided it would be a great time to go explore. Greedy Morgana was the easiest to gather since she went straight for where I store the treats. Gwyn was next, wishing to play follow the glider into the bedrooms before getting cornered. Once I offered my hand, she jumped up & went for my shoulder. I returned them to the cage before going after Merlin since I was confident as to how he would react.
I carefully placed a hand to each side of him where he'd stopped to watch me. Sure enough, after looking left then right, his anxiety seizures kicked in a couple of seconds later. A few violent twitches then he locked up. I scooped him up carefully (luckily he didn't have a death-grip on the carpet this time), put some treats under his head for once he recovered, then took Merlin to the bedroom with me. I sat there holding & petting him until he recovered. Then he ate the treats & I returned him.
It has been quieter since all that hurly-burly. I would like to put Arthur back in with them, but I'm trying to send a message. There is also a part of me that also feels I'm being unfair if he's sick or hurting (which is why I let him rejoin the colony in the morning), but I cannot/will not allow him to bully the other gliders.
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I don't feel it is an emergency & have 'work/life' to deal with, so earliest appoint is early-mid-ish May. Any of you who have gone through this feel that is too long of a time? I may have to burn some leave time & juggle a buch of hot items to have him seem sooner (while appointments last...)
Posted By: Xeno
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/25/19 04:23 PM
Do they not have a spare pouch? I keep two or three in my cage. While 90% of the time the gliders all sleep together in one occasionally one goes off to be alone or they split up into two groups of two to sleep.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/25/19 10:32 PM
They always have two or three sleeping pouches. My spoiled furballs are never shorted when it comes to options. One occasionally does splinter off to be on their own, but it is rare. They really like to choose a favorite & use it until I take it away. They've become very bad about switching to clean ones when I put them in, the lazy squatting buggers. They just don't want to move their 'stash.'
So, between being the current 'favorite' & where Arthur was, Morgana & Merlin were trying to join him (& not getting the message he was inappropriately trying to deliver). He even crabbed when I talked at them while seeing what was going on. Especially when he heard his name. He was being even worse than Merlin without his evening coffee.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/28/19 04:50 AM
It has suddenly been quieter the last couple of nights; makes me very suspicious... Maybe the separations have helped, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/28/19 01:20 PM
Yeah, I call it getting reaquainted. Figuring out where he fits in to the colony.
I did buy a wyse pancam (Amazon $36). I have it temporarily set up on a barstool in the bedroom. It's new to them and when it turns or I pan in on them it makes a noise a slight noise. It gets their attention. One morning I was having coffee and I heard Stewie barking. So I turned it on via an app on my phone and started talking to him. He quieted down, and went to bed with Dot. It may have creeped him out. Since setting up the camera, I haven't had any issues with them squabbling... I have yet to get an SD card so I can record... It's one of those things that is on my list, but don't read.
. And, Walmarts photolab is in the front of the store and not near electronics, so in my rounds of shopping around, by the time I get to the front, I just head to a checkout line and want to get out of there... Next time, I'll pick it up on my way in! Lol!!!
Posted By: Xeno
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/28/19 04:02 PM
Must be going around. Dobby has been crabbing a lot while in the pouch or house. Any time one of the other gliders crawls on the outside or makes noise he starts crabbing but is fine once they crawl in with him. Not sure what is up with him. He has been distant during playtime too. Not upset or angry, just aloof. Might just be a phase. He is still young.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 04/28/19 11:59 PM
I believe Jupiter has been showing well in the sky the last month... maybe it has a negative affect on Sugar Gliders? Ha!
Just kidding... well, mostly o.0
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 05/29/19 08:22 AM
The squeaky fur-faces do seem to be doing a little better, but there are still some nights...
Two weeks ago, Arthur had several evenings in a row had I separated him for the night but rejoined the colony before heading out for the day & I gave them all more pouch-cuddle time. Maybe it made the difference, maybe not, all I know it there seems to be less bickering.
Not to sound too superstitious, but I've been a little afraid to post that things are looking up in case I jinx myself!!
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 05/30/19 03:57 AM
Two questions...
I mailed an open environment pouch to your gang via Feather while you were enroute from Deutschland. It was Real tree print. Did you get it? It's a corner pouch that has a deep center.
How many dishes do you serve their food in, what type of dishes are they, and where are they all located in the cage?
Two questions, last one needing multiple answers. Lol!
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 05/30/19 06:45 AM
Two questions...
I mailed an open environment pouch to your gang via Feather while you were en route from Deutschland. It was Real tree print. Did you get it? It's a corner pouch that has a deep center.
Yup. They don't really use it as a pouch, more like a hammock they can peak out of during active periods.
How many dishes do you serve their food in, what type of dishes are they, and where are they all located in the cage?
1. Fresh: 1-2; Dry: 1-2
2. Fresh: Various; Dry: Stainless hanging bowls
3a. Fresh: Floor, opposite corners if more than 1 bowl
3b. Dry: Hanging: Near water sources
Two questions, last one needing multiple answers. Lol!
Yup, you cheated
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 05/30/19 06:52 AM
Post-procedure recovery day. Tried cuddling with them for a bit, but they kept squirming about my fingers without settling down. Gwyn let me tickle her belly & behind her ear for a while before she claimed the finger & wouldn't let go. At least she thoroughly cleaned it before using it as a pillow for a short time. Merlin found a callus he was determined to 'fix' for me. Morgana seemed a little jealous as if the others were taking attention away from her. She kept sticking her head between my fingers & her colony mates. Arthur was just a grump with everyone moving about, so he came out of the pouch & peed on me.
Just another day in the 'Court.'
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 05/30/19 11:59 PM
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 06/01/19 01:55 AM
Ok, sounds like food dishes are good!
I need a few more days to figure out the OE pouch....
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 06/02/19 04:54 AM
Ok, sounds like food dishes are good!
I need a few more days to figure out the OE pouch....
It could be Arthur is just a horse's patoot.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 06/25/19 11:05 PM
Okay, I know it has been a long time again, & that news, stories, & photos are looong overdue. Yeah, still don't have any of that
The furballs have settled down from all the bickering they were doing... who knows why. They still adorable, still turds, & still act like yoggies are their version of crack. Haven't been eating nearly as much as normal for them, but it may be all the thunderstorms that have been rolling over us lately. They seem to stay in their pouches more when the weather gets REAL bad.
Otherwise, been very busy with a lot of projects going on. Shooting Nationals next month, so I've been spending a lot of time prep'ing for that. Of course, the gov't still expects me to report for duty each day. Kill joys.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 07/21/19 04:51 PM
I'm not sure which, but one of these yoggie-for-brains has really gotten into pulling seams apart on the inside liner for the pouch. I just found that they did it again, the third pouch in two months. Both Gywnevere & Merlin like to crawl inside between the layers, so guessing one of those two are putting in the effort. I'm down to one summer-weight, though I still have a number of dual-layers.
I don't suppose the 'Up Till Dawn' suggie store is still taking orders?
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 07/22/19 04:57 AM
Sure she is! Lol! I haven't officially opened my store back up but I'm taking orders.....
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 08/09/19 02:20 AM
Dawn, I will probably email you a request in the early fall... after I figure out how broke I am following my attendance of a week-long family reunion. Thank you!!
-------------------------------------
I've been sitting by the cage & typing tonight to answer emails, facebook, & GC posts. I occasionally mutter my ramblings aloud, mostly so the fuzzies don't think I am ignoring them since 'who else would the furless slave be talking to?' right? They would rotate who jumped on the portion of the cage closest to me, chirp, wait for me to chirp back (or continue muttering like a madman), then go back to play. I would think, 'at least they're happy with my level of engagement tonight because I am barely here.'
A moment ago, as I hit 'Post' and was about to close my computer to go to bed, I was pinged on the side of my head with a bit of their dinner. Now understand, I am not -right- next to their cage, it took effort by one of them to reach me. So, here I am with a piece of peach sitting on my shoulder & a thin damp streak down my cheek starting where it hit... & totally unsure whether I should be proud, annoyed, or chastised. At a minimum, I have been educated on the now fact they are not buying into the 'yes, I'm paying attention to you & not the computer' game... & reminded they are brats. Cute, but brats.
Posted By: KarenE
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 08/09/19 03:20 PM
A moment ago, as I hit 'Post' and was about to close my computer to go to bed, I was pinged on the side of my head with a bit of their dinner. Now understand, I am not -right- next to their cage, it took effort by one of them to reach me. So, here I am with a piece of peach sitting on my shoulder & a thin damp streak down my cheek starting where it hit... & totally unsure whether I should be proud, annoyed, or chastised.
Well, someone has quite the arm, right Good thing it was food
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 08/10/19 12:58 AM
I would have giving anything to have witnessed that! Mahwahahahahahahahaha
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/31/20 11:28 AM
Knock, knock... Anybody there? I really miss the Round Table news...
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/12/20 01:16 AM
Good Grief! When was the last time we heard from the Gliders of the Round Table?????
Posted By: KarenE
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/12/20 02:25 AM
He doesn't love us anymore
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/12/20 09:55 PM
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/09/20 03:27 PM
Hahaha, y'all are a bag o'nuts, but the best kind. I missed everyone too.
Sorry, I needed to take some time away from the few forums I was a part of for my own reasons. Right as I was getting back to it all, I was deployed to participate in COVID reponse operations. One of the perks of being one of only a handful trained on the specialized aircraft transportable isolation equipment I guess, haha. Been gone over 200 days and counting, was suppose to return around the 20th of this month, but that is delayed an unknown amount of time due to internal stuff. Luckily, after 20 years of this, I'm no longer surprised when it happens, lol!
Now to what you all really wish to be updated on: The Gliders of the Round Table! It was a very short noticed deployment (on a plane about 60 hours after being told), so my awesome landlords & thier daughter (who keeps threatening to glider-nap them anyways) watched them for the 20-30 days while I got a better impression on how long the deployment was going to last and made more permanent arragements. Well, once it became official it was changing from the initial 4-6 weeks to 180 days (ha!), I asked my coworkers if someone would be willing to make a glider-delivery and was going to log-on here to see if Kimberley would help me out again.
Well, many of them have met the furballs from being over at my house and a couple asked if they may watch them for me instead. I agreed to a friend taking care of them after his wife had a chance to meet them too, and she not only agreed with him, but said she really wanted to watch them. I couldn't have asked for a better glider-sitter for this long, they have been throughly spoiled & loved. My friend looked up a bunch of stuff and built them a big play structure since they could only transport my travel cage and hand-tied a bunch of fleece toys. His wife regularely hand feeds them some of thier dinner and way too many treats. (They had to put Merlin on a diet, he was getting a little too fluffy.) I've joked more than once that my quartet may not want to come back, hehehe...
Well, to make up for my time away, I've attached a bunch of pictures they have sent me over the last few months. I obviously won't have a lot to share about they before I return, but I'll try to poke my head in again soon. Until then, enjoy!
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/09/20 03:37 PM
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/09/20 05:19 PM
Hutch, I would have come down to get them. They are always welcome here.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/09/20 06:07 PM
Hutch, I would have come down to get them. They are always welcome here.
I don't doubt it, I was just trying to make it easier by arranging a delivery or 'meet in the middle' type thing. That was a long day making the full drive round trip. It has worked out even better that my coworker and his wife have fallen in love with the furfaces... & they're nearby to retrieve once I get back since I won't be allowed out of the local area for 14 days after I return.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/11/20 11:13 PM
I'm so glad the gliders are doing well, and you are coming back home soon! I'm sure they miss you!!!
I see the fleece covered slinky has held up!
Edit: you'll have to come to the forum to read this since it was an afterthought... That slinky was my first toy attempt BTW.
And, let me know if your crew needs anything...
Take care and safe travels!
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/13/20 04:24 PM
I'm so glad the gliders are doing well, and you are coming back home soon! I'm sure they miss you!!!
I hope so. I sure miss them!!
I see the fleece covered slinky has held up... That slinky was my first toy attempt BTW.
It has. In the cage they didn't interact with it much, but my coworker says they like cambering on it in the play structure. I wonder if having less walls is what makes it more appealing
Edit: you'll have to come to the forum to read this since it was an afterthought...
Where else would I read this??
And, let me know if your crew needs anything...
I'll probably have to hit you up once I'm back to order some single-layer pouches of the larger size you've sent before. According to my coworkers, they're still tearing apart the inner layer of pouches & I'm almost of of intact ones. Since they never go through the outer laying, I want to see it that'll help.
Take care and safe travels!
Thank you! You & yours stay safe & health, too!
Posted By: mechnut450
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/13/20 09:06 PM
Hutch be safe and careful I know how crazy it been lol I came back to work with those restrictions in place after out 2 weeks. was like totally confused lol. and within a week of find out I already had hippa related training and knew about medical stuff they put me on the front end registers/ back door checking employees every day. I shocked they didn't make me renew my CPR crt and such for work lol.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/26/20 03:17 AM
I picked up my furballs yesterday afternoon. I mostly left them alone last night to readjust to their 'old' environment, but I did offer them my hand a lot to smell & a few treats. Gwynevere did climb aboard me for a little while, but seemed timid & uncertain the whole time. I had the impression her thought process was "I
think I know this guy, I'm just not 100% sure about this."
Today I took them out in the pouch while they were sleeping & simply left them on my chest while I read. At a few points, I did reach a finger in to give Gwyn some scratches since she was on top. Arthur can to investigate at one point & received a few himself before deciding all was well at the pouch opening.
Tonight I am doing much the same as last night. Probably will for the next couple of nights so I am able to judge how slow I must take our reintroductions for playtime.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/26/20 03:30 AM
They are probably very happy that they are home.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 10/28/20 06:34 AM
We go through this when we come home after being in the 5th wheel traveling for awhile.
They seem to take in all the smells and when I open their cage for the first time for out of cage play, they only climb on their cage marking each other's "trails" all over the cage. After a few days once they get a good stink going, they will start to explore more. A few days after that, I begin cleaning parts of their cage, toys, fleece and cover stretching over a week's time so they don't go into a peeing / marking frenzy again.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 11/02/20 05:55 AM
Our re-bonding has gone well. The Gwynevere actively seeks to join me as soon as she wakes again, Morgana has been venturing out more when I offer my hand, Merlin likes to investigate me & will stay on me if I scoop him up, & Arthur is a grump but happily accepts head pets and but scratches. So, much is as it was pre-deployment.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 11/12/20 04:29 AM
My fuzbutts are turds. I buy the a new cage, move everything over... & they escape within hours. Twice. Wasn't even Arthur, my talented (if lazy) escape artist. See, this is what happens when I try to do something nice for them *facepalm* It is seriously a good thing they are ridiculously cute, otherwise I'd be more than a little tempted to make a glove out of the four of them.
*sigh* Okay, rant over... I'm going back to bed.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 11/12/20 06:06 AM
Just keeping you on your toes, Hutch, just keeping you on your toes.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 11/14/20 01:12 PM
It must have been a night for fun! We both forgot to close Stewie's cage last night.
He woke me up at 6:30am romping on our bed. His cage is in the living room. And he's not interested in going back to it...
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 11/23/20 05:49 AM
During last week, I failed in my critical duties & ran out of pine nuts. Ordered some more, but for the meantime I bought them some freeze-dried fruit snacks. This did not go over well with the tyrants.
Arthur was fine & took a couple over the few nights. Since he will eat almost anything, not sure I can legitimately call that a success.
Gwynevere nibbled & licked hers for a few minutes, eyed me, then dropped it off whatever she was perched on.
Merlin sniffed, gave a lick, glared at me, then moved away.
Morgana sniffed, gave a look, & took a piece. She then threw it back at me. Two nights in a row.
I was forgiven Friday night when the new order arrived & their bed-time treat returned to their crac- errr... pine nuts.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 11/24/20 06:03 AM
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 11/26/20 01:16 AM
Aww!!!! They were just holding out for the good stuff!!!!
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 12/06/20 06:49 AM
With fresh packages of yoggies & pine nuts, I have been forgiven for the dried fruit fiasco. I had a same-day type procedure done that slowed me down quite a bit, so I haven't felt safe letting them out as I was not sure I could retrieve them should any of them become uncooperative. Healing well & regained most of my coherence (yay drugs!), but sadly not many new tales to share because of it. They have been fairly understanding as long as I remember to give them dinner, a nightly treat, & talk with them a little while we're both up.
My mother - who came for Thanksgiving & to help me the first few days - was laughing at their antics. She's seen us interact & play before, so most wasn't anything new, but she found it hysterical the looks they'd give me if dinner wasn't ready when they woke... & was a little impressed how vocal they quickly became if I closed my bedroom door & forgot either the evening treat or to tell them 'good night.'
What can you do?
A couple of nights ago was their first real complaining about their lack of attention. Starting a little before midnight & they actually took turns barking for me. I came out to Arthur first, a couple of pets with a treat consoled him (of course the others got one too). Then Gwyn took her turn just after I got settled in bed again; would not quite down until I gave another treat each. Morgana took her shift when I was almost asleep & went on long enough I got up again. No treats this time, just talked at them, but she stopped barking. Just a bit later, I heard what sounded like Merlin's squeaky bark... but with a very grumpy, unenthusiastic delivery. Never heard anything like it, so I got up to look & sure enough, it was Merlin. He was half out of the pouch looking very put-upon. He didn't even wait once I approached the cage, just slowly turned around & crawled right back in past the other three.
I could just imagine the conversation in the pouch...
Siblings: "Call for the slave."
Merlin: "I don't wanna."
Siblings: "Look, we've all done it."
Merlin: "So? Let me sleep!"
Siblings: "We might get a treat! Maybe a skritch or two."
Merlin: "Leave me alone!"
Siblings: "Come-ON!"
Merlin: *deep sigh* "Fiiiiiiiiiiine..."
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 12/06/20 02:09 PM
Yeah Stewie started in about 2 am this morning. We got our package from nuts.com yesterday. I've been looking for a source of wheat bran for my small mealie farm, and they were reasonably priced since I didn't want to order 50# from the farm store. I ordered a pound of raw pumpkin seeds while I was at it and he got 2 last night with dinner, and I guess wanted 1 more at 2am... Lol!!! It's been almost a year since he's had them.
. What we do for these babies!!! Well, he could have been barking about something else too, but I'll tell that story soon... He was quiet till 6am though...
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 12/07/20 01:17 PM
He has you trained!
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/15/21 07:28 AM
Okay, it has been a while since I reported in again. For the most part my fuzzie loves have been enjoyable & despite many leaves (military vacations) over the last couple of months, they have tolerated my very varying schedule (night shifts, etc.). Each time I've returned to them, they have been cuddly, & made me feel missed & loved.
That said, Arthur is a little furry [censored] who is lucky not be to big enough to make a wearable garment, He's chomped on me one too many times in the last few weeks... doubly so the last few days
Everyone else has been good though
All that said, I really enjoy people commenting on my random reports. While yes, I am able to see the number of views to see y'all are reading my ramblings, active participation is appreciated more than all of you probably realize. It means more to this life-long military man than I could honestly put into honest words. Thank you to my regular commenters! You have helped me through rough times & periods of separation from the furballs whose companionship have gotten me through even darker times.
That's my honestly for 2021.
Posted By: KarenE
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/15/21 02:57 PM
I understand what you mean about seeing and reading comments rather than just being able to see how many have read with no comment. It's like all these virtual hugs we've had to give rather than the real ones. Just not the same for sure It's like on fb, for the love of heaven, if you're my friend and take the time to read my post, throw me a like or something. Geesh. Okay, I'm done
I do read your updates and sincerely apologize for not commenting more often than I do
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/15/21 05:33 PM
Wow!!! Almost 15k views!!!
I find when I need a "pick me up", I'll go into this thread for a laugh, smile or just a "feel good " moment. So the story of your journey with your kids are rather uplifting.
Feather and I talk on the phone sometimes and refer back to the trip home from your Germany tour. What it took to get the gliders back to the US and the trials she went through to pick them up.
We do miss you here when you take leave of us. Sometimes we wonder if you're on some covert mission. Ya know top secret stuff... But due to the fact this is a public place, we keep tight lips. We don't want to start a war, give away your location, or something. Lol!
I'm glad the round table remembers and misses you! I found schedules aren't as important as the gliders get older and I become more experienced with their behavior. And, they are bonded to us. That's 99% of the battle...
Arthur needs some fist time. Or maybe some sparing. Like boxing. I've had to do this with Gracie. She's young but when I feed her mealies, she gets a bit over zealous and tries to take a chunk of finger along with the mealie. She also thinks my fingers should supply a treat anytime they get close to her mouth. So here's what I've had to do... I put the mealie between my right forefinger and thumb. I curl my left hand into a fist with my forefinger curled tight but protruding from the fist I make. Like I'm pointing with my knuckle. This is for my protection, not to hurt her. This happens real fast, because she's like lightning. I show her the mealie and I'm talking to her, but she's fixated on the mealie. When I see her start to approach with a lunge, I come in with my left to get her attention. I kinda tap her on the cheek. Sometimes she tries to bite it because she thinks there's a treat. Then I right hook her with a mealie and tell her to be easy. We haven't made this a game yet, but the "left" is just to get her attention. I have sparred with left and right just to show her not all fingers are mealies. And break the habit of attacking my fingers. I haven't been successful feeding her a mealie through the cage bars without an injury... I'll be in trouble if she learns to duck and dance! Then I'll call her Muhammad Ali! Lol!
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/15/21 05:59 PM
Haha! I love the visual of your fingers & Gracie in appropriate-sized boxing gloves going at it! Arthur's problem is when they're awake & he'll go out of his way to grab on to my hand & take a bite, feeding treats or simply trying to pet them. He'll stare right at me while doing it. I think it's his grumpy protest of not having a routine or regular enough play time. Or, it may be he is just a brat.
That was crazy with all that happened re-importing them to the US, & after all that the dude the next day saying 'Yeah, there's no problem, here you go.' I hope they fired the moron from the evening before. I love Feather's face when describing that my gliders ate all the dressing she didn't even realize was in the salad she gave them
To be clear with my last post, not calling anyone out... I just see so much less activity on this forum than when I started a few years ago, but as Dawn said, still a lot of views. Just commenting to the readers that I really like hearing from everyone as it makes this feel like a conversation more than just journaling.
I do need to try & post more often like as I did Germany...
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/15/21 10:13 PM
You should have seen me the night before when I told that Jacka$$ that he was going to let me inspect those gliders or I was going to call the police and animal control.
Posted By: mechnut450
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/16/21 03:18 AM
I been lurking my system only want to let me log in at random ( most the time i log in and click on any forum topic and I logged out instantly I tried 3 browsers now and a totally reset the main one. and it still happens.. but hey what can I say I enjoy your reports in and such. I also seen it been slower post in recent months but I put it off to people lurking or join the Facebook groups more. I learnig 3d printing stuff in what little spare time i get and been working almost everyday( between house stuff and actual work).. I been getting up at 6-7 am and like tonight I probably sleep on the couch since i wont get to bed before 11 if I am lucky. and then with my back bothering me so much it only power napping for 10-20 minutes at a time)
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/27/21 03:34 AM
The last few nights they're been fairly vocal. Sometimes barking, sometimes grumbles, sometimes outright bickering. Whenever I've gone over to check on them, instead of finding out what going on, I am greeted by four faces peering out of the pouch, ears forward & eyes hopeful. So, I've just tell them 'good night' & go back to bed.
Totally not going to encourage this new game, if that's what they're up too.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 01/27/21 06:06 AM
Awe Dad! They just want treats and pets.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/04/24 01:53 AM
It's been forever since I posted, much less updated here. It seems like life has just kept me focused elsewhere, but it felt appropriate to make an update. Since the last update post in January '21 (sorry, life got complicated), one-by-one I've lost most of the Round Table.
First was Gwyn who went suddenly in April of 2021, I think she hide a problem, but seemed fine the night before. She was a blow since she was the closest to me, always wanting to just hang out on a shoulder and would be the one call (loudly) if I'd not given her all the attention she felt she deserved. I found her at the bottom of the cage one morning, one paw trying to reach down for the remaining half of a treat someone had discarded. Actually seemed a little fitting considering her persistence is getting treats, no matter what container I would put them in.
Merlin was next and as many of who've followed my rambles know, had regular neurological problems. He was probably the least bonded & didn't really like leaving the cage, but was improving the last year or so of his life. I thought I was losing him early in the winter of 2023, but with a doctor's visit and several weeks of attention, medicine, and very carefully monitoring his food, he came around as seemed back to his old self... until the fall. He went in his sleep September 2023.
Arthur passed sometime yesterday (March 2024) during the day. He was my very grumpy alpha who never met a food he wouldn't eat. On one hand, I'm not surprised, he's been showing his age for several months now. Slow moving, not gripping things like he use to, playing less with toys (but still loved walking in his wheel), and was having trouble with his sight. Still, despite that litany of ailments, he actually seemed healthy. He'd come to the door whenever I'd open it, liked getting scratched on his butt or between his ears, and still never turned down a snack. I came home to him with one paw locked on his food dish... I mean, it's Arthur, where else would he choose to go?
I still have Morgana. After my last deployment she'd been very shy towards me and didn't like coming out of the cage. She's come around, it's still not like it was when we lived in Germany, but improved. I think the dwindling size of the colony was a factor as after each loss I noticed her being much more forward and willing to interact. After Merlin, she'd actually jump to me when I took out their old food dish and hang out long enough to prepare a new one. She hung out on my back for a short time tonight while I was working on a midterm, but then went to explore a bit. She's back in the cage now and keeps coming to the corner near me to see what I'm up to before going back to playing.
I guess it's time to make a choice about my future as a glider owner. As y'all know, they're colony animals and very social. I'm not around all the time nor can I be as I've gone back to school full time. I can obviously keep her (which I want to do), but I'm not certain I can give her enough attention to keep her happy without cage mates. I could look into getting some more gliders, but will need the time to do the whole introduction and bonding process all over again (not sure I have the time right now). There is also the concern on where life will take me once I finished the university program. It's wasn't much of a concern when I was guessing I only had a few more years left, but starting over for another 9 to 12 years feels like a lot when I have no idea what life will be once I complete the Master's program in 2026. There is also my least favorite option of finding her a colony to join and enjoy her last few years surrounded by a new fuzzy family.
I hadn't really planned on losing so many of them by the time they were nine since that was the lower end of what my research showed me for their lifespan. Furthermore, even with Arthur's age showing, I really hadn't expected to loose him for a while longer while I consider Morgana's future options. I guess you always think you have time. She's still very healthy and active, so I expect whatever decision I make to affect her for a long time to come. I want to provide her those years, but I need to think what will keep her happy.
And now I need to go clean up her mess. Morgana just knocked over the pinenut tree bag and spilled it everywhere... and is pigging out. Only reason I'm finishing this first is I'm allowing her some fun. Still, better sign off and go take care of that.
[Edited for grammar/spelling]
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/04/24 02:45 AM
I am very sorry to hear of all your losses. I know that I could help you out with a glider her age or younger.
I can also add her here to join the sanctuary for the rest of her life.
I know how painful this is for you.
Sincerest Condolences ,
Glide Free Arthur.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/04/24 03:28 AM
I forgot to put in the last post due to Morgana's hijinks:
I'd welcome any tips for how to keep a single glider happy in the short term. For certain, I cannot do anything about the situation for at least a month, if not longer. At least that helps give me time to think the decision through.
--break--
Thanks Kimberly, I appreciate the offer, both ways. Let's continue discussing that on FB so that conversation stays in one place.
--break--
Morgana has received a lot of attention tonight and has also been not just willing but wanting to come out of the cage much more than typical. I've started transitioning the cage 'furniture.' to remove Arthur-scented stuff slowly, beginning with a new pouch (they always have two). I don't know if that will help or not, but will watch what she does with it to try and judge. Also hung a lot more dangly stuff around the cage as she like to collect it and drag them around. She's gotten really good at using her tail to carry them, something I think she learned from Arthur.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/04/24 11:28 PM
Last night was rough. Kept waking up to Morgana crabbing from the room over like a demon was after her. Probably woke me five or six times between 0200 - 0600. Each time I'd rush out to check on her and most of the time she'd stop when she saw me. Half of the time she was clinging to the pouch I didn't swap and the other half she was in a cube-shaped house with one side open staring outward.
About 0500, when I came out, she was sounding particularly frantic and didn't stop when I came to the cage. I could tell she was inside the old pouch. Morgana didn't even lose her rhythm when I tried talking to her or petting through the side of the pouch (its helped my gliders before when they were going on about something). I pulled the pouch out to look inside and she was all bear-ed up, mouth open and crabbing right at me. I haven't seen them like that since the very first time Merlin saw me. Again, I tried talking to her, now where she could see it was me, but to no avail. I then tried petting through the side of the pouch again... this time she exploded out and ran off.
I tried to slowly follow her until she got to a corner, then waited for me... at least she'd stopped crabbing. I scooped her up and was bringing her back to the cage when she tried to jump off again. I cupped my hands to keep her there until I could get her back inside (again, done this before and never had an issue with her). Right as I opened my hands to release her inside, she gave my finger the worse bite I've ever gotten from a sugar glider, then leapt for a wheel and started running on it like her tail was on fire.
I've been nipped frequently (especially from Arthur), but haven't had skin broken since they were joeys (also Arthur). Even then, it wasn't deep, more of just an oozing for a few seconds. This bled freely and quite a bit, I had to bandage it. It felt as bad as when Gwynevere nipped an ear lobe a couple of time, but she never broke skin, This morning I have a decent double-puncture mark and a lot of bruising around the wound. Again, never before have any of them reacted like that and I wasn't handling her in any extraordinary way!
I left the older pouch out and didn't replace it (she still have the fresh one I put in earlier that night). I watched Morgana for a while in near darkness and she kept running on the wheel periodically stopping to look my way before running again. After maybe fifteen minutes of that I went back to bed, but took a little while to fall back asleep. I heard her crab once more near 0600, but it was much quieter than the earlier times and short; I didn't even have time to get out of bed to check on her before she stopped.
Luckily my classes today didn't start until later, so I was able to sleep in quite a bit. When I did wake, she was sleeping in the remaining pouch and didn't react when I stroked it. I decided to leave her be instead of tranfering her to a bonding pouch while I did homework. She's popped out a couple of times to get a drink of water, but otherwise seems like a normal day for them... err... her.
I really don't understand what was setting her off last night or why she acted the way she did at 0500. I was debating on moving her cage into my bedroom so she'd have a better sense that I was around/near and might be less lonely during her nocturnal adventures, but I can't if she keeps acting up. I got little enough sleep with her a room over.
She also didn't act this way the first night on her own and it wasn't the barking they've done when separated before. Maybe a vet visit is in order... I dunno. I'll see what the next couple of nights bring about.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/05/24 02:06 AM
With her being that way, I would deep clean everything in the cage and get rid of Arthur's smell. I think she may have been stressing because she could smell him, but not find him.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/05/24 04:20 AM
Okay, I'll do that. Crap, tomorrow was pretty booked... I'll try to squeeze it in. If nothing else, I guess changing out the furniture would be a good start.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/05/24 09:49 PM
I changed the furniture before going to bed & last night was quiet... so a good sign that made the difference, I hope. The next few nights will be more telling.
I kept Morgana on me while doing homework all afternoon, she's just slept contently. I also located a small, old, stuffed thing they use to play with during tent time. Considering all their pouches are designed for four, it might fit in one with her comfortably. I want to give her another night or two before another big change, but the I think I'll put in in her cage and see how she reacts to it. If neutral or positive, maybe slip it into her pouch on a night I don't have class to see what she thinks. Maybe it'll work until I can get her a 'bonding-buddy.'
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/07/24 05:11 AM
Tonight I let Morgana ride around on me for around an hour once class was over. Sometimes she just perched somewhere, other times she scrambled like an over-caffeinated toddler. She'd leap to a surface, zoom around a bit, jump back... and them repeat it all over again. Morgana even went exploring around the floor quite a bit as if there was buried treasure nearby, if only she could find it.
I increased the amount of resettable toys in the cage and hide some treats in them. It's getting quite crowded in there, but I've been trying to build up things can interact with and she was never one to make big jumps around the cage. That was more Gwyn and Merlin's thing. I've tried to be a little more generous with treats, especially hiding them, but I may need to cut back as it looks like Morgana has barely touched dinner (if at all). I'm use to more gliders sharing the hunt.
Monday and Tuesday nights has been quiet, no crabbing or barking. However, her tail looks like the fur is thinning, maybe. What do ya'll think?
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/07/24 05:51 AM
Yes, her tail is starting to look a little thin. It could be age or it could be stress from being alone.
Keep watching it.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/07/24 08:08 AM
or it could be stress from being alone.
That's what I was afraid of since I hadn't noticed before. To be honest, she hasn't wanted to hold still with me that much until recently and I usually played with them in pretty dim light. It's really only noticable in full room lighting. So it's possible it started before, but I also tend to notice things like this pretty quickly.
As you said, I'll keep an eye out and hope it's an age thing that snuck up on me, not overgrooming from stress. As always, thank you!
[PS: Does the forum still enforce a 100-ish post limit? Should I start another thread or safe to keep this train of posts going for a bit longer?]
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/07/24 02:24 PM
Hutch I'm so sorry
I understand your conundrum. I would take Feather up on her offer to get Morgana a friend about her age. The hardest part is finding a good match. If Feather offered to foster Morgana (remember, she and the Roundtable have been with her while you were moving from Germany back to the US). For a short time while Feather can find her a suitable mate from her rescue. That way she can observe and find a good match.
While having blankies in her pouch, be sure you rub your scent on it as well.
We have had to separate gliders from time to time and we keep them in the living room. Right now I have a single and her future colony all in the living room. We watch TV at night and usually nap for an hour or 4. When we have a single, we leave the TV on low volume till morning to keep her company. It helps with barking. Plus mine have favorite shows like old westerns, Alfred Hitchcock, Twilight zone, and Svengoolie on Saturday nights. Yes, they run on their wheel and watch TV. When it gets to an exciting or quiet part, they stop and watch (yes i have observed this. You can't make it up)
I responded 2 days ago, and didn't follow through with making sure the post posted, so all the above is from memory.. I'm sure I forgot something
BIG
from everyone here.
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/07/24 06:44 PM
or it could be stress from being alone.
[PS: Does the forum still enforce a 100-ish post limit? Should I start another thread or safe to keep this train of posts going for a bit longer?]
100 post limit for what? Classifieds you can post to now.
Posted By: Ladymagyver
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/07/24 07:19 PM
Feather,
I think he's asking if he needs to open a new post. There was a limit of 100 posts per thread
Posted By: Feather
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/07/24 07:30 PM
OH?
Yes, by all means open a new thread.
Posted By: Hutch
Re: Gliders of the Round Table 9 - 03/08/24 02:52 AM
Yes, by all means open a new thread.
Okay, I'm not sure if that actually answer my original question, but maybe better safe than sorry? I was hoping to keep the current 'conversation' (thought chain?) going in the same thread, but if there is still a hard limit per thread shortly after 100 posts, I don't want someone unable to reply either... so I guess I'll start a new thread.
See the continuation
here.