caught in pouch seam and chewed their feet off !!!!

my two gliders, BB and Bugsy somehow got caught with their back foot (one on each) in the seam of their pouch. they must have twisted and turned trying to get out and their little feet twisted around each other and the material of the pouch which then turned into a turniquet. when we discovered what had happened, they had mutilated their feet. BB is recovering, however she has to have her little foot amputated in about 10 days, and she also lost a joey (stress?) Bugsy died yesterday after spending 4 days in "intensive care" at the vets. my husband had fed them on friday nite and our dog ran in with him so when the gliders were hanging on the pouch he thought nothing of it. they always did that when the dog came snooping around. the next afternoon when i came home from work i found them. they must have been like that for about 15 hours. i am so upset and blaming myself, and my husband is just beside himself. i don't want another glider to ever go thru the agony my babies must have gone thru. from now on i check and recheck even if i am tired and worked a 10 hour day like i had on friday. also, this pouch was fleece on the inside, and cloth on the outside. the cloth part was twisted. thanks for listening. maureen

Oh Maureen, I'm sooo sorry <img border="0" alt="[crying]" title="" src="graemlins/crying.gif" /> for you. I know that your lose must be so heart breaking. Know that I am praying for you and the recovery of little BB.

Lanna

First, I'd like to welcome another Illini to the board!!!
I feel sorry for you, your husband, and your little ones. You and your family are in my prayers!!!
I have always been leary of having pouches in the cage...for that reason.
Please feel free to write or call if you need anything.

maureen,

I'm so sorry to here about your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Hello,
I'm sorry to hear of your lost and send many well wishes to you and your family. Although I know it must have been hard to post your story, know that others will learn from it, I know I'm checking my pouches again, because of your warring.
Virginia

I am so sorry about your loss. Please do not be hard on yourself. Sometimes things just happen no matter how carefull we are. Thank you for posting your story. As virginia said It is a reminder for all of us to always check their pouches. It is especially important to post our stories for new or potential glider parents, who are not aware of the possible dangers. My prayers are with you, your husband and your gliders.

Maureen, I feel so sorry for you and for what your babies have gone through. May your remaing glider heal quickly. Also, may your heart heal in time.

Personally, I do not like pouches unless they are fleese and nails are trimmed often.

In my glider room I use Stainless Steel containes. Inside of each are two blankets of fleese that are cut into 12x12 squares. All glider nails are trimmed on average every three weeks. I know who to trim...as their nails will start catching on the fleese and the blanket comes out of the container. Then nails are trimmed immediately. If there are pairs with babies then nails are trimmed every two weeks.

I pray others will read your post....to prevent this from happening to their own glider. The loss of your gliders is not in vain as their story will spare many others from a terrible fate.

Take care.

Judie Hausmann

mobiles--So sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances with your gliders. I really feel that this is such an important issue that more members need to see this post. So I am moving this to "Real Stories" and closing it here. It really belongs there anyway as a warning and to perhaps save other gliders from this tragic situation. I will be praying for your little one.

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss and I hope bb has a good recovery.
So does this mean I shouldn't use a pouch in the cage? I thought that was best for them? <img border="0" alt="[shrug]" title="" src="graemlins/nixweiss.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />

My gliders recently got tangled up in a pouch thread, too. I was just lucky enough to catch them close to when it happened, or else I'm sure my result would have been similar. I now always check pouches first, and if there are seams, I either don't use them or cut any loose threads. I prefer to only use pouches that have no inside seams.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how you feel. Thank you for having the courage to post and share an experience that could help other glider owners protect their gliders.

My gliders self mutilated themselves, too. My male is now missing his right arm and leg and his ballsack. My female, who has a baby, gnawed the baby's ears and tail off before I could save her, but I did manage to rescue the baby in time for it to live. It is now a full grown adult. Too bad about my male, though. Ouch! <img border="0" alt="[crying]" title="" src="graemlins/crying.gif" />

Lawrence, this is a situation a bit different from self-mutilation, though the results are the same....

For self-mutilation help, this website is very helpful.

Hi,
I have included a link below to show the difference in pouch edges.

<small>[ 05-24-2002, 06:31 PM: Message edited by: XMLXtreme ]</small>

If You Are Unsure About Pouches CLICK HERE To See What The Inside Of The Pouch Should Look Like To Be Safe For Gliders.
There are 2 pictures. The first is a picture of an UNSAFE pouch. Scroll down to see edges of a SAFE pouch.

<small>[ 05-24-2002, 10:32 PM: Message edited by: XMLXtreme ]</small>

I purchased four pouches From XMLXtreme, and couldn't be more pleased...Her's are of top quality and very glider safe...I wash mine out by hand...I use just a drop or two of antibacterial soap, and I put them in the sun to dry...They are still very thick, and very safe...They are the first pouches I bought back in November, so I don't really know what others have to offer...Although I did buy a travel pouch from Viva when I picked up my girls, and I have had no problem with it...But, come to think of it, maybe XMLXtreme makes them for her...I really can't say...But, I really suggest handwashing, and sun drying, and turning them inside out and checking the seams...I wash mine inside out anyway...So sorry for your tradgedy, mobiles, and hope your lil one is recouperating well...I'd sure hate to face what you have just been through, and send you lots of hugs...

Sassie & Cassie & "JJ" and I send our <img border="0" alt="" title="" src="graemlins/heartpump.gif" />

Hi Patches,
Thank you for all of the compliments. I know that there are so many sites out there and that people are just now learning more about these amazing creatures and we do our best to provide the safest products possible for them with the information that we have. I always get sick when hearing about things that happen to pets. I have had quite a few horrible things happen to us and it is a hard subject.

<small>[ 05-24-2002, 08:30 PM: Message edited by: XMLXtreme ]</small>

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="images/icons/shocked.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[crying]" title="" src="graemlins/crying.gif" /> OMG i am so sorry for u.
i use pouches, i make my own for my guys.
any thought or advice from anyone on what to look for in a pouch as a pre-warning something like this could happen, would be nice if something positive comes out of this in that way i think... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="images/icons/confused.gif" />
again i am so sorry for ur loss.
cynthia

I am sorry and know how you feel. Feb 2002 the same thing happened to me. I had a female that I have had for two years. I have never trimmed her nails as she was vicious and have had a bird perch in her cage. She had joeys born Jan. 31, and three days later I found her a the bottom of the cage chewing her hand off. What happens is they try and chew free and they bite their hands in the process, causing to to swell and throb. To ease the pain they chew and lick it. I took Mama to the vet and she had chewed down to the nubs of her fingernails, no nail showing. He looked at her hand and said that the salavia contains antibioties and that the swelling had apparently gone down over night and that she was licking it nearly as much, but that the licking as long as it wasn't chewing, would actually help heal it. After about 5 days it looked like a piece of burnt fried chicken. I watched it to make sure nothing was traveling up the arm and in about a month the wrist fell off and made a clean break. Now she has no hand. At first she was kinda pitiful getting around and it was her front left paw by the way, but now, she actually jumps in the cage with no front hand to grab on to. I just thought I would tell you this to give you some encouragement. I am sorry for the loss of your one.
Now to pouch construction:
I make pouches and it was so disturbing about Mama and humbling so I completely changed my cage pouch design so this would never happen again. Now I either use long ties made out of fleece, or small leather or loops that a glider could not get caught in. I will show pictures below. They are much safer than the old style. I either do a French seam or if it is lined, no seam at all. <img src="http://www.toandfrogliders.com/FileHierarchy/InfoPouch/NewJoeyOwners/SupplyLinks/Pouches/ToandFroPouches/Cage%20Pouch/thumbnails/Smileylg_jpg.jpg" alt="" />
<img src="http://www.toandfrogliders.com/FileHierarchy/InfoPouch/NewJoeyOwners/SupplyLinks/Pouches/ToandFroPouches/Cage%20Pouch/thumbnails/brightcats_jpg.jpg" alt="" />
This Third one has a tie in the back and is opened in the front
<img src="http://www.toandfrogliders.com/FileHierarchy/InfoPouch/NewJoeyOwners/SupplyLinks/Pouches/ToandFroPouches/Cage%20Pouch/thumbnails/pinkblue_jpg.jpg" alt="" />

I know this was a terrible thing to happen. I can't imagine having lost one due to something like this. Just having Mama lose her hand was bad enough. My prayers are with you.

<small>[ 06-09-2002, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: Sheila ]</small>