Gwynevere was sleeping on her own when I got home... so I took that as a sign she wanted cuddle time, lol. I served thier food, refilled thier water, & took out the pouch she was in. I had a very groggy WFB looking blearily at me. A couple yoggies & pine nuts, a few well places scratches, & she settled down again.

Movie started, recliner back, blanet on, & hand in pouch - Check!

Gwyn carefully groomed & arranged my fingers to her liking, then curled up inside my the cup she formed. I was actually wondering if she was a little cold on her own, her body would have this little vibration on & off, kindof like when they're first waking up & moving around, but she felt as if she was asleep.

We stayed that way for a few hours (pee break for me in the middle ) until I heard the others waking up. I figured she wouldn't be far behind even though she hadn't stirred yet. I returned the pouch to the cage & Gwyn poked her head out. I gave her one last pine nut as a 'thanks to the cuddles,' & called it a night. (That's what happens when they get up extra late!)

Nice night. I'm glad these are happening more often, going through some rough times again & having reach this stage of bonding has been good for my soul. Sugar Glider cuddles = Contentment :D

I also find that my gliders have mood elevating properties. They bring joy and laughter into my life every day, and some days I really need that.

I hope that your rough times smooth out soon, Hutch!

I know this seems redundant, but another good for the soul day 'sleeping' with the little loves. They seem to be developing 'routine' sleeping positions realitive to my hand when it's in there. It seems to vary by time of day, but I've noticed that with thier positions in 'the pile' as well. I guess now that my hand has an associated sleeping arrangement, it's now fully accepting in the pouch.

In general, Gwynevere makes her way to the inside of my hand with her head nudged in to the fleshy part between the thumb and pointer, like a pillow. She'll bring her tail up to cover her eyes. Gwyn is one of the gliders who will not only hold on when I try to remove my hand, but she will actively try to pull it in to the pouch if I reach in to pet them. Morning or evening, she manages to squirm her way in to the cup of my hand, always facing up.

Arthur likes to strech across my knuckles wraping his paws & tail around as many different fingers as he can manage. He won't pull me in, but he'll gladly help 'arrange' my fingers, give them a good grooming for bed time, then hold on if 'his' fingers try to leave. During the morning he seems to prefer Merlin's position.

Merlin like being near my finger tips, arranging himself to curl around two of them. He'll squirm the most out of all of them to find a position (& keep checking on me). He seems to be an active dreamer, I feel him twitch a lot. If I lightly tickle his belly, he settles down. Niether pulls my fingers in nor grabs them if I try to pull my hand out, but he'll squawk if something if interferring with his positioning. In the morning he'll still stay near the bottom, but will place more of his body in the space along my forefinger on top of Gwyn.

Morgana likes to take over my thumb. She tends to form a 'U' over/around the tip & wrap her tail around near the base. She'll usually start helping Gwyn pull my hand in, but doesn't initiate it herself. She also doesn't really settle down well in the morning, napping for a while in one location, then moving to another, usually nearer to the top than in the evening & facing down in to the pouch.

Haven't been doing as much long night time plays with them, but allowing those who want to come out to explore a little. As long as I've seem them eat some dinner, that is (looking at you Morgana). Girls are still much more about that than the boys.

It has been a while since Merlin has experienced a significant seziure (knocking on wood). YAY! I'm hoping all this time around my hands is helping him to remain calmer. Time will tell.

That's all I have for tonight. Just sharing how things are normalizing

Always great to hear about the round table. :-)
Reminds me that I have been slacking on the sleepovers. Glad things are normalizing for you guys.

Gee I'm torn between adding one more reply (this makes 94) but I guess it's gonna happen soon enough where you get to 100.

But I'm glad you have your quartet and they have you! They are comforting in tough times, and they seem to know it.

The bonding process is ongoing, don't forget.

I do enjoy sleeping time with mine too.

So keep on telling your story.... I think everyone here enjoys your adventures and I feel you give hope to newbies on here too!

Hutch,

When you make it to one hundred posts and we lock this thread for you to start another one. If you would like to save it all you have to do is go to topic options and you can print out the whole thread and its replies.

Kimberley, that's what I've been doing as each thread has come to an end. It is nice to look back & see how far the five of us have come together, highs & lows.

Dawn, never fear! I post hear to for the two way communication, so post away As you said, one way or the other I'll be moving on to chapter four soon. Sometimes I have trouble believing I've written so much & had so many wonderful conversations about these zany critters. I'm sure they'll continue to provide me much to talk about.

--------------------------------

Yesterday had a humorous moment. They spend most of the day in my lap as I worked on my laptop. I've been developing a boardgame & was finishing the instruction book. As a result, my hands were unavailable for more than the occasional pet or scratch when I would re-read sections or stop to think.

Before I get to the moment, a digression: I was amazed how after they settled down, I was able to reach in to rub a glider or two without them even batting an eye. That they have become that comfortable with me & spending the sleeping period with me is fantastic!

Back to funny: At one point Gwynevere woke & started grooming herself. It was cute to watch, but she was lower in the pouch causing Merlin to tssk a bit since she kept maneuvering under him to reach new body parts. I reached in to gently pet him for comfort (something I'd been doing on & off since he'd been an active dreamer), but Gwyn had other ideas. She reached up, grabbed my finger tight, firmly pulled it to her, then started going like it was the dirties thing she'd seen. I promised her I'd washed my hands after each break, but she only tssk'd at me I continued for what must have been seven or eight minutes! After that, she turned her attention back to her tail & ignored the scratch I gave her head. I guess I was finally up to her royal standards, lol!

Well, I discovered this morning the fluffy balls of trouble chewed through the loop holding up what had become their favorite newest toy (sorry Dawn, the one with all the lids for treats). As I reached in to retrieve it, Gwyn pounced. I was trying to leave for work, so of course she was playing hard to get. She kept sniffing my neck or ear, then darting away when I'd reach for her. Flick her tail in my face, then jump away. Tease.

They've (she's) been a lot more vocal at night lately. Like, waking me a floor away vocal for extended periods. With how late they've been waking (2300, give or take), we haven't had a long play session in a while, just the cuddle time. I'm guessing this is the result of that? I think I'll get them out of bed early tonight & see if that helps things.

Lol! That's Ok! It was a quick throw together, last minute, had a place to stuff in box thing. That plastic lace is rather thin, I should have doubled it... I am looking for stronger stuff too.

Or, maybe they just wanted the straws and lids in their toybox?

If you can get your hands on silicone tubing( I found some black that's real stretchy, about the diameter of fish tank air tubing), you could drill bigger holes in the lids and restring with that. Mine love to chew on that.

I use it to make a open end taco with the square hammock (also called trampolene and parachute). Hard to explain, but I cut a lenth of this tubing just short of depth of their cage, make a tight slip knot at each end, attach c links, stretch and hook to front and back, fold the hammock in half, at the back of cage I attach both loops together with a c link hook to cage, and on the front loops, I add c links to each loop till it stretches to cage bars in front, spread open so they can sit inside to chill or climb on the top. Hum, maybe I need to take a pic! But I got off track here!

I would definitely wake them up early... But they all must purge...

& purge they did. My four really are full of [beep].

Before that, I had them cuddle with me for a while to settle down after being pulled from the cage. Then I had a treat for them: a new tent!

They LOVE thier new play tent. Woke them up around 1830 & gave them a bit over an hour to frolic about. The boys ran out of steam early, but my girls never slowed down. They really enjoyed jumping from me, to the walls, & back. A constant scurry up & down, leap & glider. They'd only pause for a moment on me for a quick sniff or tail flick before away they went again.

While Arthur did have to nap in the middle, he got back in to the spirit of exploring the tent after being teased out with a feather. I think my big boy managed to burn a few calories at least.

Merlin, well... he explored a bit then just kept trying to find places to perch. Then hide. I pulled him out a few times, then he'd hang with me getting petted before slinking away to hide again. *sigh* He's so my work in progress.

This tent was a great buy... according to them. I'll see if this play time helps with thier volume at night. Now to care for all the scratches I've earned from thier many, many, many bad landings across my arms. Good thing they're cute.

Another thread filled... but fear not: The saga will continue in the next installment of 'The Gliders of the Round Table!' So, from Arthur, Gywnevere, Merlin, Morgana, and myself: Hope to hear from you in Chapter IV.