So, Luna has been sick. The vet said it was that she wasn't getting enough calcium- Priscilla price diet, sprinkle the supplements on top- so I switched to hpw last week. For the beginning of last week all was fine and Luna was back to normal! But as of 2 days ago Penelope has gotten very food agressive. She fights Luna all the time for going anywhere near one of the 2 bowls or if she knows shes going to food I've hidden. I've separated the bowls, had them out of sight from one another, put it in before they wake up, and have watched them. Watching them helps a little but in all reality I don't have time to watch them every night, I wish I did. Any suggestions for this?

Secondly, one of them is up like all day. And they're both up at normal night time. (I'm not sure which one-I'm at school all day. My sister just told me and she can't tell the difference). I have noticed only Luna up when I get up for school but they both normally are. Any ideas of why?
Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post!

Make sure the cage is in an area that has light during normal day light hours. If the room is dark during the day time the glider's sleep cycle is thrown off and they may stay awake during the day. They need light during normal day light hours to maintain their internal clock.

Try putting the food in at least 3 different locations - put one higher in the cage, one in the mid section and one on the floor. Hanging bird dishes work well if you do not have any shelves in the cage.

One glider cannot guard all 3 food locations and prevent the other from eating.

Which HPW™ did you switch them to?

There are a couple different reasons a glider can be aggressive at meal time.

1) All animals have a 'pecking order' and no matter how many animals 'kill' the food, the alpha always eats first.

2) Place the food in the cage at least a half hour prior to your gliders waking up. Often times if food is placed in after they are awake, this is when many see the food aggression taking place.

3) Changing diets from a higher protein diet to a lower protein diet can also cause issues. This is much like you or I only eating fast food for every meal of our lives for months and then deciding one day we are only going to eat salads and healthy foods. No matter how much we eat, we are going to be HUNGRY and not feel satisfied until our bodies get used to the change.
I always recommend to people who are switching from a much higher protein diet to place several feeding stations in and offer a bit more food for over a 3 week period. During those three weeks, slowly start cutting back the food until you are at the correct amount that should be served. Others will just add pellets in the cage.

4) In some cases there is an ill glider and the others are aware and will stop them from eating. This does not happen often, but does indeed happen.

Also be sure to keep an eye on their weight. Know that the weight will fluctuate during any diet change. Some go up, some go down and some will go down and then begin to go back up. This is normal, however, you dont want a steady decrease in the weight in just one glider as this may mean the others are keeping it from eating.

I have never agreed with the sprinkle method of offering vitamins/calcium because you never know if all the gliders are getting what they need. I think it may be safe to say this may have happened in your case as well, if Penelope was the one eating the majority of the food before, it is not surprising that Luna would show she was not getting the proper vitamins/calcium she needs.

I agree with advice already given, increase the amount of food for a while and offer three locations.

Pleas let us know how Luna is doing.

Since daylight is getting shorter, try using additional lighting in the room during the day.

There are times when I'll catch one of my brats up alone later than usual in the am, usually it's my Lulu, but occasionally one of the others. Also my Ollie boy will often get up during the day for a snack and spin in the wheel, this has seemed the norm for him.

In the morning when I get up I open the blinds and the sun shines right in all day, so I'm guessing light isnt the problem. I have been putting food in earlier but that isnt working. I put twice the suggested amount last night and watched them for the 1st 15 minutes they were up and that seemed to help. Today I have a lamp on right by their cage and the blinds open so I hope that helps with the waking up.
There are multiple food spots in the cage and I change the "hiding" food spots daily. But whenever Luna is out of sight of Penelope, Penelope attacks her. So I have just separated them or watched them.

The one that's up during the day may be hungry if they're not getting their fare share of food during the night.

Make sure that you have a little bit of food left over in the morning so you know everyone is getting enough food.

You may also want to try an igloo to put a food station in so that it blocks the view of the other gliders.

So Luna and Penelope must have gotten into a big fight while I was gone. Penelope seems to be the only hurt one. She is missing lots of fur from her tail and her face is very puffy to the point where only half her eye is open. But it's only on one side. Luna seems fine and is walking normal. She's acting more shy than normal. She's just sitting there, not even crabbing which isn't normal for her. Penelope is in pain. I can easily tell. She's crying and is having trouble walking. But they were in the same pouch together and cuddling. I have no idea what is going on with them. Penelope is Luna's mom and they have always been together. I'm calling the vet ASAP tomorrow.
Any suggestions are so helpful!

I'm so sorry to hear that, I can't imagine going through that, both for you and the gliders.

I agree for vet visit ASAP, for help with pain and in case of infection.

Hopefully this ordeal will put an end to the aggression issues and they'll get along so you won't have to separate them. How long have they been together anyway?

I hope this is really the end.
Luna is almost 3, so they've been together almost 3 years

What did the vet say about this little one?

She said it's possible it was also something in the cage seeing that they have never done this before and have been together so long. But for now they are separated during the night when I'm not around. She said to keep an eye out for how they are interacting and next week I take them both in for check ups and we'll discuss what to do. She gave Penelope fluids and medication. I just have to give it to her before dinner

Penelope and Luna are both awake right now, they arent just hanging out. .. theyre running and playing and being normal as if it were night. All my lights are on and my window curtains are moved so its pretty light in here and they dont care. Any suggestions?

I noticed Penelope is looking pretty yellow on her stomach. Does anyone know what would cause this?

Occasionally one, usually Ollie will be up a some point during the day, looking for snacks and even run on the wheel a bit.

Since they are already scheduled for checkups this coming week, maybe just keep close eye out for any other oddness about them. If you get too concerned, maybe try to get their appointments moved up sooner.


How are they doing on the new diet? Are they eating well? I'm glad to hear that at least they're active. Maybe see if you can tell how active they are during the night.

They love it. Its all gone in the morning & the bowl is basically licked clean. Haha
They are more active in the morning than night. But they're still up and running around

That sounds pretty good.

Does anyone know why she would be sleeping on top of her pouch instead of inside?

How long have you noticed her doing that?

When do you notice it happening?

Is the pouch hanging or laying?

Do you suspect she would have been chased out?
Any way you can try to monitor them more throughout the day?

How warm do you have the room that she's in? Perhaps she was just too warm

It's not completely odd for them to sleep in a strange place once in a while. Usually it's not something to worry about unless there's concern that it's too cold in the room for them.

The past 2 days. All thought the day, she will just get up out of her pouch and lcurl up on top of it. She's alone right now per the vet so she's not being chased. I have my sister checking on them.

It's like 70 ish in the room and there is a heat lamp close to the cage

It could get too warm if there is a heat lamp close, them temp she's feeling will be warmer than the ambient temperature in the room. You could try moving the lamp farther away or not have it on, unless the room temp drops considerably without it.

The heat lamp is on the top of the cage and she sleeps on the bottom. Should I just turn it off?

She should be fine with the heat lamp off. If the room temp is around 70 it may be better if you can use an electric area heater in the room if you're concerned it's too chilly. You can get little ones that have thermostats on them, that way you can set it to come on if it drops below a slightly higher temp.

Another option, but maybe more costly is to get a thermostat for the heat lamp. I used to use those for my lizard's lights, so they could keep the best temp range from side to side. They could be gotten at reptile supply websites and I believe Fosters & Smiths has them. Not sure if you could find them in pet stores, I haven't seen them in stores when I was looking for them. With those though, you have more cords to worry about keeping away from the cage.

If you go with the area (space heater) you can offer her a pouch or sleeping area near the top of the cage. She may like having the option.

I would agree. At 70 degrees, there shouldn't be a need for a heat lamp. Heat lamps are designed more for reptiles/those animals that can't maintain body temperatures. Sugar gliders don't fall into that category. 70 is a good temperature for them.

Thanks!

If you end up needing a space heater, This is an excellent one. I bought not long ago because I don't have central heat and air, it works great! I run it on cold days when I'm at work since I can't leave the gas heaters on while the house is empty. HTH

Thanks! I just got home from the vet. I got cream I have to put on her eye as much as possible and a baytril solution as an antibiotic 2 times a day.

She said she can see the globe of her eye so its still there but she doesnt know if she can see out of it- its too crusty & pussy so this will help and I go back next week to get a better look.

So theyre just supposed to be separated for now.

Hoping for a quick recovery for her. Sad they have to stay separate, I hope that it won't be long term.