My husband and I, adopted a breeding pair of gliders from a trustworthy glider owner and friend, she just didn’t have the time that was needed to dedicate to them with being in and out of the hospital for a family member and work.

It’s been about 4 months now and no progress with bonding I’ve tried all the tricks and bonding techniques I’ve read on this forum and others and I’m about heart broken that they don’t like either of us.

We’ve used bonding pouches, bribing with treats, cloths with our scent, not putting our hands in only to change their pouches or bedding, giving food and water. Trying to hold them or have them come to us is impossible. They’ll go it to a pouch easily if we hold it but do not like to be held or touched. Constantly crabbing and biting. The female is worse than the male I’m not sure if it’s because she has two babies right now or what but she’s been getting progressively worse.

All I want to do is be her friend and make sure all is well with the babies, her and dad. But she acts as if I’m the devil trying to take her kiddos away.



Please help!!!

I understand how you feel. I never dealt with a pregnant glider, so can't tell you if being extra protective is normal for sure, but it does make sense if it were the case.

Even so, with some gliders four months isn't that long to be in the trust building process. I understand when you read how quickly they bond, and the it doesn't happen feels. All of my gliders have been that way, mine took forever it seemed. Be patient with them, it pays off.

Just keep your practices in building trust, continue to love and nurture them, they will eventually develop more trust in you. Gliders have different dispositions and personalities, they relate accordingly. Also, please keep in mind that for the most part, more gliders prefer not to be held or handled than those they do, or even tolerate it. Additionally, if they do tool rate being held and handled, it's during sleepy time (daytime hours), not when they are up and about.

Not all gliders like to be held in our hands. I would try doing tent time with them. Be patient, they both may come around if he is neutered and they are no longer having babies.

Thank you all for your input. I shall try tent time once more. I stopped because all the female did was bite. And hard to the point I would bleed.



If anyone else has some input I would greatly appreciated it.

Have you tried making glider noises when she bites like " tsk, sssst, shht"? That is glider talk for "I don't like what you are doing". I've also used a firm No afterwards. Our second glider took 9 months to bond.

Soft voices, reading or singing lulliby type songs helps to when you are in the room. When you approach the cage let them know you are there. They will probably crab. When they do, try to talk to them. They may get more upset, but stay until you have the last word. They will learn you don't go away that easy. Feed snacks through the cage bars.

I'm sorry, but my grandkids just woke up. They are here doe the weekend. Cant focus. To be continued... Hope this helps.

Ok, I'm back. Trust is what you need to earn from the gliders. Were they ever handled by their first owners?

Are you planning to breed? Or planning to have dad and sons neutered?

Momma may have issues trying to protect her babies. She may not choose to bond during this time. The best thing to do would be to let her have her space for now. Work with the male so she can see how you interact with him.

Have you tried tent or bathroom time?

Dawn thank you for your input. I do not know how often they were handled with hands or if they were ever hand tamed.

to answer a couple of your questions yes I have done tent time and talked with them while in the tent. I’ve made some noises when talking to them. Not sure if they are exactly glider sounds. they don’t seem to like being touched ever they typically crab when touched or even put hands near them and/or bite really hard. which to me kind indicates that they weren’t hand tamed necessarily. Also I do not plan to fix dad though his sons once able to leave mom will go into a separate cage away from mom and dad and if I must fix one of the boys as I’m still a little hesitant to do so being that it’s hard to find a proper veterinarian to do such procedure.



I’m just not sure how to bond with these little boogers anymore so any advice helps.

Hi and this may be off topic but I just had both my boys neutered. Initially, I was very distrustful and hesitant but after a couple of months and some personal issues, it was completed. BEST decision ever and it might calm down your male - not sure of vets in your area but this site has a data base-which is how I located my vet. She was an hour plus away but worth the drive!
Good luck with your gliders!

Howdy Tynk,

As many of the very knowledgable people here have already mentioned, these little buggers do things at their own pace, in their own way, with each their own limit. That doesn't mean you should be without hope... just may require more patience than you originally planned. To top that off, you have rehomed furballs, with babies, who do not -sound- like they were handled very often before coming to you. Hope you like challenges, because you climbed stright in to the heavy-weight ring

Don't fear though. Look at it from the view point that YOU are trying to join THEIR colony... and they are basicly experiencing an episode from 'Lost in Space' or similar: new territory, family to protect, strange unknown creatures who communicate funny & may want to eat them...

I'm not saying any of this to put you off or scare you... just, perspective. Once you make it over the hump it will be sooooo worth it all. They amount of happiness these crazy critters can bring is amazing.

As far as what to do... step back & slow down. Trust me, I know it's hard, I had to do exactly that a few times during the first many moons I had mine. Each time I gave them that break... just sitting near them, reading outloud or talking to them... letting them get use to my continual presence really... when we resumed fully interacting through bathroom/tent time, pouch time, or just inviting them to come out & play, there was noticiable improvement. I came to kinda looked at it like time to let things soak in. A couple weeks of interactions, then maybe a week of space.

Even with that & two years of them putting up with me, my four have different levels of bondedness (new word, maybe?), each their own tolerances for handling, & not one agrees on how much time or how to play with me. It was a learning process for all five of us My boys do not like to be handled much, though Arthur will always come investigate me (in the hope it involves a treat, really). It is infrequent that Arthur makes an effort to come out to play, but he's pretty easy to coax out. Merlin... its rare to get him to come out of the cage once he's awake for the night. He doesn't want to be far from the action... but he's quite content being on the sidelines. If I try to offer Merlin more attention, it is more likely he'll retreat to the cage than interact more.

My girls are the opposite. They love to come out of the cage & interact with me; get quite pushy about it. Even with them, there are differences: When active, Morgana will only let me pet her tail, anything else & she'll scurry to the other shoulder, but she's okay if it's been a while since pouch time or a long play date. Gwyn is very tolerant of being petted but will loudly proclaim how upset she is during the wee hours of the night if she isn't given enough attention... & if that doesn't work, she'll become louder & do it more often. (I wish I was exagerating... it's a really good thing she's cute.)

But it has been a two year process to get this far with them. Does it mean it'll take you two years before they'll tolerate you? I doubt that! What you'll see is little gains that, like interest, compound on each other for a time. Then, for no apparent reason, you'll seem to plateau. Give them a little space & patience (yup, that dreadful word again), then progress will resume. Why? Because they're hyper balls of dryer lint with as much personality as most people & that's what they feel like doing, hehehe.

Okay, that's a lot of rambling & examples to try to make a some small, but very important points:
- You're starting from a rough place, take it slow. No, slower than that.
- You just want to love on them while they're wondering if you're hungry.
- You've decided they're part of your family, but they're still deciding on you.
- Changing all that required time, patience, more time, more patience, & patience.
- It is totally, 100% worth even minute of every effort.

If you're looking more for techniques, I can offer those as well... but first, taking a deeeeeep breath & keeping those points in mind is what got me on track.

I really just need guidance as to what to do. I’ve never experienced it this bad.

No matter what I do they scurry at any sign of us.

The only time they are interested is if we have food for them.

The female bites anytime she can. With me only she bites my husband if he goes near the pouch. And the male follows her lead.

Until the babies are ready to be separated from their parents. I’m planning to leave them alone and even after that.

Well thank you all for your advice and input.

This is definitely going to be a tough and challenging breeding pair to bond with. any of you have any ideas or techniques in helping do this, I would greatly appreciate that input. I’ve tried tent times, I’ve tried treats, I’ve tried everything that I can possibly think of or have read to do and nothing seems to be working. even before she had Joey’s, she was a definite biter. the male is not so bad but he does take her lead if she starts crabbing and getting aggressive with me which is when I usually just Put her in a fleece pouch and let her calm down. she did take a piece of my finger more like a chunk of my finger recently and I am not sure what else to do at this point I’ve all but given up hope of these two especially her.


I now have a new concern. I was cleaning the cage today and giving the gliders freshwater I pulled mom out to get put her in a different pouch as well as check on her two current joeys (5weeks OOP). while everything was being cleaned. she dropped two fresh Joey that were still pink and tiny the size of a fingernail pick them up and eat them. she still has two Joey’s. Is it normal for pregnancy to overlap? As well as her eating the new joeys while still having two on teet?

That’s just the thing I have been doing only the necessities.

I can’t even put food in there without her coming out of the pouch and attacking my hand. I’ve tried talking and giving treats. The Joeys that are out of pouch are doing just fine. Am I supposed to just take the juries out it eight weeks when the wind and leave mom and dad alone in a dark gr am I supposed to just take the Joey’s out at eight weeks when their weened and leave mom and dad the hell alone in a room.


I don’t think you fully understand how violent she is, with or without joeys.


I’ve set an appointment to get the dad fixed.

KarenE, she doesn’t have new joeys in pouch she ate them.

I understand that she cannibalized the joeys she did have in her pouch so she no longer has new joeys in pouch. The only joeys she has are the five week old ones.




That was the post I was responding to about leaving her alone. When she took a chunk out of your finger, she was more than likely protecting the joeys she had in pouch at that time.

As for separating the joeys when they are about eight weeks old from mom and dad - after dad is neutered -yes, that is what I would do so mom is possibly not as protective of them. You may even need to put them in another room if you intend on keeping them.

Then I need to find How To Bond with a Biter.

Is neutering dad the better choice or should I just leave them alone because I’m in New Mexico and I can’t find a proper vet that I absolutely trust with these little guys. I was just gonna leave it alone and let them do their thing because I don’t want to take a risk of getting dad neutered and it causing more problems between them two and one of them die.


I honestly was contemplating keeping the Joeys and getting mom and dad help with a friend who’s had gliders for five years as I’ve only had gliders for a few years. Before this pair.

New Mexico Vets in our Database

Thank you karenE.

I wasn’t planning on keeping them as a family did to Joeys will go into their separate cage in another room.


I love gliders though I feel like the mom and dad will never bond to me. I don’t know if I’ve done something wrong Or the techniques I’ve tried or not anything that they have done before and they don’t but I’m not sure what else I can run to Joeys are weaned from mom and dad. I would love for both of them want to bond.


Do you think that it’s a good idea to leave mom and dad alone for about a month after the joeys are weaned and then try something as simple as giving treats and start talking to them without touching.

Okay thank you. For everything.


May I PM you if I have anymore concerns or questions

This isn't necessary, Tynk, just put a clean pouch in the cage, they'll move when they're ready.



You'll need to play it by ear & eye. They -should- start paying attention when you're around & showing curiousity or mild interest in what you're doing, instead of fear or aggression. Ears up, relaxed body, & eyes up versus ears down & squinty eyes, tight/ready to pounce body.

I've thought about it some more since last night. I wouldn't plan on any bonding until the babies are about 10-12 weeks OOP. Reason: 8-12 weeks seems to be the range joeys can leave mama-glider, depending on the breeder. Since it's been so rough so far, I'd say the more time for both the humans & the fuzzies would be better. This is assuming, of course, you get papa-glider fixed before mama-glider get knocked up again... that would just restart the clock.

In the meantime, I'd keep everything as low-stress as possible:
-- Put food in before they wake & do not remove until they're asleep for the day.
-- Don't clean their cage all at once & only during the day.
-- Don't change all their fleece/toys all at once, swap one or two items as needed.
-- As I said about, don't force moves, just give them the option for when they're ready.

Even while you're waiting, you can help them think of their new home as a happy/safe place:
-- Keep plenty of toys & brain teasers in their cage.
-- Hide treats before they wake all around.
-- Put small things that smell like you (fleece squares you've carrier around or slept with, for example) around areas of the cage they like to hang out. Not too many, but just so your smell is associated with their territory. I'd avoid putting them in the pouch until closer to the end... but if you're lucky they'll pull them into their nest themselves

I truly understand treating these guys as 'window pets' will be hard for the few weeks. Think of it like an investment: the interest you'll accumulate letting them relax will pay off when you resume/restart bonding.

So the vet I thought would be able to fix my daddy glider said he wouldn’t do it so now i am totally not sure what to do.

I’ve kinda accepted the fact that the breeding pair will never bond and that I will only just have their babies to bond to and find absolutely great homes for.

Did the vet say why he wouldn't neuter?