Yesterday my wife and I picked up two baby sugar gliders. On the drive home, I guess the male (Gus) bit the female (Iris) on the back of her head. There is now a small patch, a little larger than a dot from a pen, on the back of her head that is an open wound. I checked in their cage around 2 in the morning to make sure they were ok and they both were by the food dish. Iris froze when she saw me, and Gus started biting and pulling at the spot on her head. Is there anything I can do for the wound? Do you guys have any idea why Gus would do that? Maybe food aggressive? I'm thinking stress related. What would you guys do?

Thank You!!!

Hi and

Your female should be separated from the male as he will continue to go for the wound. She will need to heal before they can be together.

How old are they?

Is the male neutered?

She will need some vetricin antibiotic for her wound and also a vet check is advised.

Were they pouch mates? Or did they just get put together when you bought them?

I recommend separate cages, cut some fleece up in to 4 or 5" squares, rub them on your arms, or tuck into your pillow, or laundry to get your scent on them. The add their sleeping pouches. This will help with bonding.and give them something to snuggle with.

This is a good article to start with:

http://www.glidercentral.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=intro_bonding

What diet did you choose?

Please keep us posted on her injury and please ask any questions. So glad you're here!

They were born on August 10th of this year. The male is neutered and they are brother and sister. I have a vet's visit lined up and I put neosporin on the wound as advised from the breeder. Today is our first day with them and we have pellets, instant HPW, and a multivitamin from vetspride. I heard that that is not good enough so I'm going to run to the store to get ingredients for the pet glider diet. We have been rubbing fleece squares on us and our dog and put that in there with them.

The breeder said that it could be that Gus was trying to ride on the back of Iris like they do with their parents and that could be why he bit her. That makes a lot of sense since Gus was on top of her while biting her. (She is bigger than he is)

The vet said there was no inflammation and is sending us home with some topical antibiotic and oral antibiotic. We are going to keep them in separate cages but next to each other until it heals.

That is great news!