I just thought I would share a sad story with you all about my sugar glider Pipino, in hopes that those of you who do not know much about sugar gliders will put a lot of thought into it before you purchase one.<P> Around May 20, 2000...Pipino was ready to come home with me. I waited patiently (well not really patiently!) for him to be old enough to come home from the petshop. He was extremely scared when I got him, but I was told that he would come around eventually. About two weeks of constant attention went by, and finally Pipino trusted me. After that, he came with me everywhere, and was hardly ever in his cage. He was a great sugar glider! He never crabbed at me, never once bit me, and was always looking to come out of his cage and play. <BR> Pipino's
diet consisted of plenty of fruits and veggies, a vitamin suppliment I put into his water, and crickets and moths. Sometimes he would get meal worms as well. I thought everything was going great with him. He seemed happy and healthy. One thing was wrong though...he wasn't growing. <BR> I stopped by the petshop I bought Pipino from, and one of his siblings was still there. She was nearly twice the size of him. I just assumed he was a runt, after all, I didn't know too much about sugar gliders to begin with, so I didn't see any signs that he might be sick.<BR> I had Pipino out one night while I was watching tv, and he was sneezing a bit. I thought it was normal..I mean, all animals sneeze sometimes, right? <BR> The very next day, before I was going to leave for work, I went over to say good-bye to Pipino. I looked down at the bottom of the cage, and he was holding onto the bars for his dear life! He was shaking, and his normal pink colored nose was now blue. I took him into the kitchen and tried to give him some honey,(which he never refuses) but he could hardly pick his head up to recognize what it was. <BR> I rushed him to the
vet -and when I say rushed, I mean blowing stop-signs! I was already in tears by then and hysterical when It came to speaking to the nurse. He was dying in my hands! But he was still just a little strong enough to crab at the stranger examining him which gave me some hope. <BR> I waited there for nearly 2 hours, and I finally found out just what was wrong with Pipino. He had Pneumonia. Now I was thinking "Did I leave my air conditioner on when he was in my room? Did I leave a window open?" I couldn't figure out just what I had done wrong. But it turned out to be way more complicated than that. He has not been getting the right amount of calcium from the food I was giving him. All along he was dying, and I had no idea. His body eventually started taking calcium from the only source it could find...his bones. So it eventually softened his bones, and he couldn't breathe. This is what caused Pneumonia.<BR> For his treatment, the
vet decided to put him on iv's because he was dehydrated. He also kept him in an oxygen tank so that he could breathe, and he was on anti-biotics. The total cost for Pipino's recovery was $400.00.<BR> Pipino died 3 days into the treatment. I suppose the
vet tried their hardest, but I only wish he was home with me had I known he was going to die. I felt as if someone took him away from me, because I never got to say good-bye. His sickness was so sudden, and I am so sad for him that he had to suffer.<BR> It's been 2 weeks since Pipino died, and I am looking into getting a new sugar glider in hopes that I will do better this time around.<BR> As most of you proably know, a Sugar Gliders'
diet is extremely important, and he/she must be given all the right nutrition in order for him/her to stay healthy. <BR> In Pipino's case, I fed him exactly what the petshop owner told me to. I believe that I took very good care of him, but I still feel a pinch of guilt when I think of how long he could have lived had I did known more about Sugar gliders.<BR> Sorry for the sad story.....I will post some pictures of Pipino on this site later on today.<P>Julie
