I'm certainly no expert...not even close...but from what I understand, this was not an injury sustained during transport as he is not in pain, with no visible scrapes or sores - he simply is without an ARM! I think it is quite obvious, and such a shame really, that the breeder was in fact very aware this little one was missing his arm and didn't feel it necessary to inform the new parents of his special circumstances.

I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt, or just plain trust them!, but honestly, anyone who has handled a joey, especially a "breeder", I would think should know the difference between three arms and four.

This little glider is very lucky he arrived into a family who was willing to accomodate his special needs, and love him regardless.

It is nice to hear there are good people out there.

I agree with everyone else about this breeder i would not want this to happen to me with out knowing ahead of time i hope he has a happy and long live with you .

I, too, would like to know who this breeder is. I am always looking around for gliders, so please keep me informed as well.
I am so glad that he found such a good home, other people may not have been so understanding about his situation. Good job to you.

Okay, update time. Coconut is still pretty friendly but his arm looks even worse than yesterday. the vet said he may have a secondary infection but it is looking bad. it is kind of red and it is oozing. i have been giving him his meds but they are so hard to administer. azazel is just crabbing his head off whenever me or my boyfriend tries to touch him. he wont even get into his bonding pouch. He tries to bite us when we try to touch him and the sound of our voices (softly telling him its okay) drives him crazy. he wont even take papaya treats from us. could this mean he was mishandled? Or is he just not adjusting as fast as coconut? I''ve read alot of books on sugar gliders and done all my research etc but as it is i am new at this. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

it takes a few days for gliders to adjust... but with the one glider having a wound and the other doesn't sound tame...
here is a good link for you... sorry wish I could be more help....
http://www.sugargliderinfo.com/index.html#bases

we were following all of the bonding rules that we read about but between having to hold cocunut down to get him his medication and azazel getting upset when he hears coconut crabbing, we can't help but try and calm them down. i guess maybe that's just making things worse, though. oi i just want them to be happy!

and thank you, ALL of you; your support is making this a LOT less scary than it would have been if we had gone into this alone.

((hugs)) hope the glider breeder gets back to you asap! keep us updated....

awww, i'm sorry that this had to happen to you. i hope the poor little guy decides to get better. i'm sure when he's feeling better he'll be much freindlier. it's really horrible what the breeder did. i really do agree w/ every 1 else that they should give you a refund or pay the vet bills. very very unethical. my breeder keeps me updated on how Misos is doing.
we're all glad he found you !!

I'm willing to bet that once you no longer need to disrupt coconut with the meds or any other uncomfortable invasive thing like that, azazel will calm down - while I bond with my mellow boy aiden, if anything bothers my crabby girl julz aiden gets so upset and scared, just from hearing her crab...

Was this breeder info posted anywhere? I think it is worthy of a Colony Alert.

The breeder of my dog sold her to me, knowing she had an inherited congenital defect. He offerred to "give me another puppy" -- which I declined. Defect or no, she is my baby and I adore her! However I did insist that he refund my money. He didn't want to. But what good would another puppy do? - they have birth defects! And, besides, he would just destroy my baby! Or breed her. So, I held my ground and he refunded my money.

It is terrific that you love your baby glider! Of course you do. Having 3 legs doesn't make him less wonderful.

But everyone on GC needs to be aware of who is conducting these practices. It is actually not just unethical, it is illegal in most states.

Valkyrie, I could not agree with you more. I DO think the breeders name should be posted. I dont think anyone here would bash, but it would be nice to know so someone else doesnt have to go through what these guys are having to go through with coconut.

It would be one thing if the breeder TOLD you it was missing a leg, but to not be told.

PLEASE pm me the breeders name.

FUNNY!?! right! I would be livid. Not only is this extremely poor breeding practice. You also have a glider who is requiring vet care. These are the reasons the animal welfare act are in place. The breeder was responsible for the care of that joey. They should have gotten all the medical care needed for this baby. Now you say his leg looks worse. This is not fair to you or him. He is lucky to have landed in a home that cares for him but it should have never come to this point. If the breeder was going to sell him they should have made sure he was well enough to travel. Making sure there was no risk to him on the trip. I would be filing a report with the USDA and THEIR local animal welfare groups. At this point it appears they have broken the law. I pray you are able to get the area better and give him a quality life. However, I truly believe the breeder should be held accountable for his care. Not warning you before hand is just plain unacceptable.

I also think it is fair to let others know who this is so they don't end up in this situation in the future.

I would also liked to be PM'd the information please...

thank you... and good job to you for taking such good care of them... they will come around....

Ya'll are awesome

I just have to know who this is. Could you PM me the info, please?

This is ridiculous breeding practice! I can't help but be upset. Look at what you are having to go through now not to mention your poor glider. This should not be the experience a glider parent has with a new baby. I would be utterly embarrassed if I were this breeder. I let my new parents know everything about their new little down to the length of the tails! I include detailed pictures of their growth and development and I include current and TRUE updates of their ever growing personalities. Were you ever shown a picture or anything of this little one? I just can't believe a breeder wouldn't mention that!

I wish you the best of luck!

i meant funny in the fact that it is more ironic... the person sent her a glider that to mmost would be defective and "worthless" but instead, its a sweet little loved animal.. sorry i didn't clarify... i would be livid as well, however i would be happy just to have a sweet glider and be happy that the little guy made it to me and NOT to someone who might do god-knows what to it.. or worse, send it back to the breeder..

i trully understand you love coconut. but really the breeder should have told you about the condtion of the glider. you should get a FULL refund even then its just NOT RIGHT.

good luck with coconut and hope she heals quickly.

You guys really are amazing to be so concerned about this situation. I will tell all of you EVERYTHING you need to know about the situation, including the breeder information (through pm'ing or posting the website) but I want to wait until tomorrow after I've talked to the breeder. At least that way there's two sides of the story.

However messed up the story is.

Anyways, I'm taking Coconut in to the exotic animal vet tomorrow that the emergancy vet recommended and we'll find out more about his condition then.

Really, you guys are amazing.
Oh, and once I get Coconut to sit still for long enough I'll post a picture of him and his crabby adorable brother, Azazel.

i am also going to be getting my suggie a friend very soon, could u please pm me with the breeder info. once you contact the breeder and find out what really happened if she did ship him to u missing an arm i agree with cyndiekb you should definatly call the usda and report them, what if his parents have birth defects and they are breeding them, just my 2 cents.. but you are awesome for loving him for the way he is , i would do the same thing..sending you

You may want to PM Glidrz5 (moderator)-she has a little girl named Carina that doesn't have the use of a front arm (might as well not be there as she can't move it away from her body, and is missing most of the hand on that arm)-Chris is very nice, and should have some good tips for you.

I have a nuber of special needs gliders-and one thing I've noticed is they tend to make up for physical imperfection with their personalities, and are absolutely priceless. Keep us updated on the little one.

thanks for that tip, will do : )

I think it is VERY responsible and mature of you to give the breeder the benefit of the doubt. I realize that everyone wants to know who the breeder is. After, reading this post, the pressure on you to tell is enormous. You guys, don't you think we should let her work it out with the breeder first before she reports them/gives out their information. Give her a little time.

I am glad that Coconut found you...You seem very concerned and loving. I have always said things happen for a reason. Coconut was sent to you because you are the perfect Mommy for his special needs. Congrats on you little bundle of joy.

It's true - I mean in all fairness, though it would be a huge mistake, it could be something minor like an address switch up. Maybe someone out there was surprised to get a suggie with both it's arms!
However, if this turns out to be a more irresponsible situation, please notify any of the moderators who can/should in turn contact any of the mods on the other boards, and they will keep an eye on this breeder. Please keep us posted and get us some pics STAT!!

Have you talked to the breeder yet today? I've been following your ordeal and I just can not believe what you are having to go through. I'm very curious as to what this breeder has told you.

Hi Morag, I have been watching this thread. As Jen (Xfilefan) said I've got a little girl also who came to me missing her hand. She had come into the pet store that way & they were the first ones to notice it was gone & were in a panic that she'd gotten it caught in the crate during shipping. It turned out that was not the case, but rather that it was an old injury which according to my vet most likely happened when she was either IP or just barely OOP Like you it amazed me that no one noticed tho with Rena it was probably a good thing. Since she came from a large breeder it's most likely she would have been euthanized when they reallized she was not perfect & therefore not sellable. But she had an angel watching out for her who brought her to me, just as your Coconut has an angel who made sure he came to you where he could be loved.

As to how she gets around in the cage........ well you would never know that she was "special needs" She bounces all over the cage like a hyperactive ping pong ball. She is able to climb & run on the wheel like the other gliders (better actually since they are "fluffy" & lazy) About the only change that I've made to the cage was to make sure that I place her food dishes on a ledge so she can sit to eat. With only one hand it's harder for her to climb, hang & hold her food all at the same time. I had also initially had more hammocks & ramps but found that she wasn't using them.....my fluffy boys were but Rena would go right off the side & bounce to the other levals so with her they turned out unnecessary. I would recommend tho that you have them at first until you see how your little guy gets around, but he should adjust fine to only one arm.

Please update us on what the vet says about your baby, & feel free to PM me if you want to talk about one armed gliders.

Update Please????




....................................Cora

I love the name Coconut and am so happy he made his way to you regardless of his missing arm. I realize that had to be a big shock and we all know the cost involved with our sugars, however, as you well already know, missing an arm doesn't make him one gram less of a suggie. Congrats on your new baby! I hope all is well with you and the breeder.

Any pics yet

O-kay, BIG update. Sorry I didn't update yesterday when I talked to the breeder but it was a long and crazy day.

First, what everyone was waiting for--the breeder. As it turns out, she just got an eye surgery (which now that I think of it I remember her mentioning earlier) and true enough, accidently sent me the wrong gliders. She did refund Coconut, and she told me to keep her updated on how he's doing. I'm not quite sure yet how she's going about vet bills. Also, she told me that Coconut's mother bit his arm off IP.

Now, for Coconut. Yesterday I took him into the exotic vet and the told me that because he'd lost his arm that way, there was too much bone for the tissue to be able to grow over. She told me she needed to preform a sugery on him to shave down the bone if the wound was ever going to heal right.

I left Coconut there for a few hours because I had to go to class (which I brought Azazel to, who is actually starting to warm up to me), but I rushed over immedately after to pick up my baby.

Coconut is the saddest little thing I have ever seen in my life. They had to put a cone on him to keep him from bothering the wound, which makes it nearly impossible for him to move. It was hard enough missing a front arm, but now he has to inch along like a caterpillar, thrusting his head out and scooting his body up to it. His fur is matted and covered in gooey baby food because while he was there he didnt have anybody to feed him and he made a mess of himself trying to eat.

Even worse, now he's so terrified that he won't even let me go near him without crabbing his head off. He seems terrified of Azazel now and the two are staying away from each other--when one goes near the other they both start hissing and crabbing.

Last night I fed Coconut and pet him to sleep (and accidentally fell asleep--I havn't slept for three days now trying to take care of that little guy) but this morning he was flopping around his cage looking terrified. What can I do to make him more comfortable? I put down paper over the bars so he isn't dealing with those and I helped him into his sleeping pouch but I don't know what else to do : (