I got home tonight later than expected and when I went downstairs to feed my sugar gliders I noticed that one of them was stuck. It is Snowy my female that just had a joey oop. She was caught in a string that I hadn't noticed in her reptarium. Not her whole body just her back left leg. I honestly thought she was dead. Her mouth was wide open, the baby was crawling all over her, but she wasn't moving. I immediately cut the string got her down and allowed her to walk around a few minutes. She is putting a little pressure on her leg but not much. Also her mouth looked bloody. I could see her two bottom teeth like she had nawed her lip away. Do you think her leg could be broken because of this and could she have hurt her lip while she was trying to get loose? I know she wasn't stuck long because I was gone from 10-12 and I checked on all of them before I left and she was still hoping around her cage. I have the baby with me and he is crying to be with his mommy but she looked like she desperately wanted him off of her and pushed him to the side. I am so sad right now that she got stuck. This is how I lost my first glider (not in a reptaruim) and I don't know what to do. What can I do to keep her comfortable until I can get her to a vet in the morning? Please help!

Oh I am so sorry, all I can say is get her to a vet, but your already doing that, I hope someone come's along quickly. Good Luck.

i wish i can help.. i guess the only think i can say is to atleast call an E vet and see what they say.. i would probably bring her in there though... i would NOT wait.. you dont know how long she was stuck, if there was so much blood circulation cut off that there was nerve damage.. sometimes with that kind of stuff, they will even need to amputate because of the lack of new blood..

Its REALLY important to get to a vet. a similar thing happened to my kitty and they are MUCH bigger and more resilient, and i still had to rush her to the vet

oh yea.. my vet to me to try to keep something that was cold.. NOT TOO COLD ... on the leg and rub it a little if it looks swollen, you have to get the blood moving.. but still. even though you want to go to the vet in the AM atleast CALL a vet

Put the baby back with his momma until you are sure that she is rejecting him. A few minutes rest is fine, but he needs his momma. She should probably be checked out by a vet. Her mouth is bleeding from trying to chew the string. She needs fluids, and probably some warmth. Posting so you can read.

If she is comfy in a pouch, see if you can get here in there and keep everything else warm and covered and just very gently rub the leg but i forgot to say, if you feel anything out of the ordinary (like mis shapen bone or hard lumps) stop rubbing and get her to the vet.. its probably broken

I'm by no means an expert on this type of thing, but I happen to be here at the moment until someone with more experience comes along.

#1 thing to do is try to determine if the circulation was cut off in her leg. Do her toes feel cold to your touch? Are they discolored in any fashion? If so, you may need to get to a vet NOW! Waiting until morning may cost her the entire leg.

#2 She probably cut her lip (at the very least) trying to gnaw through the thread. If the bleeding has stopped, that's a good thing for the minute.

Geez, I hope somebody else comes along soon with some better advice for you. I'm going to stick around, though.

Okay, warmth, check how she acts with the leg. I wouldn't restrict her too much. What color is her foot? Does it look normal? Or swollen? If she looks normal, foot/leg wise, watch her behavior. You are in for a long night, she and the joey need to be watched.

Hi hun - first, offer her water - any way she will take it!

Ice cube, dish, bottle - pedialyte, glideraide - she is probably dehydrated from overexertion (sp).


It is really VERY important to get her to the vet TONIGHT in case her circulation was cut off. You don't want her to lose that leg. She may also need sub-Q fluids.

She also needs ASAP vet care because she needs to be well in order to care for that joey.

She's probably not wanting anything to do with her baby right now because she's in shock...completely stressed, and exhausted, dehydrated..and all that stuff that comes along with an accident like this. Once she's feeling better, I bet she'll want that baby back with her ASAP.
That's my thinking on this anyway...so don't stress on rejection just yet. Keep in mind she's freaked out right now. Once she relaxes some she'll do much better in many aspects. Good luck!!! I hope she is ok and all goes well!!!!

Lack of hydration/overexertion means decrease in body temp-believe it or not you do NOT want to put anything cold on her and bring it down more (and never anything frozen-a gliders tissues can be frostbitten or cold damaged even short of frozen very quickly). She sounds like she's in shock. Keep her warm on you, provide body heat for her, and get her into an Emerg. vet ASAP - unless she starts coming around well and very quickly, morning may be too late.

The others had good info-water (or pedialyte,etc.) even going down by syringe, is necessary. Don't worry about nutrition right now, offer mealies, treats, anything to get her interest. She'll likely need an antibiotic so the stress doesn't send any existing bacteria in her system out of control, but if any skin is broken it's an absolute must. I second subq fluids-may want to ask the vet to add some glucose/calcium in to reinforce her system, as shock can bring those levels down very fast.

Keep us updated.

I hope she's doing okay at this point. Were you able to get her to an E-vet? Please post an update for us. If you need help with the joey, please call me: 440-953-0904 or cell 440-520-4799...

Moving this over to Health & Hygiene now, please update us there.

Any update?

I was just wondering the same thing.......?

I've had knots in my shoulders worrying about this whole thing....hope we hear something SOON.

Hi everybody. Thank you so much for all your help. I got her to a vet where a non-exotic vet took x-rays and administered fluids. He told me to come back tomorrow at 10 in the morning when the actual exotic bet will be there to get her results since he couldn't do much for me. I tried calling every exotic vet in Cincinnati and the best they can do for me is tomorrow. With the other three I have to wait until Monday. She is light on her foot but she is now jumping around her cage and has been doing so much better since she got fluids. I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow. Thank you all for your help. I greatly appreciate it!

I'm glad she is doing better. How is the joey holding up if you dont mind me asking? ^_^

Thank you for the update! Just read thru the post a second ago and was already worried. Is she eating/drinking okay?

She is drinking more than eating but it is an improvement from last night so I am happy she is at least improving. I was so sick last night. For as much as I look for loose strings and mishaps in their cage I just can't believe I missed this one. I lost my first glider ever to a loose string so I am anal about looking for those. I feel like a bad suggie mommy for not seeing it. I am just glad I wasn't gone long. I can't imagine if I had been any later...

Sorry I forgot to add that the joey is just fine. He is a big boy! I think he stayed in the pouch longer than he should have because he is running and jumping everywhere and is already starting to take food from mom and dad. He isn't even a month oop yet! He is the sweetest of all babies too. He never crabs and is the perfect bra baby! If I have him with me I will curl him up in my hand and he runs up my arm and straight down my shirt! He is adorable! Thanks for asking about him too!

Thank you so much for the update - I was so worried about this little one!

Quick hint for rept users - when you wash, flip the cover inside out, THEN zip it up. I've found that it gets cleaner this way. Then when you take it out, go over the inside seams with a lighter. If you find a long string, burn it off instead of cutting - this way the whole seam won't unravel, but you'll keep your rept safe for your babies!

Megan, please keep us posted after you see the exotic vet!

Just in case you could use them now or in the future Colerain Animal Clinic is a 24/7 e-vet. They have a few exotics vets on staff and have extensive facilities.

Thank you for letting us know how you're doing...I've been fretting over you & your furry babies all day!

I just read what happened and I am so Glad that your fur babies are doing better. I just got done checking my cages too..Didn't think about loose strings. Keeping u and your babies in my prayers.

Unfortunately Snowy has taken a turn for the worst. I went down to check on her and she was at the bottom of the cage just laying there lifeless. I picked her up and she couldn't even pick up her head. I immediately took her to the e-vet again. Her leg isn't broken thankfully but through all the stress she just can't stay hydrated. When we took her back to the vet tonight they called in the vet that treats exotics. (which is what they should have done in the first place so we aren't where we are now ) He said that she needs to stay until Monday and if I hadn't gotten her back their tonight she would have died by tomorrow. Right now I am still not sure if she will make it. He said the next 48 hours are critical. I don't understand what went wrong. They gave her a shot last night. I force fed her water and pedialyte today just to make sure she was getting hydration. Now I have this little joey to hand raise and as much as I want to call someone on the list it is 3 in the morning and I don't want to wake someone up. I am so upset right now. It hurts me to know she isn't home and happy like she should be...

OH Megan I AM SO SORRY!!! I wish you the best of luck and will keep you in my thoughts and prayers!

Thank you Alicia!

If anyone that is up knows how to hand raise a joey please call me at home 513-878-9398 or on my cell at 513-374-1365. I will be up most of the night I am sure. I looked up Suz's Hand Raising a Joey so I am going to start there.

Thank you!

I am so sorry about it...
I don't know to much about sugar gliders yet... I have my first since december 11, so I can't help you out
But I just wanna hope you the best and I will be reading and see how's the baby going !!!!
My baby is everything for me... so I know how you feel it. Again...I hope you the best

Sasha & Gizmo

I am so sorry about it...
I don't know to much about sugar gliders yet... I have my first since december 11, so I can't help you out
But I just wanna hope you the best and I will be reading and see how's the baby going !!!!
My baby is everything for me... so I know how you feel it. Again...I hope you the best

Sasha & Gizmo

P.s Tawnie is raising one right now... the joey has a scratch in her nose and she is doing great with the baby. maybe you can talk to her. Tawmie1 glider lover

I just got the news I was so dreading to hear...Snowy didn't make it.... The pain of losing her is so unbearable right now I can't breath...

Sorry Meagan... Do know that You are in My thought and prayers.

aww Megan, I didn't post in this thread, but I'm so sorry that you lost her! You did everything you could, but unfortunately the vet didn't call in the exotic vet in the first place, which may or may not have helped.
I know this may not help much, but your story is going to help many rept users. I'm going to go check my strings right away.

I'm so sorry for your loss

I am very sorry. I thought last night she was going to be okay. This just shows how stress can affect a glider and how well they hide illness.

for you Megan

Megan- I'm so very sorry for your loss. How terrible.

Please please please don't blame yourself- you are a very good suggie mommy, but accidents happen even to the most vigilent. I know that you are millitant about checking for strings. It may not have even been there when you looked last.

Best wishes with raising the joey. I hope you get the help you need, and PLEASE keep us updated on his progress.

So sorry for your loss...

I am sooooo sorry!

I'm so sorry.

How awful. I'm sooo sorry.

Oh Megan - I am so sorry. When I saw this in real stories, my heart just dropped!

Snowy's story will help other rep. users to keep a close eye on their cages.

Keep us posted on her baby boy - good luck and best wishes!

Megan, I am so sorry. I understand how you feel. If you need to talk or vent, feel free to shoot me a pm. HUGS

Megan, I'm so SORRY to read this post about Snowy!

It's so heart-wrenching when something like this happens...PLEASE don't beat yourself up! You are no less a good glider mom because of this...sometimes things happen...sadly enough, we can't be 100% careful 100% of the time without living on the edge of total paranoia...then our babies' health would be damaged by our constant nervous state...

You need a

Hi I live in Burlington Ky. I take my babies to colerain animal clinic.Dr Airenton is my vet. She pretty good.Who is your vet and how is your joey?ellensaten@hotmail.com

I should of read futher down.I'm so sorry about you baby.But she left you with something very special.The love she gave you and a very special joey.In time the pain will ease some and you will remember all the little things she did that made you laugh and thr special things that endeared her to you.In a while the special things will out weight the bad and sad.Love her baby with all your heart and soul.

I am so sorry for your loss

I am soooo sorry.I know how you feel. I lost a dwarf rabbit b/c the vets said that they were closed and didn't do emergencies,but I could call the next day and make an appointment. Well that wasn't soon enough and she died in my mom's hands that night. I know it's a terrible thing to go though,but your in our prayers.