Ok i had gizmo out last night and i noticed there is a .5 inch ring all the way around his tail where the hair is missing. The tail its self looks good. He is healthy and nothing has changed. I did go away for a week but hubby took care of the gliders and gizmo likes us both. Could he have pulled the hair out due to that? Hunni his mate has twins in pouch but she has had before and he has never gotten stressed. I am nutering him as soon as my vet feels she can do the surgery. She is learning about these little guys and will start treating them. His mate seems to not have enough milk for the first 2 weeks of the joeys life and i always have to supp them. They also come oop early. They are both great parents and love there babies but i just think it better for them for her to be fixed. Plus i cant track her linage too well. I have wanted to get him fixed sooner but they are my hubby's pair and he said no but now he has given the go ahead and im just waiting for my vet. Anyways the only thing that has changed is i went way for a week. I will watch him closly but im worried what if he keeps doing this. He is 1.5 yrs. He has never done anything and has always been healthy. It will be a couple of months befor he gets fixed but if he is still doing this what affect will that have on nutering him? I plan on nutering these joeys as well if they are boys so that my hubby can keep them with ther mommy and daddy and have his colony. Any advice or input as to why he might have done this would be great!

Can you get a pic? Are you normally the one that does the daily care (feeding, playing)? If so, it could be the fact your hubby was doing it (keep in mind, with joeys on board, they will be naturally a little more stressed to begin with). Is there any redness? How is she acting towards him? Is it possible she somehow did it? I have an overgroomer and he stresses very easily (sometimes I cannot even find a viable reason when he does it). I would definitely watch him and if it gets worse, a vet visit is in order to make sure he is ok. Hopefully it was just him missing his mom!!

Sometimes if a glider has injured his/her tail, you will not see any evidence of the injury other than the glider over grooming it. This could be a break or seperation (between joints) and the over grooming could be due to pain.

What you described could be from an injury or even early onset HLP. Hind leg paralysis is from a calcium deficency but not always diet related. If a glider has a bacterial or parasitic infection, it can prevent calcium from being absorbed properly even if on the absolutely best diet.

I would have the glider's tail xrayed to check for injury. I would also have a fecal (float and smear) done to check for infection or parasites. Watch him closely because they can self mutilate their tail in a very short time, even to the extent of chewing it completely off over night.

I do not have a pic but i will try to get one if he will sit still after dinner. Eating now.

Normely they are not stressed at all. I am the one that normely does the care and such but bill is always messing with them and gives them treats every morning. She was a very stressed glider when i got her but is not anymore. She is very friendly and they love each other very much. I have not heard them fighting. This is why im so confused why this was done. All my gliders is on HPW. One other thing has changed and that is the amount of mealies they get due to the shortage but surly that is not the case! You know the dark part of the tail at the end that is where it was done. No redness or abraisions or chew marks. It looks like he just dicided he needed a new look Really though i will be watching him closly and if needed he wil be going to the vet. Im just worried if it continues what affect it will have on his fixing. What are the chances of him becoming a over groomer at his age with no prob befor and really no changes?

Unfortunately, any glider can become one at any time, I believe. These little critters are very complex and there is so much we don't know about them. I would watch him and just in case, have an ecollar made up and know how to use it!

Plucking hair from the tail is usually caused by pain, stress, and can also be an indication of severe constipation.

My suggestion is to have a direct fecal smear and float to make sure something is not bothering him.

As to possible constipation... offer more fruit and veggies and eleminate any dry food in the cage. Feed BML or HPW with the fruit and veggies.

Im loading a pic now. He is 94 grams and is already on HPW with veggy or veggy relish and fruit smoothy. All my gliders have 2 water bottles one with a ball one that is like a well. His poop is normal and he is pooing. Befor i left for MI his tail was not like that so it was done while i was gone.

My gliders do not get fry food but once in a blue moon.

the pic should be loaded in a few min

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn58/ssdreamsicles4/PICT0252.jpg

Here is a pic. I do have 2 e-collors on hand just in case.

I did just watch him poo and pee and there was no hissing at all. He pooped normal.

as a side note his tail is bushy even at the end i have it smother down to show the full missing hair.

I also felt his tail and there is no break or seperation that i can feel. It feels normal. I also checked hunni over and she has not missing hair.

Not trying to upset, but that does not look good to me. I would have it checked. I don't know if it is my eyes, but is it black? It is kind of hard to see the skin, but it looks black to me.

my computer is acting funny - so....

Is his tail pink where the fur is missing? Or is it a bit blackish?

This is not normal and he really should be seen by a vet. I agree, x-rays and fecals are pretty necessary at this point. If the tail is not pink, head on out the door now.

Guess I was posting at the same time as Mary. It looks black to me too, but I thought it might just be my computer.

It really is best to get to the vet NOW, before there is any SM... after the fact, it is much more intensive to care for.

His tail is a very dark brown and almost looks black but it has always been this way. when u go up to the part where the fur turns lighter it is pink. Ok u know how a standart gliders tail is grey then black at the end? Well he is more cinni and here the tail is black on a standard grey his fur is brown. My lion male ares end of his tail is even more dark. Carmella ares lion female's tail is the same way. It is really not black but gray.

Gizmo's tail where the fur is missing is grey but pink where the lighter fur is am i making sense.

I do have a e collor in need be. He is not messing with it right now. Im up most of night and have not noticed him messing with it. I do not have a trustable glider vet here. My vet i work for is learning about them so she can treat them. I will take him in tomorrow and have her look at it and see what she thinks. The skin looks good to me.

im confused. my lion gliders and cinnis the part where it is brown the skin is light grey. But further up the tail turns pink. I was under the impression this is normal for that colored glider. These 4 gliders are healthy and have never had injuries. Im not sure if it is my camera but his skin is not black. Im not saying there is nothing to be worried about cause a glider should not pull his hair out but now im upset cause im affraid it might get bad. He has never done this and i really thought it was due to me leaving. I really hope so. I will take him in tomorrow and have her look at him. I know how to do a fecal on a dog or cat how much diff is a fecal smear. I need to know exactly what to do as i am still gathering info for her to learn. she isa good vet and i trust her fully.

It may be the pic, it just looks black to me. Watch him and keep the collar handy. I don't have an answer on the fecal, as my vet does it and I have no clue there.

it has to be the pic cause when i look at it in person it is light grey. You had better belive i will be watching him. I have a collar and will use it if he gives me cause too. I will take him in tomorrow to be on the safe side and have her look at the skin and feel to see if she thinks there is a break. I feel a normal tail(i have felt a broken one before). I really hope this is all due to me being gone as the night i got home he was plastered to the cage looking at me waiting for his treat. I will be watching it like a hawk though to see if he keeps doing this. How long does it take for new fur to grow back? What are things i should look for. I hope for a clean fecal to at last clear that up.

If he did not have a clear fecal wouldnt that cause loose stools or smelly poo? i have only seen what parasites due to a cat or dog so im not sure what they do to a glider. I know they can be sick.

No, not necessarily. Roo had worms and yet her poo was 'normal' and she never made a sound going potty. But she passed a live round worm!

Keep us posted. Not trying to make you more worried, but safe is always the way to play it. Going through this sm stuff, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!!

I will deff keep you posted. Pappy i know you have been thru so much with timmy and such. I know you are not trying to worry me but it is better to be safe then sorry.

I have had him sense he was a baby how would he get worms if he does have them? I have also had hunni for a yr now. They are not around any other gliders as gizmo is male agressive. I have heard of them getting things from bugs but i only feed mealies and once in awhile supers. Once in a blue moon they will get one wax worm. On ocasion they have had a frozen pinki rat(home breed)

Please dont think im trying to prove anything wrong i just want to know how and whys. Is a bad habbit of me. The vet i work for prob wants to strangle me cause i ask Q's so much so i can learn.

Animals can get intestinal parasites any number of ways. The most common is by ingesting something that has eggs on it. Some parasites' eggs are so small that they can be carried on the air and inhaled.

Tapeworms are gotten by eating a whole flea.

I put the e-collar on just to see how hard it would be to do it and what snap had to be used and man was he [censored]. I have looked further at his tail and while it is not black the spot where he has pulled the hair out is darker then the rest of that area. I am worried and will be taking him to the vet tomorrow. She has not treated gliders but has a person she can talk to that does. Is there any vets you guys go to that are good that she can referance with if need be?

I dont have fleas or rather my dogs dont but we have had a prob with sugar ants is there any possability of them causing a prob?

I will have her do a urine test as well as a fecal to be on the safe side.

I know gliders hide there illnesses very well but if he had worms or was constapated would he not go for that area? Why the end of the tail. I see no visable injury at the tail area other then the pulling of the hair. Im wondering if the darker area is brusing do tu yanking the hair out.

Again please guys im not trying to conterdickt anything being said i just want to learn and so far none of my gliders has ever been sick or hurt. So this is new to me.

You can actually carry them home with you when you go to pet stores (they are notorious for roundworms!) I always take my shoes off just in case before coming in!

wow didnt know that and here i thought i was doing good being carfull what i brought home from the vet and pet stores can be bad.


Ok i need to know a few things just in case.
If his tail is damaged and he has to wear a collar can he stay in the same cage? Can he stay with hunni. She has 2 joeys in pouch.

Do i take him to a vet i dont trust that see's gliders or do i go with a vet that i do trust that will have to refer to another vet in things she does not know about.

I would take her to a vet I trust.

Anyone in KY help?

I have a vet i trust. I work for her. She is learning about gliders so she can treat them. I have actualy been gathering info for her. She has a vet she has worked with that treats gliders in another town that she can refer to. I would rather take him to her. I do have a vet in my town that see's suggies but i have had somthing bad happen due to carlessness in my eyes and i dont feel comfy taking my gliders there. I would rather take him to my vet and have her refer to another vet.

When I got beast his ENTIRE TAIL was furless. THe lady told me that he was neglected and curled his tail around himself and ripped the hair out. I suspect this do to stress, or just being plain lonely/heartbroken. He is doing fine now and his tail fur has been growing back, but it is still very lightly covored. He was probably just stressed out from missing his mommy, and didnt know what to do with himself

I really hope that is it. He acts as if nothing is wrong. I will have a fecal and urine test and have my vet look at his tail and the skin to see if the skin looks healthy.

What color was his tail were the darker hair was supp to be?

He may have just bruised it there too. When the hair starts to grow back it looks like it's turning black. I took Daddy back to the vet like 4 times when he had fur missing on his tail because I thought it was turning black, but she assured me that it was just the hair growing back. Sure enough, he is prefectly fine now.

On the one hand, it could be simple stress (ie, you left), and will come back. On the other hand, it could be more. IF the glider decides to SM, it can be irreparable in an hour. Safest thing with a glider always is to have it checked out by a vet just in case it's not simple stress. By the time he lets you know for sure he could be at the point of losing his tail. No one can say from a pic whether he will or won't-all that can be seen is a symptom at this point-of what is the question.

I really think it is due to the stress of me leaving. He went from tons of attn day and night to passing attn from hubby. Dont get me wrong hubby gives them attn but nothing like me.

I watched him all thru the night and he didnt even so much as glance at the spot and acted his normal self. My vet is booked with surgerys today and sence he is doing fine so far i will keep a close eye on him today and tonight and then bring him to work with me tomorrow and he will be looked at and have a fecal and urine test just to be on the safe side. Now is something was to happen i will take him in today right when they close.

I was wondering he is a mad man on his wodent wheel and where the bare goes thru the wheel there is a pip over it. Is it possabel he didnt pull the hair out and that he got the hair of his tail cought in that? After further looking the hairs is not missing all the way around there is still some on one side. Im just wondering if i should take that pipe off the bar the wheel sits only 2 of my wheels have that pipe as they are new but the others are used and dont have it.