ok... anyone have any advice for having large numbers of gliders in the same room? they will all be in seperate cages with thier normal cage mates naturally and i wont take all 7 out to play at once.. haha.. they are all familiar with each other the 6 i am sitting for two nights but my zoey is a loner until next week.. haha.. one of the gliders i am sitting will be staying as my new addition but will be present for two days in her cage with her parents..

Since they CAN be territorial, I personally suggest putting something at the sides of their cages to block each other's views.

Are you planning on putting gliders you are glidersitting for in the same room as your own gliders? Is that what you are asking about? Or are you simply asking about space issues?

For quarantine concerns (the safety of all of the gliders), different rooms would be best, even for the little girl that will be staying with you.

Personaly since it's only for two nights I wouldn't take the gliders out. You don't want to risk something happening to any of the gliders you are sitting.

I used to glidersit for tourists and snowbirds in the Summer. Generally we did not take the gliders out of their cages unless they were to be staying for more than a week, or if it became necessary due to boredom/psychosis issues.

If the owners have requested that the gliders be handled, they should be handled in a glider-proof room without access to unfamiliar gliders. I would suggest tent-time only, as it is safest.

If their slaves have a smaller tent I would request that it be brought with them if your going to have them out. Protects yours quarantine wise and also gives the visitors something they are more familiar and comfortable. It doesn't take much to pack up our lil tent .

I will be keeping them in the same room as mine but it is a huge room and they are on opposite sides.. i would quarantine if I wasn't familiar with them but i am... i know the owner and we are using the same diet.. .our gliders are similar in attitude and its not like they are strangers.. haha.. i just haven't had all 6 to myself at once.. haha..

Quarantine is not about whether you know the other glider or not - or about what diet is fed. Illnesses in gliders incubate and can become active with stress. Any time a glider is moved to a new environment, it stresses. Quarantine is as much about protecting your gliders as it is about protecting your friend's. Better safe than sorry, right?

yes.. i understand this.. i guess being a medical major i don't understand the physiology of an incubating sickness? other than an incubation period? so its possible for a glider to be born sick and just when stressed it just goes awall and is sickly?

Exactly.
Gliders are remarkable little creatures. They hide their illnesses as a survival tactic, and they hide them remarkably well. If a glider is being cared for decently, they have the ability to carry a virus in a dormant state for several weeks or even months before it shows itself. They can also carry a virus or bacterium for a while without showing any symptoms. It's a survival tactic that works to their advantage in the wild, but it's a great disadvantage to them in captivity.
This is why annual vet visits are necessary and biannual vet visits are ideal.

Not to mention parasites...

I forgot to add something.
Gliders can catch illnesses from creatures of another species. If your friends have a dog and the dog was exposed to parvo, their gliders could be carrying it, even if it never shows itself. If you have a horse and your horse missed its coggins vaccination, look out, cause your friends' gliders could get the sniffles!
There are even illnesses that people can pass to their gliders. Do you know how many people have been exposed to your friends' gliders? How many people have been exposed to your friends? How many people were exposed to THOSE people?
I'm not trying to badger you. Quarantine is extremely necessary whenever you bring a new animal into your home.

I understand everything your are saying in the huge epidemic sense of things.. so the 30 day quarantine of a new glider really isn't even long enough considering they could keep the sickness for months? i'm just trying to understand only a 30 day period too

How about if the word "quarantine" was replaced with the word "adjustment period"? Let me expand on my concept here:

A glider normally takes 30 days to "adjust" to their new surroundings, the sounds and smells there (this includes their new owner too)...the things in their new cage...their food...everything! They're a little stressed being literally "relocated" to a whole new world...just like us. In the course of those 30 days, if an illness is there at all, it will apppear by then. (Giardia, as I understand it, can lay dormant for up to 3 months in a glider's system before it becomes detectable...this is just an EXAMPLE) The STRESS created by being in a new environment can accelerate the "hatching" process...a glider's immune system weakens when they're stressed...therefore allowing the giardia to get a "stronghold" & making itself known...which allows a vet to detect it & medicine to be given to kill it.

I've never liked the word "quarantine"....it's like you're doubting the LACK of an illness's presence before you even give the newcomer the CHANCE to prove it's not there.

Does this make a little more sense? I hope so.

yes yes... i love your perspective on things.. haha.. that is really what i needed to hear from the get go.. i appreciate your point of view.. i think along the same lines as adjustment myself.. quarantine makes it sound like you need to watch the glider UNTIL something surfaces.. thank you so much.. btw.. the baby glider will be staying with me as of tomorrow with no parents so i will begin her adjustment period.. and im hoping all is well