http://www.asgv.org/videos.php?name=eov11

how do you feel about using this technique to "discipline" your baby sugar glider? This video is part of an online course you can find at: www.asgv.org

I tried this on my joey last night when he nipped me, and now he hates me. I think it took our bonding back a few steps...

this is obvously a reputable vet, but some of the advice he gives in these videos is so contradictory to what I've learned in reading, and taking care of my little ones.

What do you guys think?

You should NEVER try to disipline a glider. Sadly as you learned, it will back fire every time. What the video is suggestion is CRUEL. You should never intentionally inflict PAIN on your glider.

bonding with a glider is a matter of trust building. Your glider has to learn he/she can trust you not to hurt him. When you use some type of "disipline" you are teaching your glider to fear you, not trust you.

Alternitives are distraction and bribery (licky treats etc). You also have to respect (not fear) their teeth. They are an animal and like any animal with teeth, they can bite and will if they are feeling threatened. Some bite out of curiosity too but those are not usually blood drawing bites.

As to him being a "reputable" vet, that is of great debate. These vets on those videos are bought and paid spokes persons for Perfect Pocket Pets (the mill breeder/brokers that sell "sugar bears").

I would not listen to or trust anything they have to say. They are there for the sole purpose of trying to make (PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets look legitimate and help them make money.

The vet in question is NOT a reputable vet. He is indeed a vet, but he is one that has been bought off. The information he spreads should not be taken seriously... in fact, that entire website should not taken seriously as it is owned by the people at Perfect Pocket Pets (aka those sugar bear people)


How do I discipline my gliders? I don't! They bite because they are scared -- if I discipline them, what good is that going to do?! It'll scare them more. I take the bite. I make a "tsk" noise when they do it. The only time I get bitten now is when I try to pick them up.

i actually watched that like 2 days ago!!!! i havent done it and dont think i will... shes just now starting to like me and i dont want her to be afraid of my fingers!!!!

I cannot believe what I just saw. That is not acceptable is it??? Time and patience ends biting..........that is just awful.

Cora - seriously!! To me, it's just downright cruel!

the words i let loose after watching that were not appropriate for pretty much anyone. ever. how would he like it if i shoved my fist down his throat? that poor little baby was scared to death!!!! it made me cry. that is so awful. someone has to stop these people.

I am beyond disgusted.....................

When I heard him say what he was going to do to that poor terrified baby, I had to stop watching. I'm sending prayers to all the babies (PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets has sadly gotten a hold of. There should be a special place in the afterlife for those people.

The sad thing is that many people see these videos and think that it's right to do....

Many trust (PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets (and the vets that work for them) as being reputable. Sadly, they're not. I shudder to think of how many gliders have gone through that..

If you go to the www.asgv.org site, which is listed at the bottom of that video - there is place where you can leave feedback. I did.

I was having problems with my male biting me when I got him. I came across that video while searching for help, before I found this site. You would think its a good idea because a vet said it is Wrong! I sure wouldnt want some big strange scary monster putting their thumb in my mouth. There is no way I could ever do that to any animal. Its cruel! I think that is a horrible way to get a glider to like, and trust you. You notice he used a baby for the video. Thats because an adult would of chewed his thumb off. Now, that would be cool to see I learned it takes time, patience, and alot of love and treats Now my boy no longer bites me That video should be pulled off the web

Oh my GOODNESS!! The LIES these people tell!! That baby is too big enough to cause damage, i've been bitten by 8 week old joeys and have bled.

That poor poor poor baby! He's obviously petrified, and that moron doesn't care! UUGHHHH it infuriates me!!

That is disgusting... It is NOT ok for someone to pin a glider's head between their thumb and forefinger let alone shove their thumb in the glider's mouth and HOLD it there for 5 minutes...

This is sadly reminiscent of how some people stop horses from being scared of objects... hobble their legs and beat them with whatever they're afraid of until they are too exhausted to fight anymore.

There is no way any reputable vet would say this anything but animal cruelty.

I can't believe these people! That poor little guy! OH it makes me sooooo mad that they allow this to be done to such a little thing!!!!

Oh yes- disgusting it makes me want to cry- how many owners do this because it is correct "training." They have so many videos and so many sites with incorrect and harmful information all over the internet- and that's what bothers me the most. People are going to take the information to be correct.

I'm glad you asked and know not to do this again. Don't worry- it might be a set-back, but he will come around!

you know whats really scary is i almost did that! now hear me out....i saw a vet said to do it...assuming it would be best for my glider not to bite. i talked to the lady i bought my girl from and decided its best not to scare them like that! im soooooo glad i didnt! i cant imagine the back peddling it would have caused to our bonding progress! whew...close one!

wow, I hear you guys on this one. After I saw what it did to the bonding process with my gliders...bad bad bad. My older glider never used to crab before, and I tried to follow as much of the vets advice as I could, and after 10 minutes of some of these tecniques, she wouldn't let me near her pouch. She is coming around quite quickly though, since I dropped this advice. Today she is back to her old self.

It just doesn't make sense to me. How can he say "these little guys don't hold grudges" and then say "they will REMEMBER not to bite your finger (proving memory retention)",and that "they are very smart little critters" FALSE LODGIC!

They thing that is so tempting would be to be able to cure you glider's biting habit in 5 minutes, but as patient owners know, there are other ways. as you say, these websites can be very misleading. ESPECIALLY THIS ONE! I don't know how many of you watched all the videos, but in the very first few videos the doctor warns against taking advice from "the internet" and says they are full of amatures, etc. he is very very convincing.

I showed the video to my brother and asked what he thinks. he told me sugar gliders are too smart for this. Either they will learn to "fear" you, and won't bite, but won't love you either; or their jaw will just get too tired to bite, but that won't stop them next time.

and ironically, if you watch the other videos, when he pulls "tinkerbelle" (what he claims to be one of his most bonded gliders) out of his pocket, she still crabs at him.

If this guy was my vet, and I saw him do these things to my gliders (sticking fingers down their throats, grabbing them quickly from their cage and restraining them, etc), I'd be upset. Professional or not.

Kanga_n_RoosMom, isn't it kind of funny that they warn about taking advice from "the internet", when there videos are on the internet..?

LOL,guess I never thought of that! I'm sure there's plenty more false lodgic where that caomes from. :-0

Another thing kind of funny is that the (PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets website (...which is operated by the same people that operate the website with the video) is that they state that any vet can see a sugar glider because "they're not considered exotic anymore", and so other vets are knowledgeable about them now... but when someone emails them and says they have a sick glider, they usually tell them that the vet is out of date and wrong. And that "parasites are natural!"

Hmmm.. it just seems really funny to me that "any vet can see your pet!" ..but then then, well your vet is wrong! ..so, what, any vet besides the vet that the person is talking about can see a sugar glider?

"Parasites are normal" WHAT?!?! I can't believe that they are telling people that their vets are vets are wrong!

I have also heard this type of advice from another source. It is a breeder (I believe they are a mill breeder) close to Memphis. They are in Mississippi called the "Mississippi Rebel Glider Ranch". They also give leashes with their gliders too!

Mississippi Rebel Glider Ranch IS A mill breeder.

I thought they were. I have not heard many good things about them. I've seen them before and I didn't see a thing I liked about what they were doing. They are selling at a local flea market a lot...

A leash!? I'd like to see someone try that on Kanga or Roo. I don't think that person would have any fingers left, LOL

When you watch gliders long enough and REALLY observe them you will realize they have a language all their own. They make a certain sound to eachother when they want to say "hey stop bothering me!" You need to copy that sound as best you can and tell them in their language to "stop" it's like an emphatic "tst" sound.

about (PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets heavy sigh. why cant we just steal all the joeys from them?

Another thing that got me is the guy who was in the video had bite marks on his fingers! He obviously doesn't handle the/his gliders well and they certainly don't like him when he has 3 or 4 bites on the same hand!

Omg! My jaw was basically on the floor while I watched that with a look of disgust on my face too. That poor baby! And I mean BABY! He's terrified! I'd NEVER discipline my sugs when they bite because it's their reaction to fear. If I get bit, I think about what happened to cause me to be bit and I try not to do it again. I don't enjoy making my babies feel uncomfortable and punishing them. Poor babies...

Good morning everyone.
I have NOT watched the video because after reading all of the comments about it, my stomach is already churning with disgust for what they are trying to "teach"?
Where are the animal welfare groups when this sort of thing is posted on line?
And why has someone not shut down this disgrace of a business ((PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets)%

Good morning everyone.
I have NOT watched the video because after reading all of the comments about it, my stomach is already churning with disgust for what they are trying to "teach"?
Where are the animal welfare groups when this sort of thing is posted on line?
And why has someone not shut down this disgrace of a business ((PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets)!
I did not know that the place I bought my Mickey and Mini where ONE OF THEM but found out after joining here just after I bought them.
The woman sells at "First Monday" here in Canton and she is not only an unscrupulous person but a thief and a liar.
Even on the coldest days of winter she is there with the babies, in cages on the ground behind the booth.
Now this is NOT inside but outside in the cold air.
So, I pray all the people that are harming our little suggies have the wrath of God down on them.
No one should be treating any creature as (PPP) Perfect Pocket Pets is and has and be lying about the care of them that creates harm to them.
Shame on them all.
When I even think of even accidentally hurting one of my kids it makes my stomach hurt and I start to cry at the though.
Anyway, I just had to add what I was thinking without watching the Video.
These kinds of things cause me nightmares and so I don't watch them.
Bless the little baby that was the demonstrator for this sicko.