Posted By: SuggieSamantha
Strange Behavior in My New Glider - 08/18/15 06:24 AM
Hi, everyone! I rescued my first glider on Sat. Right now he's in a rather small cage, about the size of a 20 gallon aquarium but I will be upgrading to a much larger cage this weekend.
I noticed he was exhibiting a few strange behaviors..
1. Last night instead of sleeping inside of his pouch (I made sure he knew where it was and how to get to it) he slept on the floor of the cage inside of a paper towel roll. This evening I removed the roll and added a tied-off tank top I'd been wearing all day as a second pouch and that's where he's sleeping now.
2. I've used paper towels as bedding for fostered gliders before, but he seems to be eating them. Once I caught him chewing them I removed them but I'm not sure what else to use as bedding. Carefresh scares me as I've seen several rabbits and hamsters eat it until they died (overnight) of blockages and that seems even more tempting to eat than paper towels. Puppy pads seem like they'd have the same result. I'm not a huge fan of wood chips because of the smell but I've heard cedar and pine aren't ok for them.
3. His sleeping pattern is very strange. I keep pellets and water in the cage all day (he was previously on pellets only so we're transitioning) and I add HPW, fruits, and veggies at night around 10pm. During the evening, around 5, sometimes he comes out to eat pellets then goes back to sleep. He'll wake up around 8, play and run around for a few hours, eat whatever fruit there is, then go back to sleep by 1am. I haven't stayed awake to see if he wakes back up. Most of the gliders I've seen are asleep until around 9pm and stay up the whole night until around 5 AM or later.
4. He LEAPS. Constantly. If you approach him, he doesn't always crab but instead leaps over your hand. During tent time we'll sit in the bath tub with the shower curtain drawn. He can't grip the curtain. He spends 95% of the time leaping at the sides of the tub trying to get out. He can actually jump onto the ledge of the tub if he tries hard enough. When the lady I got him from was trying to show him to me she opened the door and he LEPT out, across the room, and took off! She practically had to tackle him to get him back. I'm mostly worried about bonding here- I'd like him to be able to (eventually) ride around in my pocket and not worry about him leaving me. I love the gliders that are active and climb all over their owners without leaving. If he will always leap and jump everywhere that's ok. as long as he'll come back. I'll just keep him in one room or inside of a pouch.
I noticed he was exhibiting a few strange behaviors..
1. Last night instead of sleeping inside of his pouch (I made sure he knew where it was and how to get to it) he slept on the floor of the cage inside of a paper towel roll. This evening I removed the roll and added a tied-off tank top I'd been wearing all day as a second pouch and that's where he's sleeping now.
2. I've used paper towels as bedding for fostered gliders before, but he seems to be eating them. Once I caught him chewing them I removed them but I'm not sure what else to use as bedding. Carefresh scares me as I've seen several rabbits and hamsters eat it until they died (overnight) of blockages and that seems even more tempting to eat than paper towels. Puppy pads seem like they'd have the same result. I'm not a huge fan of wood chips because of the smell but I've heard cedar and pine aren't ok for them.
3. His sleeping pattern is very strange. I keep pellets and water in the cage all day (he was previously on pellets only so we're transitioning) and I add HPW, fruits, and veggies at night around 10pm. During the evening, around 5, sometimes he comes out to eat pellets then goes back to sleep. He'll wake up around 8, play and run around for a few hours, eat whatever fruit there is, then go back to sleep by 1am. I haven't stayed awake to see if he wakes back up. Most of the gliders I've seen are asleep until around 9pm and stay up the whole night until around 5 AM or later.
4. He LEAPS. Constantly. If you approach him, he doesn't always crab but instead leaps over your hand. During tent time we'll sit in the bath tub with the shower curtain drawn. He can't grip the curtain. He spends 95% of the time leaping at the sides of the tub trying to get out. He can actually jump onto the ledge of the tub if he tries hard enough. When the lady I got him from was trying to show him to me she opened the door and he LEPT out, across the room, and took off! She practically had to tackle him to get him back. I'm mostly worried about bonding here- I'd like him to be able to (eventually) ride around in my pocket and not worry about him leaving me. I love the gliders that are active and climb all over their owners without leaving. If he will always leap and jump everywhere that's ok. as long as he'll come back. I'll just keep him in one room or inside of a pouch.