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Gliders will only bond to you if they're young.

Posted By: konotashi

Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/21/09 05:10 PM

I was wondering about this. Where did this myth come from?

I was thinking that maybe it's because as gliders age, their owners lose interest and don't play with them as much, so they end up becoming unfamiliar with people, giving the illusion that older gliders are harder to bond with than joeys.

I personally think that it ALL depends on 1) the glider's personality, and 2) how often the owner/breeder before handled them.

What are your opinions?
Posted By: Dancing

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/21/09 05:14 PM

That MYTH came from the MILL breeders trying to make a sale. They want to be able to move their "products" as quickly as possible, as young as possible so they don't have to spend the money feeding and housing them until they are appropriate ages.

IT IS BUNK!

All of the most bonded gliders I've ever had came to me as ADULT gliders.
Posted By: konotashi

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/21/09 05:19 PM

Didn't even think about that, but it makes perfect sense. I've seen on several websites (not reputable) that the joeys MUST GO before 9 weeks old otherwise they wouldn't bond to their new owners. frown
Posted By: KarenE

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/21/09 05:33 PM

Pure hogwash roflmao
Posted By: konotashi

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/21/09 05:42 PM

I already knew that. Just curious of how it came about. tounge
Posted By: KarenE

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/21/09 05:55 PM

All gliders are different with different personalities just like humans. You have to be willing to put in whatever work is necessary. Some talk a little, others take more.

As an example, I had joeys born here years ago. They were both as sweet as they could be, and when the time came I had the male joey neutered along with dad so they could live as a family. Things went along fine until they joeys reached about a year, maybe a little younger, when suddenly Margaret decided she had no use for the human race unless it was to bring her food and clean the cage. Otherwise, do not even look in her direction.

I tried and tried to no avail and finally let her alone with her family just letting her watch. Finally at around age 3, she gave in and decided this ole gal wasn't so bad.

Margaret and her brother are now nearing 10. She's as sweet as can be, but I do notice she goes to the back of the rept when she hears my granddaughter's voice which isn't often. They've never come in contact. Her brother will come right to the front but not Margaret.

They are all different.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/21/09 06:25 PM

Sometimes I wonder how people can even believe this garbage they hear!
Pretty much any animal, given the love, care and attention, will make a great pet. I know there are certain circumstances where this doesn't apply. But for the most part age makes no difference!
Posted By: sugarglidersuz

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/23/09 11:26 AM

When I got my Pika & Cricky, they were about 9 years old. Pika was a very shy glider who was frightened of humans. Cricky, in protectiveness of Pika, was a "pit bull biter" who was the best glider at playing possum I've ever seen - he would freeze for up to an hour inside his cage if someone walked into the room. Within a year of them coming to live with us, he no longer played possum and didn't ever bite again. Pika became a sweet, social hoodie snuggling glider. I had them for a total of four years before they passed over the Rainbow Bridge. I hate to think what I would have missed out on if I hadn't taken the time to be patient, loving and consistent with them just because they were no longer joeys when I got them...
Posted By: Sabarika

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/26/09 12:15 AM

I have heard this for just about every small animal (and even larger) I've had--rats, hamsters, mice, gerbils--you name it and the general consensus was "get them while they are young or else they will never bond to you/be as friendly to you as an adult." IMO it probably stemmed from experience of working with the imprinting of baby animals versus forming a bond with an adult..an adult is an already established creature who may or may not have had the ideal human contact and stimulation as an adopted baby.

When adopting a young animal you are in control of how that animal grows up and interacts with you so you have the chance right from the start to "custom create" your "perfect pet" versus having to possibly "undo" any unwanted or different behavior and then retrain that adult animal to interact as you want it to (which usually takes longer, requires more work or patience and as said with marketing ploys customers don't want to buy a "high maintenance" pet, they want one that their kid can handle as quick as possible with as little hassle as possible.) Some never will bond as closely as you want just as some baby animals for whatever reason never become snugglebuddies or bra babies. By buying a younger animal the chances of you having the type of pet interaction YOU want is much higher because baby animals are more impressionable and often have not completed the interaction/learning stage yet (LOL I totally lost the words I meant to say here..hope that gets it across) and so are easily plied into performing the behavior you want.

Myth false then, gliders WILL bond at any age but younger animals are easier to bond to because they are still growing, adult animals may take longer or never fully bond simply because you were not there during the crucial interaction period of its' life and it may not have learned to accept human interaction as a hand-tamed baby has.
Posted By: Dancing

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/26/09 12:49 AM

Sabrinka, again, I have to disagree. Any "baby imprinting) is done at a day or two oop, not at 6+ weeks oop. I've had joeys come to me at 8-10 weeks oop that STILL, 4 years later HATE me. They want nothing to do with me. It all has to do with how the joeys are handled by the breeder when they are little. And even then sometimes, they are just not going to easily bond with a human.

I've had older adults willing to trust me in a matter of days. Adults that were neglected and/or abused in their former homes.

The exception to this I believe is the cases where joeys have had to be pulled from their mothers before they are weened and hand raised. Those WILL form a strong bond with their human mom. They have to to survive. But even being raised by a human mom (or dad), they loose so much from being raised by their natural parents. Joeys should never be pulled from their moms until weened (unless she is rejecting and the joey's life is at stake)
Posted By: Zeki

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/26/09 12:51 AM

It is real Easy.. it's all got to deal with How Much TLC you give to the glider, Daily... Age, nor Male or Female, etc Matters its the Love..you provide to them...
(My personal Opinion)
Posted By: Sabarika

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/26/09 01:34 AM

Originally Posted By: Dancing
Sabrinka, again, I have to disagree. Any "baby imprinting) is done at a day or two oop, not at 6+ weeks oop. I've had joeys come to me at 8-10 weeks oop that STILL, 4 years later HATE me. They want nothing to do with me. It all has to do with how the joeys are handled by the breeder when they are little. And even then sometimes, they are just not going to easily bond with a human.)

You make a lot of sense, I was going only on what I remembered as a kid/adolescent learning from really outdated books and/or breeders back then, I should have put a disclaimer. smile Thanks for the notation! I don't know very well the interaction age/phase for gliders, I do know with dogs that the "critical period" is before they can be weaned, so that makes sense they wouldn't be going through this ad adoption time. I do agree with you that gliders pulled from their mothers to be hand-raised seem like they will bond closer simply due to circumstance but I guess every joey is different. I've simply heard the "get them while they're young" thing is based on my thread description..I was told/read that it's because you basically get a "clean slate" pet unlike an adult who has lived its' life outside of your handling and thus takes longer to bond or "may never" bond.

I still feel that the thread title IS a myth/false statement since it's been proven through many owners that gliders will not ONLY bond to you if gotten young. :3
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 11/26/09 03:18 AM

Not true - you can rescue a really unfriendly glider and with time and patience that glider should bond to you since you are his/her main care giver - This is only opinion but I do believe I'm right

Sue
owned by
Posted By: tlkngfethrs1

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 12/04/09 04:37 AM

Quote:
Not true - you can rescue a really unfriendly glider and with time and patience that glider should bond to you since you are his/her main care giver - This is only opinion but I do believe I'm right


I have found this to be true.. it's a long hard road but I am doing the time and love thing as we speak!
I guess I should not say that but My Zo has still got a lot of work ahead of her..

I have had her about a year now and has made leaps and bounds!! it has been since before the SGGA since I have been bit by her!! dance
She has gone from a travel from one side of the cage to draw blood bite you to taking treats from my hand in tent time while sitting on my knee!!!
and four of my eight came to me as adults(3+ years old) and I have had no trouble bonding with any of them.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 01/15/10 08:44 PM

ya that's crazy talk.

my salem was two when i got him bout a month ago, and i took him out the first night i had him, he was raised tame...
now he sits in my hood all day...doesn't really like to be apart from me...
Posted By: Marsupial_Mayhem

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 02/26/10 10:38 PM

Originally Posted By: konotashi
I was wondering about this. Where did this myth come from?

I was thinking that maybe it's because as gliders age, their owners lose interest and don't play with them as much, so they end up becoming unfamiliar with people, giving the illusion that older gliders are harder to bond with than joeys.

I personally think that it ALL depends on 1) the glider's personality, and 2) how often the owner/breeder before handled them.

What are your opinions?


More than likely, it was pet stores or mill breeders. Although it sometimes takes longer to bond with adults (especially when they have come from an abusive home), I have seen a couple of babies that were hard nuts to crack. I think some of it depends on personality.
Posted By: tournesoul

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 03/22/11 04:40 AM

Originally Posted By: NavyChiefWife
Sometimes I wonder how people can even believe this garbage they hear!
Pretty much any animal, given the love, care and attention, will make a great pet. I know there are certain circumstances where this doesn't apply. But for the most part age makes no difference!


I agree. I have hermit crabs (long story) Yes, upstate NY and they seem to know MY voice! and I swear they are grateful!!! They havent ever pinched me and they are actually kind of cool.

Truth be told, my eleven yr old wanted them to begin with and then got scared of them. I thought they would be simple little inexpensive friends - what with the info they provide you - not all that dissimilar to ppp. We were on vacation. Well I ended up spending well over $200 on some crabs and filling up the car for our return trip to upstate NY! Long story. It just made me think of this with your comment on ANy animal being a good pet!
I am so happy to have found this site for all the info AND for meeting all of you true animal people!! Often times people CLAIm they are dog or animal or whatever people and then you find they feed... or tie their dog up all day or ... My dog gets only the best! As it should be!! And so will my gliders when I finally get some!! Anyhow, this is SUCH AN AMAZING PLACE!! Thank you for being here smile smile smile
Posted By: kjgoulet

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 03/22/11 02:59 PM

I think it's just all about the glider and what they finally decide. Baby Face wasn't handled much before she went to her previous owner. Now that she's come to me she's starting to get more and more trusting of humans. Bonding time is rather funny cause she tends to crab if the pouch moves but in the cage she's come a lot closer than when she first came home.

I'm sure the time when they are joeys plays a big part in how much they'll trust people but not everything.
Posted By: VanessaNichole

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/14/11 07:22 PM

Karen you mentioned that you have older gliders approaching 10 yrs old. Out of curiousity, what diet do you have them on?
Posted By: Johannasgliders

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/14/11 07:54 PM

[quote]
Originally Posted By: Beezer
Not true - you can rescue a really unfriendly glider and with time and patience that glider should bond to you since you are his/her main care giver - This is only opinion but I do believe I'm right



Sue I agree with you.

I've had several rescues. Helped them through their hard times and they became loving gliders that are in forever homes. I also, had a couple of boys that I worked with for almost 2 years. Tried to rehome them but, they were brought back. Outside of their room and away from me they became stressed and very afraid. The new Mom took them on a little outing to see how they would be with her. She had been visiting them. They crabbed for almost an hour till she brought them home. I told my boys we wouldn't do that again. So, they do love you even when you think they pay you no attention.

mlove
Posted By: carolinasuggies

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/17/11 10:11 PM

I have to agree that statement is false glider's will bond at any age with proper time and devotion!
Posted By: Dancing

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/17/11 11:42 PM

My sweet Dexter was an "adult" when he came to live with me. About 2 yrs old. He was here with me 12 1/2 years (give or take).

Anyone that tells anyone else that adult gliders won't bond, they simply know NOTHING about the unique nature of these wonderful animals.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/18/11 12:22 AM

i absolutely disagree, i wont lie i was definitely fed that lie when i was getting my first baby but i have definitely learned better!
Posted By: Cora

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/18/11 01:19 AM

Not True!!!!!!
Posted By: kjgoulet

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/19/11 04:59 AM

Totally not true smile Just wanted to update that out of everyone my older boy, Casanova, is one of the most bonded at 6 years old <3 his sister is right there with him lol! To be honest the young ones are less interested in hanging out on me and more on running around tounge
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/19/11 05:12 AM

Glad to hear that they bond with adults just as well likw joeys. I've always heard they bond when they are joeys
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 06/19/11 06:07 AM

Yea moeberry88 people will tell you that all over the place but it is definitely untrue! These boogers are always lookin for love smile
Posted By: Jen

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 07/03/11 02:13 PM

I can just speak from my experience. I got my girls on May 5th and they are already bonded to me. They were over a year old. Maybe that is still considered young, but I agree with the above. Personality has a lot to do with it. I am already more bonded with one than the other. Totally due to their personalities.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 07/19/11 02:24 AM

I have older gliders that bonded to me even QUICKER than joeys! So I must say this is false smile
Posted By: MissTiesa

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 08/13/11 10:17 PM

Someone actually told me this at an animal expo earlier this year, but he wasnt a mill breeder and he wasnt trying to sell me gliders. i had brought mine with me and so we were talking about gliders, and i mentioned that i got mine older and asked him if he had any advice for bonding. and he told me that they wont bond to me. Not true. nibbler bonded to me very well, and kiki's getting there. I agree with you marissa, i think its all about the gliders personality and if they are handled well with their first owners.
Posted By: Tammie1971

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 08/14/11 03:41 PM

I have heard and read that even gliders coming from not so good owners, mills, neglected, older or younger will in time bond with their owner. It will just take longer than other cases. You have to remember, they are social animals and need the socialization to have a healthy life, Different circumstances require different measure, just some longer than others. Some gliders have had owners who have lost interest in them, never hold them anymore, feed them an unhealthy diet, unclean cages, and then are turned over to owners that are patient enough and take the time to give them and they do a full turn around. smile
Posted By: ShazMom

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 08/17/11 08:31 AM

shakehead
I feel this is a TOTAL myth! FALSE!

From experience, I have 2 boys that I got both at 10 wks OOP and one is now 1yr old and the other is 11 months old. My 1 yr. old was a HUGE crabber and very frightened of me for about 2 1/2 months, even with tons of tent time, soft words, treats, you get the picture! My 11 month old is a HUGE pouch grouch! He is very crabby and not so interested in me. (We have been working on this with some help from a thread I read by Bourbon--OMG! He is a totally different glider off_topic!)

Now, I rescued a non neutered male back in May and he is about 2 yrs old. Buddy is the most bonded with me and the most outgoing with anyone he contacts. He was depressed and lonely due to the death of his cagemate when I took him in and he was thin, but he jumped at every chance to be with me from day ONE!

So, YES, in my opinion this statement is TOTALLY FALSE!

Thanks! dance
Posted By: Tammie1971

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 08/17/11 12:44 PM

You also have to remember, each glider has their own individual personality. Some may bond better than others. Some may be more crabber, some may be more cuddlers. I have 2 males. One is more exploratory and independent, not wanting to be cuddled and the other is a total cuddle bug. Each is different and yes they all take time. Sometimes a long time.
Posted By: Sweet As Suggies

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 10/16/12 06:09 AM

I had read/heard about this before getting my gliders, and boy did I dismiss a lot of advertisements for gliders older than 12 weeks. cry However I'm really happy with the two I have, so I can't complain! mlove
Posted By: Wisteria11

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 10/17/12 10:59 PM

im pretty sure thats a mith. all gliders can be tamed
Posted By: tompekarjr

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 10/23/12 03:27 PM

deff myth, my glider was a year old when i got him.. never handled or played with or anything now a year later hes tame to the point where he lets other people hold him
Posted By: minkasmom

Re: Gliders will only bond to you if they're young. - 10/23/12 05:03 PM

How many ways can I call this a myth? Well, let's start counting:

Minka & MoJo were BOTH over 12 weeks when I got them...Amos and Mischa...Willy Wonka...Rikki...Blanco...Hunter, Sachi & Little Bear...Karma (maybe)...Makwa...Dobbie & Draeco...and Maximus is the most recent glider to come and live with me. What I want to note here is that THEY WERE ALL ANYWHERE FROM 3 MONTHS TO MULTIPLE !!YEARS!! OF AGE, and they have ALL formed a pretty intense bond to me...and I have formed an equally intense bond to them! :lshower: mlove

Whoever started this way-out concept that a glider CAN'T bond to you deserves a few good :hit: on the noggin! It's a mis-conception, a mis-nomer, and a mis-take!! And ALL of the gliders named above are rehomes/rescues who brought their own emotional "baggage" with them...that they've ALL tossed that baggage in the trash can & forgot about it! grin
Posted By: Schmindlepops

"Critical bonding time" - 05/25/14 12:59 AM

So i read somewhere that their is a "critical bonding period" in the early life of a joey, around 8-10 weeks of age, where he/she will form a stronger bond with whoever handles them than they will at any other time in their lives. My instincts tell me this is false, but its better to err on the side of caution, so...

Fact? Or fiction?


*edit* i found another thread here that answered my question, i'll look harder before posting from now on
Posted By: Terry

Re: "Critical bonding time" - 05/25/14 02:55 AM

I couldn't say if it was true or false. I know that dogs have a critical puppy age for socializing, but can learn to adapt at older ages if not mistreated.

I don't know if it's the same for other animals. I have bonded with dogs, bunnies, a Leopard Gecko, a Bearded Dragon (Rankin's), and now my trio of sugar gliders, which all three of those were over a year old when I homed them, and have developed a bond with both me and my DH. Now, possibly the bonds could be stronger or developed quicker if we had gotten them as joeys, but I am happy with their happiness with us.
Posted By: JillMarie

Re: "Critical bonding time" - 05/25/14 11:18 AM

Even humans have a "stage" where certain behaviors are more deeply learned, and if not introduced or taught those behaviors they may not be fully developed later when they are introduced. However, this does not mean they can not be developed. And there is an exception to every rule.

Do I beleive in the "critical" stage thinking? yes, but only to a point. As all rules can and will be broken.

Did that help?
:haha:
Posted By: Dayton Gliders

Re: "Critical bonding time" - 05/28/14 04:57 PM

I have heard that as well, I have worked with older gliders and teenage gliders before without any problems. It may take longer for them to learn to trust you, but it usually pays off in the end!
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