Can you be a rescue home?

• Be financially prepared. You can spend literally, thousands of dollars a year, at the vet for surgeries, medicine, diagnostic testing & neuters. If a glider comes to you that is sick or injured, it's your responsibility to provide immediate vet care.
• Be emotionally and physically fit. As bad as it hurts to think about, you can't save them all. It hurts to lose gliders who so desperately needed proper care and didn't get it and you know, their life was not what it should and could have been. Love them, let them know that and don't let them die alone. Some gliders come to you, for the sole purpose of having known love and caring, for the first time in their lives, before they die. Rejoice for the ones you can save. If you're a heavy sleeper or on medication that makes it difficult for you to wake up, chances are great, you're not going to be able to give around the clock care to ill or injured gliders.
• Have enough space in your home to do proper quarantine and have appropriately sized cages, with wheels, pouches, food dishes, water bottles and toys. Decide on how many gliders you can take in and stick to that number. Taking in too many gliders, limits your abilities to bond, socialize and play with them.
• Have more than one glider experienced vet, for emergencies and for business hours. Take rescued gliders to a vet ASAP and have appropriate testing done (fecals and urinalysis), injuries cared for and treatment for parasites, HLP, dehydration, etc.
• Have an emergency kit, with enough supplies to care for a glider, in case you can't immediately get to the vet. Learn how to sub-q and have sub-q supplies on hand. Have appropriate medication and explicit instructions from your vet, as to the need of use and appropriate dosage. Have a good relationship with your vet. You need one who is experienced, willing to listen and learn and knows when they need to consult with a more experienced vet.
• Be ready to go pick up or receive a glider, at a moments notice. Emergencies don't choose convenient hours. Most of the time, time is of the essence and the gliders can't wait for you to get off work or go shopping.
• Have all supplies needed for rejected joeys and know how to care for them, before you get one. The worst time to go shopping for rejected joey supplies, is when you have the joey in your hand.
• Have a glider approved diet, plus vanilla ensure, because most rescues have been on a horrible diet and are malnourished.
• Never stop researching and learning. It's vital that you have a wide range of knowledge and skill for more than basic stuff.
• Find resources to turn to for help. Hand raising a rejected joey, requires 24/7 care. You need a knowledgeable helping hand, be it friend or family member, to take over feeding, while you sleep. If you're sleep deprived, you're not going to think or act clearly. Have a list handy, of people who specialize in certain areas of glider care, that you can call in the middle of the night. Know who to contact to get help with railroads. Know your limitations and when to ask for help.
• Know that you will have to adopt out the rescues you take in, to good homes. You will fall in love with them, but you can't keep them all. If you do, you will run out of room to take in more gliders who need you. Give them everything they need and deserve, including an adoptive family to love and care for them. It's hard to let go, but know that you have bettered their life. Know that there are some who will never leave your home, for various reasons. Maybe they need special care or maybe they've been abused or have had too many homes already.
• Put any personal differences aside and put the good of the glider first. You don't have to be friends with someone, to ask for their help with a glider.