Hand Tamed Gliders

Something I have found over the years is that people have come to believe that if they buy a hand-tamed glider, the glider won’t bite. This is not always true, even a hand-tamed glider can bite and sometimes do. It all depends on the glider. How a glider re-acts with the breeder may be totally different to how the glider re-acts with the buyer. Especially once they get to their new home with different sounds and scents and unfamiliar people. I always tell people “If it is got teeth, it can bite”, no matter how good they are with the breeder or owner.” No one can guarantee a glider’s personality or temperament , as they are all different .

BONDING

Another things I have found is that people believe that they have to get a joey as young as possible (please no younger then 8wks OOP) for the glider to bond with them quickly. If this was true then people wouldn’t be buying or taking in older gliders. Some glider may take over a year to really bond with the new owner. So you may need lots of patience. I find gliders are more like people then most people realize. They are alot like us, there are people we like right away, some that takes us sometime to like and others that we never like, and I find gliders the same way. A older glider can bond just as well and as quickly as a very young glider. Even if they were handled or not. You have to bond at their speed not yours, some will bond quickly and other will take time to bond

FLOATING (clipping; cutting) TEETH

There are still a lot of people and vets out there that think gliders need their teeth clipped. That is one big NO, NO. I have heard of a vet telling a person if the gliders teeth were clipped it would stop the biting. It only made things worse and the glider miserable. Gliders teeth DON’T GROW and shouldn’t be clipped So if anyone suggest floating (clipping: cutting) the gliders teeth run. Their knowledge on gliders is limited

MALES SMELL MORE

The glider it self doesn’t really smell. People say males smell more then females because they mark. I don’t find that this is the case. Females mark as well as males. Out of all my males I only have one that is neutered, and I haven’t noticed any difference. Gliders can let off a scent the same as a skunk when startled (but it more like us letting gas) and is soon gone. A lot of the time if the glider smells (not giving off a scent) it is more then likely to be diet, or cleaning the cage and things too much or not cleaning the cage and things enough. Occasionally it might be due to illness, then a visit to the vet is in order to find the cause.

FEMALES or MALES or MALE/FEMALE PAIR

With a male/female pair you maybe looking at babies if the male isn’t neutered . So if you want a mixed pair and no babies. you would have to get the male neutered, as they don’t spay a female. As it is to invasive, and dangerous, for the female. As well there are some males and females that might not accept each other . Most times they will go together pretty easy .

I have noticed that a lot of people are surprised when I tell them that a female can carry embryos in the uterus, joeys in the pouch and have joeys out of pouch all at the same time. Boy this can really increase the number of gliders you have in a hurry. I have a pair or two that pop joeys out like about every eight to ten weeks off and on.

Female/female pair. People think that getting two females they won’t fight and will go together with no problem. Well females can fight and can be hard to put together as well. They can have mood swings the same as us female people. They go through cycle about every 29 days. That is the mating cycle were they would mate if with a male

Male/male pair. Males might fight for mating rights if there is a female around. If they fight you may find yourself getting one or both neutered, or having to separate them into different cages, so they don’t kill each other.

If a person is looking at getting two males for pets I recommend getting a pair of brothers (carried in the pouch at the same time). That way you know that they get along, and you may not need to neuter them for a long time, or maybe not even at all. Instead of trying to put two different males together only to find you have to keep them in separate cages because they don’t get long. Unless you are looking at have a couple of unrelated pairs to breed, then you would probably not be house them together anyway.

Single or Pair

People say that they will die if they don’t have a companion glider to keep them company. I’m not saying a lone glider won’t get depressed or over groom at times. Now if they are paired with another glider all their life and something happen to one , the other may have a hard time trying to adjust to being by themselves and may need another friend. So everyone says it is better to have a pair to keep each other company . It is nice to have a glider friend for them , so if things come up were you don’t have enough time to spend with them for awhile . Then they would have another glider to keep them company , play with at night, to cuddle with during the day while they are sleeping etc. . Some glider like a glider friend and some like to be a lone glider and don’t want another one around .

I have one male when he lost his mate I had to get him another . He just didn’t want to be by himself. Then I have one that lost his mate and he is done find by himself . I also have a number of lone gliders that have been by themselves for years and are doing fine with no problems . So from what I can see a lone glider can do as good as a glider with a friend . So to me it seems like a matter of preference more then any thing .

STILL MORE TO COME (as I have time to add to this page )