Mika and Tchai

[Roo]

Hi

Its been a little while since I was last here because I have been very ill but im recovering now and Im sad to say my first post isnt a good one  

We bought our sugar gliders about four years ago from a 'reputable' breeder we travelled 300 miles to pick them up as this person had been recommended on a site (not this one)  we had done all the usual background reading and already having animals we were aware of the time and commitment it takes to look after them.  We picked them up 8 wks oop.  They were beautiful - two years on and seemed to be so fit and healthy our little lad was a touch grumpy but my little girl was so gorgeous she would call to me to come and get her and loved nothing more than to be curled up under my collar - she would even hold onto my face and rub her face against mine - her way of kissing i guess!  after a while we noticed that they were not growing and were smaller than they should have been.  We took them to the vet who after loads of xrays etc told us that they had been inter bred and that they would never have a full life.  Our poor little things never even had a fighting chance.  Despite painkillers antibiotics etc little Mika passed away last year.  We bought another girl Kiecha, so that Tchai would not be alone, she came from a nationally acclaimed breeder and whilst not tame, after a few months and a lot of patience, she is now fine.  She and Tchai took to each other immediately and slept together from the first night.  Unfortunately, Tchai lost his brave battle a couple of days ago, poor little mite.  

We will buy another male for Kiecha and look forward to having healthy happy gliders for a long time.  

I hope that this serves as a little warning to people wanting to buy sugar gliders - please be completely sure of who you are buying from, unbelievably some people only see the money they can make and do not see the pain they cause.  These poor little suggies didnt stand a chance and it caused a lot of heartache in our family and the only good thing was that we were able to give them a lot of love in their short little lives.


Roo

Mod note:  This post will be locked now, but will be reopened at any time upon the request of the original poster.

[Amalthea]

Thanx for sharing with us, Roo...  At least, like you said, you were able to make them happy for the short amount of time they were with you...

Would you mind PMing me the name of the breeder?  We try to make sure people on here buy from GOOD breeders, but knowing who the bad ones are helps, too...

[Marie]

I'm sorry about your experience Roo.  There are alot of people out there who will claim to be the best and quite frankly they're blowing their own trumpet because they HAVE to!  It is very worrying. 

We don't have many recommended breeders because we have very high standards, and not many people can acheive those standards!  Even those listed on some of the international sites (ISGA) are not good enough to be on our list! 

[Roo]

just thought it would be nice to post a picture

Mika giving me a cuddle and Tchai looking on :

[Marie]

Suggie cuddles are the best thing ever!!

[GeorgeandMillie]

It would be very interesting to see if this breeder is someone who has been mentioned on here before.

[hday]

sorry to hear of your loss
personally doesnt matter who the breeder was now, laying blame publically isnt nice,  as long as we know who is good we all know there is more than one or two unethical people out there unfortuanately.
by slowly builiding up recommended breeders we may eventually avoid some of these problems.
 
I can only imagine the heartattack but hope you find a companion (and healthy one too!)
for your other glider.
thanks for being brave enough to share.

[Roo]

Thanks for your kind support.  I have informed the mods on here of who it was - so that if they are asked if this particular 'breeder' is any good they will be able to let people know. 

Thanks to Jen - we are getting a new lad from Marie on Sunday (cant wait).  So Im very happy.  Its not good for Kiecha at the moment she is more clingy and although we are giving her lots of love she does look for Tchai.  Will be nice to see her with the new boy in our family.

 

[Dindons]

Sorry to hear about your loss, I hope things go well with your new boy!

[Amalthea]

I am so glad I could be useful