Pouches and Toys

[Marie]

Just a reminder to check your pouches and your toys regularly for fraying and loose threads, these can prove to be fatal!!! 

I have recently lost a glider because of a bloody hanging toy!!!!  It was a huge fish which I hung from the roof of the cage, she crawled through a tiny hole into the tail of the fish and couldn't get out!!!  Naturally I'm gutted and very angry at myself for not noticing she wasn't up with the rest of them!  So before putting toys in cages make sure there are no little holes they can squeeze through, as with something like the fish tail either cut the tail off completely or slit the tail open so if one does squeeze in they can get out too!!!

Loose threads, another hazard, they can get caught around limbs and depending on how much the suggie struggles or winds itself around could result in at best a broken limb, it could result in traumatic loss of a limb or it could end in death because your suggie has exhausted him/herself struggling to get free. 

Don't take any chances, check your pouches and toys regularly!!  Check all suggies are present and correct evening and morning!  (If you're anything like me you'll check them in your sleep too!!!).

[Rob]

Our gliders have made peep holes in all 4 of their pouches! :-S I'm not sure why they do it but they like sticking their noses out of them! Do you see this as a problem as per your post above?

[Marie]

Any imperfection can be dangerous, unfortunately it's likely that they will do this to every pouch!   The problem I could foresee with the spy hole is if they are on the outside and they get their foot stuck on the inside of the hole they can twist it round to try and get free.  Sounds a bit far fetched doesn't it?  But that's how my Dinx lost her back leg 

[Rob]

Ah - that's no good!

As you say, not really much I can do as they have an obsession with doing it! I check on them all the time whenever I hear a noise so I suppose I can only hope that if anything does happen I hear it.

Are there any pouches which are chew proof!!?!?

[Marie]

I've not come across a chew proof fabric yet!  How about wooden nest boxes?  Give them a supply of shredded paper on the bottom of the cage and they will build their own bed in it.

[Amalthea]

Maybe if you send Rache at fuzzbutts a message, and ask her to make you a couple cubes with extra escape hatches.  The "normal" ones have one extra peeking hole in the back, but she will put in extras for those wth critters that like to be able to see out all around

[Rob]

The nest box and them building their own bed sounds so sweet! I'm def going to do that!

Never heard of the cube things! What are they!?

[Amalthea]

This is Fuzzbutt:

http://www.sugar-glider.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,4086.0.html


And her main website

http://fuzzbutt.co.uk/

[Marie]

They take strands of the shredded paper to the nest in their tails, it's soooo funny!  Just one problem with nest boxes is they are wooden so soak up urine ... however, I'm sure when Tillie builds her vivs she uses a non toxic varnish type thing that seals it.  I'll have a hunt through the threads.

Here we are - http://www.sugar-glider.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1674.0.html

[Rhianna]

You know what i have been thinking about? them canary boxes you get for breeding when one side lifts up and their is a glass wall so you can see the eggs. the glass wall is removable too for cleaning and their is a hole i would make slightly bigger too. just a thought at the minute but what you thin Marie?

I would of course use tillies non toxic varnish thingy.

[Marie]

Why would you want a glass wall for gliders? 

[Rhianna]

its like, a box with all sides wooden, but one side lifts up and there is a sheet of glass under it, which can also lift up. I was thinking it might be good for checks in the morning instead of doofing them out of their pouch, and be nice ot see them all sleep.

was just a thought though, not sure if i am going to go through with that idea.

[Marie]

Oh I see, to check on them.  All mine get up in the morning to see me anyway.   I still think you'd disturb though lifting the side up, just train them to come to a certain noise!  Make the noise you want them to come to and give them a treat, keep doing that until you can make the noise and they come to you anyway!

[Rhianna]

there is always Holly up first thing in the morning, and sometimes Biccy, Widgy and Onny, but Spice and Gizmo are lazy little shits are go mad when woken! then I get shouted at when everyone who is up gets a biccy and they dont! No win situation.

[Tracey]

Yep ... not worth the risk!  You can replace a pouch but not an individual!