Shocking US bonding method!!!

[Marie]

Wow, I have just seen on FB (good old FB) certain respected (from what I remember) people are using a truly shocking, cruel and dangerous method to aid with bonding! 

They soak the gliders and then put them in a small cage together!!!  What an absolute disgraceful method!!!!  I can see what they're doing (damping down the individual odours) but they are risking their gliders getting a chill which can be fatal!  Not only that it is going to make the gliders wary of people!  Who the HELL would even dream up such a ridiculous method?? 

Yeah, way to go morons!!!! 

DO NOT DO THIS, IT IS CRUEL AND INHUMANE!!!!!!

[Mark]

who the hell would do that? where is it?

[Marie]

Just looked in to this a bit more, it's absolutely disgraceful, especially considering the following was from someone that is supposed to be a rescuer!  I'm not naming and shaming so ...

The method:

1. You get a small, hospital-sized cage. Real small, like not much bigger than a bread box. Clean it so it has no hint of any gliders' scent on it. It must be neutral.

2. Get the gliders you want to introduce completely wet. Be careful not to dunk them or hold their mouths under the water. You don't want to mistakenly drown them. Their fur repels water so you must get the water in the tap lukewarm and let it run over them while you hold them and rub the water into them. Dip some cotton balls or qtip into mouthwash and wipe their cloaca area with it. Now that they are completely soaked, put them in the tiny cage. DO NOT PUT ANYTHING (FOOD, POUCH, TOYS) IN THE CAGE. Let them sit in the cage for about an hour until they are exhausted from grooming themselves, running around, etc. They will look pitiful, but don't feel guilty.

3. Put a completely clean, scent-free pouch in the cage with some fleece in it. The gliders will most probably jump into it immediately to get out of the open air and the light. Shine a bright light on the cage so they will avoid the light and stay in the pouch. They should commence to groom each other and dry off in the pouch. Leave them in the pouch overnight. Do not feed them.

4. In the morning you can transfer them into a neutral, thoroughly cleaned cage. Put toys, pouch, box in the cage. You should be able to feed them at this point.

Why does it work?
****'s "Wet Method" works for a few different reasons:

1. Gliders hate being wet. Being wet causes them to *not* concentrate on who's the alpha, who's dominant, and who's going to show whom who's boss. All they want to do is get dry and find a warm place to crawl into.

2. Gliders go by scent. If they don't like the scent of another glider, they will fight. By getting them wet and further masking their scent with the mouthwash, their scents intermingle while they are getting dry and grooming one another.

3. Glider like to stay warm. Gliders will avoid fighting if they want to snuggle and stay warm.

4. Gliders are territorial. If they are in a small cage, it is not large enough to establish what part of the cage represents a territory. They are forced to interact.

Whatever happened to just putting a drop of peppermint oil on the back of the neck??

[Marie]

OMG!  And the justification is ...

Gliders do not suffer when they are wet. Or else they would be from the desert, not rainforests.

Ermmmmmm ... maybe they don't go out in the rain!  They stay in their tree trunk and go through a short torpor if the weather is bad, there is also shelter in forests, oh and if they do get wet, a whole damn colony to dry them off!!!

[Mark]

Lol i would hate to see the cortisone levels in a glider held under a tap against it's will.

[Amalthea]

And the mouthwash would burn!! What a dick! So, don't feed them, get them cold, let them go into torpor together. Brilliant bonding method!!!

[Rhianna]

i seen that too! well, i saw someone shaming it on facebook anyway!

I never saw the whole technique though! thats disgusting! Poor little things!

Reading the "instructions" it sounds like a torture technique for gliders, torturing them and terrifying them into being friends.

[Jill Marie]

I just want to say I am as appalled as the rest of you over this "method" and there sure has been a lot of heat about it.  It seems a VERY small number of people use/tried this method.  However I will say that it seems as though the majority vote is that is it very bad on a  number of levels.  n fact so bad that many people have joined together to see what can be done to stop this behavior on a "legal" level.

The excuse was being used that this method, if works, is better than leaving a glider alone for the rest of his/her life.  I am not buying that one either.  If a glider wants a cagemate so bad, why would you need to "force" it, maybe it just didnt want THAT cage mate.

A bit off topic, but warrants asking as the reason this is done is the "lone glider" issue:  How do all of you feel about keeping a glider alone?  Specifically gliders that reject all gliders during introductions?  I would love to hear from Mark and Maria on this, as I highly respect your opinions.  (ok I want to hear from everyone else as well  )

[Marie]

My personal opinion is that Gliders are naturally very social animals so MOST of them should have company, and there is no way of telling if a glider wants company or not until you try to pair them up.  Very occasionally a glider will reject all company but people assume this too quickly.  They put suggies together and they crab at each other and that's it, their glider doesn't like company!  When it is not the case!

I also think that keeping a glider on it's own with no other gliders around at all is a little different to have gliders around them.  Still not ideal but at least they do have someone to talk to even if they don't want to live with them! 

I'm glad to see that this awful bonding technique has caused somewhat of a stir, I might even venture on to GC for a nosey! 

[twinkel-star]

i was reading about this on the site it came from.. i think one of the gliders (dizzy) died shortly after the introduction.

[Amalthea]

Not particularly surprising, is it??

[twinkel-star]

did you see the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jt0AkGl7xg The poor suggies where terrified.
Even his cat hates him.. his voice is creepy too.

[Amalthea]

I'm watching the "phase 2" video now....  What a douche!

[twinkel-star]

the first video is horrible,  i felt terrible for the gliders they look really sceard.
Dose he rescue gliders?

[Amalthea]

I sure as hell hope not!!