Problems with a grumpy sugar glider... Advice please.

[TomCoppen]

Hi all,

We have recently acquired two adorable little Suggies, Cherokee and Honey. They are about 11 weeks out the pouch and we have had them for nearly 2 weeks.

Now Kee Kee is an angel, she comes out the cage to sit and climb on us of her own free will. Honey however hates being the focus of our attention in every way. We cant pick her up with out her scrambling to get away and the only way we can ever grab her is when she is just waking up/asleep. I try to let her sniff me to get my scent and I try to let her make the first move to no avail.. What can I do to reverse this? Will she always be the grumpy one who crabs all the time? This is also leading to a dynamic where Cherokee is always the first to get to the food and gobbles her favourite bits leaving almost no Leadbeater mix for Honey (we use leadbeaters because they were raised on it by the breeder). We do use a bonding pouch BTW. Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks

Tom and Elly

[twinkel-star]

You have only had the for 2weeks so maybe the shy one is still settling in?
Keep feeding her treats and carrying her round in her bounding pouch, she will come
Round in the end.
One of my gliders took alot longer to bond with than the other, she is still shyer than the other now and more nervous around new people.

[Marie]

Don't force the issue with Honey, you can do more harm than good.  Bonding needs to be done at her pace, have you read the bonding sticky?

[TomCoppen]

Ty for the advice, maybe we are just being impatient. I just keep worrying honey is too old to change her personality. They were not handled by the breeder at all. I will read up on all the bonding threads and I will not try to force it. Sugar gliders don't feel left out do they? That was the reason I maybe tried to force her out, I was worried she would suffer from no attention except bonding pouch sessions.

Thanks again

Tom (and Elly by extension)

[Amalthea]

Would their breeder be Ameyzoo, by any chance? You just need to be patient. I have a girl here who came to me as an adult rescue and it took her over a year to feel confident enough to come to me for treats (instead of me taking the treat to her). It just takes time and every glider is different.

[TomCoppen]

No not Amyzoo, the breeder was a nice guy, he just left the babies to it more or less only touching them for cleaning, etc, i do know he used to work for a zoo. I will be very patient. I think maybe she is getting better already since I started using the yogurt to distract.

[Amalthea]

I would definitely have a look at your diet, though. The hint is in the name... The Leadbeaters Diet was created for leadbeaters possums and is way too sugary for gliders. You have a higher risk of obesity and hypoglycaemia with such high sugar diets.