how to day train gliders?

[FRed]

just wondering how can u train gliders to be awake durin day and is it good for em?

[munshkin]

Only my opinion but I think it would be very bad for them, a bit like us being on permanent night shift, we can do it but it does impact on our health and doesn't feel very nice either, it would be the same for them.

i have four pair of suggies and alternate them in two different rooms.

when they are in the living-room they don't get up until 10ish and are tucked up in bed by 6am, but when they are in the other quieter room with less natural light they are often up at 6pm and tend to stay up longer, sometimes still playing at 8am. maybe they nap more in this quieter darker room and can spread their playtime out more?

[Amalthea]

My point of view is if you want them to be awake during the day, they aren't the pet for you.  You can feed them earlier in the evening to get them to learn to wake up a bit earlier, but that's as much as I would expect.

[critterkeeper]

im more than happy for mine to live as they should & be awake at night ,
but .....
if you set up a reverse cycle room like the nocturnal house in zoos then you should be ok
the nocturnal zoo houses have really good lighting at the opposing end of the part you see as a visitor though & you would have to seal any widows / other light sources through the day
just a thought 

[Marie]

I personally would not do this, they're nocturnal, their eyes are designed for night vision, not day vision.  Mine all wake up around 6pm anyway, earlier in the winter.

[critterkeeper]

no im not saying i would either , but i was just saying its possible .
but they would still be nocturnal & using their night vision , just at the wrong time of day to the outside world just like bats , aye ayes etc in zoos

[Marie]

Don't worry, I know what you were saying  .  I was just responding to the OP.

Zoos have special nocturnal rooms, I'm guessing but not sure (maybe Mark could answer this) they would have UV lights on during the night.  In winter, I block off the windows in to the glider room, we live in a big old house so it's not easy keeping it warm!  Although I think we cracked it last year ... finally!!!  Anyway, as I was saying, I block the windows so I have a UV light on during the daytime and turn them off at night. 

[SugarShock]

Last year there was an exhibit about Gliders at the Museum of History in New York City. They used a special type of lighting to adjust the Gliders to be diurnal as opposed to nocturnal. This was done so that visitors could see them during the daytime. I DO NOT recommend doing this. They are nocturnal, and as Marie said, their eyes are designed to see at night. Adjusting this could stress out your Glider.

[wjohnw]

I personally let my gliders wake up when they want to as I myself don't particularly like being woken up, I'm dead certain they wouldn't like it either.

[Usha77]

I personally let my gliders wake up when they want to as I myself don't particularly like being woken up, I'm dead certain they wouldn't like it either.

Exactly how I feel. 

[critterkeeper]

firstly i just want to stress that i would never do anything similar with my suggies , or that im advising anyone to do it with theirs
but..........
its been said a few times above that it would harm a glider to have its day & night reversed ,
i have to disagree in as much as they wouldnt know the difference once their body clock adjusts
it would be like working nights constantly , which once the body clock adjusts is perfectly ok .
as long as they could have peace & quiet at sleep time (which being as everyones asleep would be more likely than at the other end of the clock) & the lighting during their daytime is satisfactory then why would it be harmful ?
if it was in any way harmful to nocturnal animals to have their day/night artificially reversed then zoo's etc wouldnt be doing it , nor would they be successful in breeding nocturnal animals in this way
anyway thats my twopenneth 

[munshkin]

I worked permanent nights for over three years and it never felt OK, it felt like my brain was full of cotton wool most of the time!
apparently it does have a detrimental affect on your health too.

saying that i would imagine zoos would have the environment as perfect as they can manage (only in reverse) but i am not sure how easy that would be to achieve in our own homes?

I think it would be quite possible to slightly adjust their time clocks and convince our suggies that morning had arrived early by making a "dawn" using artificial light and perhaps covering their cage in the late afternoon to convince them it was night time i think this is the best we could do in a home environment.

[Marie]

firstly i just want to stress that i would never do anything similar with my suggies , or that im advising anyone to do it with theirs
but..........
its been said a few times above that it would harm a glider to have its day & night reversed ,
i have to disagree in as much as they wouldnt know the difference once their body clock adjusts
it would be like working nights constantly , which once the body clock adjusts is perfectly ok .
as long as they could have peace & quiet at sleep time (which being as everyones asleep would be more likely than at the other end of the clock) & the lighting during their daytime is satisfactory then why would it be harmful ?
if it was in any way harmful to nocturnal animals to have their day/night artificially reversed then zoo's etc wouldnt be doing it , nor would they be successful in breeding nocturnal animals in this way
anyway thats my twopenneth 

I didn't say it would harm them, but in zoos they have a dark room that is either not lit or lit with red lights, or even moon glo lights.  The animal is not up and active in the light, it is dark in the room so they are still providing a day night cycle for the nocturnal animals just the other way around.  In the home it would be hard to have a night time during the day. 

[critterkeeper]

thats what i was saying , but to set up a reverse light cycle wouldnt be too difficult with blacked out windows & uv tubes on a timer for their daytime & like you say a moonlight or red light in their night time .
anyone who keeps reptiles & cycles them for brumation knows how to reduce / increase daytime hours to suit & to push it a step further to make the whole day reversed .
again i dont think its something that should be done in the home just so that your animals are awake when you are , but it is possible & shouldnt cause any detrimental effects if done properly .
but tbh if you feel the need to cock about with that kind of thing then nocturnal animals arent for you .
im more than happy for all my nocturnal / crepuscular animals to live completely natural lives & for me to adjust myself to their needs & to be able to observe/socialise with them on their terms

[Amalthea]

And definitely not by a novice at all.....