New gliders with possible pregnancy....

[HannahLeatherbarrow]

Hi im new to being a glider owner, i bought a pair that were needing rehoming about 3 weeks ago, 1 was said to be 4 months out of pouch (male- gizmo) and the other 11 months out of pouch (girl-gretchen) Due to gizmo only being 4 months i thought id let him settle and bond before putting him through an op however im starting to think gretchen already has joeys. She is looking very round and her pouch appears to have bulged a little. I just wondered if somebody could list what i need to be doing at this stage incase she is. Also any advice for  later stages too would be really helpful. I have read up quite a lot online but its always good to hear the views of other owners.... Many thanks Hannah

Have uploaded a picture to show off my babies... will try to get a picture of her pouch tonight

[HannahLeatherbarrow]

i have 2 pictures but they are too big to put on here and im not sure how to change the photo size. They have been uploaded onto my facebook so heres a link if someone can have a look that would be great ......

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150337898503867&set=a.10150297323263867.349122.508968866&type=3&theater

[Amalthea]

What are their diets like? 

I'd get Gizmo in for the snip now, in case she has joeys... That way you can HOPEFULLY catch it before there are more...  But she may very be pregnant now as well as having the joeys in pouch.  She is looking a bit lumpy from that picture, but I can't see too well.

[HannahLeatherbarrow]

Thank you for replying. They have a range generally selected from.... mealworms, chicken, honey, yoghurt, fruit, veg, eggs and crickets/locusts. The live food is sprinkled with calcium powder. Thank you for the advice will call to get that sorted now.

[Amalthea]

I think you need to have a good look at their diet, honestly....  Their fur doesn't look as plush as it should and a poor diet could result in losing any joeys she may have.  Look through the diet stickies on here

[HannahLeatherbarrow]

Is there a specific diet that you recommend? Its hard to come on conclusions reading all the various forums and web pages as they differ so much. The first picture was from the previous owners and since her coat has definately improved

[Amalthea]

Glad to hear it....    Here's a couple important stickies to go through

http://www.sugar-glider.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,6165.0.html

And to make it easier on ya

http://www.sugar-glider.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,2165.0.html

This is basically what most of us go by

[Marie]

Hi, welcome to SGF.

As Jen has said, diet is extremely important, if the parents aren't healthy the joeys won't be either.  If you're not wanting to breed then I would recommend getting the male neutered asap.

Gliders do not have a breeding season in captivity btw 

[HannahLeatherbarrow]

Thank you. I am going to adopt the first link's diet as of tomorrow. I didn't think they had a breeding season, someone i know of works with a lot of exotic animals and she tried to tell me that i was lucky if she was carrying as the breeding season has finished. Just waiting for them to wake up so i can have another look of her pounch, dying to know if she is or not!

[HannahLeatherbarrow]

Just a quick question with those recipes am i needing to add glidercal and glider booster as well or do those recipes have all of the vitamins needed in them? Plus if she does have joeys am i needing to up any particular vitamins for her?