Do you agree with these things..maybe helpful for new owners to be.

[tillie]

Hi as some of you know I breed my 2 and have had a couple of people contact me about the joeys I have for sale at the moment.  I have given my opinions on a few things and wondered if you agree or disagree or do I worry too much?

1.  Boys or girls, the choice is yours.  I wouldnt say boys are better than girls or visa versa as they all have their own personalitys.  Boys seem to have a bad press lately for being nasty but I havent come across this and feel a boy and girl (Male neutered if brother of girl or not wanting to breed) make a good pair, as does 2 brothers or 2 unrelated neutered males if introduced early or of course 2 females.

2.  If your getting 2 gliders from 2 different breeders they should be kept apart to make sure they are healthy and introduced gradually by swapping pouches, toys,carrying in seperate bonding pouches at same time etc etc and having supervised out of cage time once certain healthy?

3.  If getting 2 gliders that havent previously lived together they should be approx the same size as if any tussles the smaller one can stick up for him/herself?  Age isnt too important but size counts!!

4.  Sometimes gliders go through a nipping stage this doesnt mean they are aggresive its just them being teenagers.

5.  The more time you put in the more you get out. 

Any opinions from you guys that have a number of different sex gliders or breed?   Come on Marie 

Thanks

[roxyandboys]

1.  Boys or girls, the choice is yours.  I wouldnt say boys are better than girls or visa versa as they all have their own personalitys.  Boys seem to have a bad press lately for being nasty but I havent come across this and feel a boy and girl (Male neutered if brother of girl or not wanting to breed) make a good pair, as does 2 brothers or 2 unrelated neutered males if introduced early or of course 2 females.

Yep - personalities seems to be what makes the difference, i have 3 boys and 2 girls.  2 of my boys are super friendly and 1 is not, 1 of my girls is super friendly and 1 is not.  I do think that boys tend to bond quicker.

2.  If your getting 2 gliders from 2 different breeders they should be kept apart to make sure they are healthy and introduced gradually by swapping pouches, toys,carrying in seperate bonding pouches at same time etc etc and having supervised out of cage time once certain healthy?

Dont swap the pouches and stuff until the new suggie has been through the quarenteen period in case any disease is passed via pouchs and toys.

3.  If getting 2 gliders that havent previously lived together they should be approx the same size as if any tussles the smaller one can stick up for him/herself?  Age isnt too important but size counts!!

ummmm.... with mine the smallest one and the largest one dont have arguments, it's obvious from a look at each other who is the boss, it's the lad who is slightly smaller than the biggest one who thinks he might be in with a chance at being boss so tries in on a lot.  My larger females tends to cold shoulder my little female when they carry babes

4.  Sometimes gliders go through a nipping stage this doesnt mean they are aggresive its just them being teenagers.

or mistaking you for a nice bit of food!!

5.  The more time you put in the more you get out. 

yip yip yip!

[Marie]

yeah - sounds good to me.  Just ot elaborate on a few points, as Dee isn't here ATM I'll answer for her regarding the male/female better pets thing.

Dee has all neutered males, they are the sweetest gliders, no aggression at all, this is because the neutering removes the majority of the hormones, what makes a terrible teen?  Raging hormones (predominantly)), females still have the hormones.  Males do tend to be more curious than females too.

The size difference, I always say the smaller of the two should be AT LEAST 2 thirds the size of the largest one so if s/he does get picked on then s/he stands more chance of being able to protect or stand up for him/herself.   

[tillie]

Im glad you said that about males Marie as the 3 people Ive had contact me seem to all want girls as they are under the understanding that males arn't as friendly and I have never found this so I wanted an unbiased view.  I also agree as you know about having gliders near the same size i.e 2 thirds but what are your views on if they have lived together from day 1, thats diff isnt it as they are used to each other....when my joey is of age to go to a new home it would be ok for him to go with his 16 week bruv even though he will be half the size because they have been in the same cage with no probs since little man came oop..yeh?  The other option I have is to wait until little man is of age to be neutered and he can go with his sis as I always get the boys neutered before homing if going with a related female.

As you know I have also advised if getting 2 from different breeders they shouldnt go straight in together due to illness etc, I say quarenteen for a month but on the other side of the coin if someone has just got 2 joeys from diff breeders the joeys would be used to having ma and pa so being on their own will stress them.  Ok human company as much as poss is one thing but not the same as their own kind right so what do you advise?  Bit of a catch 22 in a way.

[Marie]

Im glad you said that about males Marie as the 3 people Ive had contact me seem to all want girls as they are under the understanding that males arn't as friendly and I have never found this so I wanted an unbiased view.  I also agree as you know about having gliders near the same size i.e 2 thirds but what are your views on if they have lived together from day 1, thats diff isnt it as they are used to each other....when my joey is of age to go to a new home it would be ok for him to go with his 16 week bruv even though he will be half the size because they have been in the same cage with no probs since little man came oop..yeh?  The other option I have is to wait until little man is of age to be neutered and he can go with his sis as I always get the boys neutered before homing if going with a related female.

If they've been together from day 1 then yeah, that's different

As you know I have also advised if getting 2 from different breeders they shouldnt go straight in together due to illness etc, I say quarenteen for a month but on the other side of the coin if someone has just got 2 joeys from diff breeders the joeys would be used to having ma and pa so being on their own will stress them.  Ok human company as much as poss is one thing but not the same as their own kind right so what do you advise?  Bit of a catch 22 in a way.

The other thing that would concern me at the minute would be the temperature, cold temps and no one to snuggle up with can lead to death, all energy is used trying to warm up and none left for doing basic stuff like waking up and getting to the food bowl .  People have different ideas for Q'ing, Sam just Q'd my (well his now) boy for a couple of weeks, but it's tricky, you can't even put the cages next to one another.   On the other hand, I think a little alone time helps them 'bond' to the owner but it also helps when introducing to other suggies, they seem to appreciate the company when they get it.  Just tell them to make sure it doesn't drop too cold, certainly no less than 20 degrees for a lone youngster.