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But it will take time for your sugar glider to learn that he or she can totally trust you.
It will most likely not happen overnight. It can take 1 or 2 months to learn that it can trust you, but you are really in turn earning their trust as they are very smart loving souls.
The first thing that you have to do is to put yourself in that little sugar gliders place. Or try to visualize their world from their size and view of our world that they have been placed into.
Look at your size and picture their little size. Now imagine a HUGE, strange (thing to them) hand coming toward you and try to grab you, You would stand up and scream and do everything you could to keep that hand (thing) from grabbing you and doing who know's what to you!
That is what they are thinking and feeling when they see your strange face looking at them in their pouch that has been changed all of a sudden from what they have known when they wake up one day.
The day that you have purchased your first glider(s) to love and care for.
They are scared and should be left alone for the first 2-3 days just to settle in.
They have new scents all of a sudden, new faces, surely not their breeders face that they once knew, and new sounds in their environment.
You can of course feed them, leave on a soft night light until you go to bed so that you can sit quietly and watch your new little pets explore their new life.
You can speak softly and lovingly to them, they may even come just close enough just to get a sense of who this new being is that is talking to them.
They rely on the scent of their surroundings. You will smell weird to them and they will not like it at first. They will make a huge strange and very loud noise called "crabbing" at you and it will scare you and make you feel bad as all you want to do is to let this little animal know that you will not hurt it.
The crabbing noise kind of sounds like an electric pencil sharpener. They will also bark at night, they sound like little mini dogs.
They will also make a "PSST" type of noise. Some people think that the glider is sick when in fact it is a "location" noise to locate other gliders or even their new humans. You can even do it back to them and they will know that it is you.
You will wonder why it is making this awful noise at you when all you want to do is hold it, and assure it that it is safe and loved. But it is only doing this because of being in a strange new place.
Do not bring friends over right away as this will only frighten it more. If you just have to show them something purchase a sugar glider book and read it together and show the pictures as you will have many years to have your new pet meet all of your friends.
You should have the cage pouch hanging inside the cage and the sugar glider will find it and curl up to sleep. This also helps with the first step of the bonding process.
BONDING STEPS
Remember, Each and every suggie has their own individual personality and will respond in their own ways when it comes to bonding.
The steps below are what we followed when bonding with our 6 Gliding Room suggies.
Bonding with your glider is based on the purest form of trust.
You can't trick a suggie as they are quite smart and will test you from time to time.
Never yell at or smack your glider.
Never tap it for biting as this is an exotic creature that tasts things and the thing we consider a "bite" from them is actually them tasting what is near their face.
If your glider is a "constant" taster you can have apple sauce, some honey or flavored yogurt near and have it on your finger tip and your glider will learn to taste the yummy treat that you offer and will learn to look forward to seeing you every day.
But keep the apple sauce, honey or yougurt handy for any glider that you are starting to bond with.
To remove your suggie from the cage for the first time:
It is best to start bonding and scooping up your suggie during the day while it is soundly sleeping.
Hang your
Bonding Pouch
around your neck and have it un-zipped and ready for its new occupant.
Gently open the top of the
Cage Buddy Sleeping Pouches
and slide one hand in and under your glider.
This will make you feel totally intimidated at first as you are more that likely going to get "crabbed out" by your suggie.
If it crabs at you stop moving until it settles down and your goal is to scoop your glider out of the cage pouch and place it inside your bonding pouch.
As you zip the Bonding Pouch, you will get crabbed out again as this is a new sound to your suggie.
Just walk around and have the pouch with you.
Do your chores, home work, do the dishes, talk on the phone, go on the computer.
Your suggie will eventually be climbing out of its pouch while you are doing things and just hanging out on your shoulder, but that comes later after you have gained trust.
Just carry your suggie around for about a week and let it become acquainted with the bonding pouch time. Unzip it every once in a while to say hi, you will get crabbed at.
Pet the pouch and talk to it as you go through your daily routines.
Play Time:
When you feel comfortable with leaving the bonding pouch unzipped for the first time do it in a glider safe room.
This is where there are no dangerous places that it can get into and not get back out.
Stuff any spaces with towels, put toilet seats down at all times as they will dron within seconds. They DO NOT swim.
Have the Bonding Pouch around your neck, have the pouch unzipped, sit back and relax.
Let Your suggie come out on its own, do not force it at all.
Your suggie will come out a little at a time, look around and run back into the safety of its bonding pouch.
Then they will start to climb up your shirt a little and run back into their pouch. They may walk down your leg, explore on the floor and then run back up into their pouch.
They will sniff your hair, sniff your ears (and it tickles but sounds really cute) and mouth to make sure that it is you, and even climb down your back.
They do like to get in the middle of your back so that you cant reach them but just adjust your shirt and they will come back around.
As you become more and more comfortable with each other, you can leave the pouch unzipped as you wear it and your trusting suggie will hang with you on your shoulder, hide under your hair on the back of your neck and watch what is going on or even go into your shirt and stick it's head out from your neckline and watch as you go about your day.
Be sure to have any other pets put away as you will not know their true reactions to your suggie.
These steps and time will be forming the strongest forms of bonding between you and your very special, tender hearted little pet.
You can teach it to glide eventually by putting your glider on a place that is a bit further away from you and then hold up a treat such as a grape, mealie worm or a peanut. Then each time move your hand a bit further away and call its name and encourage it to jump to you.
And your suggie will be gliding soon!
Some gliders, like our "Sir Isaac B. Neutered" makes it look like he is winding up his tail before he glides. It is quite funny but really cool to witness their art of gliding!
Sugar Gliders Are True Friends For Life!
Bonding with your sugar glider is a very rewarding experience.
Do not do anything to break the trust or your suggie may never trust you.
