One Big Happy Colony!

I had written this up a few weeks back but due to travels, work, and life in general, I finally have a chance to post this update.

Not all of what we do is about placing gliders. Sometimes the situation calls for us to be that final forever home. We have taken in rescues with the intent of placing them into permanent homes. Sometimes rescues come from bad situations such as with Lilly. She was given to her new owner by a friend. The original owner intended to release Lilly into the wild but was convinced to not do that. Lilly would not have survived long if that had happened. Her new owner was doing her best but just didn't know how to care for her. She also knew that sugar gliders do better with another glider. She contacted us and we took in Lilly. Lilly had lost almost all of the hair on her head and tail due to stress and a poor diet. Lilly also had issues with her hind legs due to not enough calcium in her diet. She was in a Pocket Pets cage, which allowed her to climb easier. This also made finding her a buddy more challenging. It had taken some time to gain her trust and now she has learned just how to get an extra treat every time I go by her cage. While Lilly has her physical challenges, she is a very sweet little glider. Although, she now absolutely loves her food and has gained a healthy weight.

We had previously taken in a male named Bandit. Bandit had previously been passed around to several homes and it was time that he found his forever home. For that reason, Bandit had found his permanent home with us. We suspected that he was partially blind and all previous attempts to introduce him to a new friend had failed. Bandit, seemed, would have been better named after Oscar the Grouch.

Then again, sometimes an owner will need to place their sugar glider due to circumstances beyond their control. This was the case with Peppi. Her owner gave the absolute best care possible for Peppi and her brother, Peanut. Peanut had just passed away at a ripe old age. Peppi was clearly missing his companionship. She took really good care of her gliders and recognized that Peppi was taking the loss of her brother very hard. However, she wasn't up to adopting another. She contacted us and brought Peppi and and her cage to us. The cage was basically a much larger version of the Pocket Pets cage that Lilly was in.

You may already be guessing where this story is headed. We got out our mesh mosquito tent and got Peppi and Lilly together to see if they could be introduced and do well together. Absolutely no signs of stress or agression and it was a great match. It was still early in the day and we put each of their pouches in the big cage. That night they both came out and ate together. The next morning they both were in the same pouch.  Because of the way the cage is built, it allows Lilly to climb around easier. I have seen Lilly actually hop from a fleece triangle, down to a fleece bridge. So it seems that she is getting more exercise and recovering a little bit more from her hind leg issues.

We then thought about Bandit. I didn't mention that Peppi is a white face and that her brother was also most likely a white face. Well guess what?, Bandit is a white face. We were thinking maybe we have now have a chance of finding a friend or two for Bandit. He was a grumpy old guy and previously didn't get along with other gliders. We got the mesh mosquito tent out again and tried Peppi, Lilly, and Bandit together. This was one of those moments that brought tears of joy to everyone that saw how well they got along.

Peppi was already a sweet sugar glider but has returned back to her happy self. Lilly will most likely always have some degree of impairment with her hind legs but does seem to be getting around much better. She still pops her head out of the pouch when she hears me, expecting a treat, which she usually gets. She, like most sugar gliders, recognizes a tender heart and how to get an extra treat. Bandit shows the greatest improvement. He is still a bit grumpy but instead of acting like a 13 year old glider, acts much younger. He is out of his pouch more and much more active.

This could be said to be a match made in Heaven.

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