I'm curious about what other people's experience with this is: I've noticed that when one of my gliders starts barking, the others tend to stop what they're doing and just sit, listening to the barker.
Is this common? Are my gliders hearing communication, listening to a performance or just being polite?
Sometimes I half expect them to applaud when the barking stops.

Barking is my FAVORITE sound!!!! To me its like

"Okay OKAY Okay ready set!!!!
Nah,nope, not gonna happen,Never mind!!!!"
Its like I always wait for one of them to do something amazing because like you said all the others stop and give full attention.

Then the barker will just be like
"Okay i'm done now." (curtsies,bites the head off a meal worm,scratches belly,and adjusts glider king crown!)

all of the above

barking is a way for them to communicate. I notice there are slightly different types of barks too. My opinion based on observing my gliders: some are for communication "hey I am lonely where is everyone?" thats when everyone starts up.

then theres the "hey! watch out! danger!" when everyone freezes and listens till the "danger" is past.

then theres the "HEY its playtime and why am I still in the cage!" which brings me running from upstairs and they stop when they hear me coming.

There are a lot of different reasons why gliders bark, it could be to get your attention, or the attention of another glider, to warn others of the danger etc.

My one boy will bark if he sees danger (ant, spider, mosquito, etc) in the room. He will jump in my shirt as I open the cage door to see what is going on and he will continue to bark until I find whatever he saw and remove it. The other kid likes to bark and show me how he can run his wheel or just for some loving. As soon as I tell him "mommy loves you honey" he is fine and I can go back to sleep.

This is their way of communication, not all gliders are vocal, and then you get those who really let you know what they think. Some people leave them to bark, but only if you know them well enough and are sure that everything is alright. I always check to see what's up although I know the different barks and reasons for them by now.

Our youngest boy is very vocal lately, and he gets completely annoyed by the older guys that needs a bit of extra rest. He will bark and pull them out of the pouch by their ears until they get up. Silly little guy, Muchu.

Don't we just love him to bits!

OM Goodness Gizmogirl - the visualization I had while reading your post brought a smile to my face and a internal giggle (because I'm at work), Ssshhhhh. I LOVE barks!!!!

People will stare if you giggle too loud at your screen

That goes on at my house all the time, lol. I love to watch everyone's reaction when someone's barking...

Our little boy is the barker, I never hear a word from my little girl but he will bark in the wee hours of the morning. And he won't stop usually unless I get up and go and see what he wants.

Sometimes it is obvious, like my dog had walked into their room because I forgot to close the door. But sometimes I have no idea what the barking is about. It sounds so cute though it is hard to be annoyed even at 4am.

So, since the subject has already been brought up about barking,How can I get them to stop at 3 AM?

For some reason this past week they will sit and bark for hours on end. When I go out to check on them sometimes they stop but as soon as I leave again they fire right back up. I thought once that maybe they didn't like something I had fed them and were letting me know it. But they ate every piece in the bowl.

Anybody have any suggestions on getting them to quiet up late at night and not keep everyone awake all night? I have not yet been able to figure out what it is they want from me.

Merlin barked for 5-6 hours last night nothing comforted him I gave gave up. The others chimed in once in a while but I think they were telling him to shut up.

Jaeger sometimes you cant get them to stop. You can try to bribe them with a treat or let them out for a few min to play but sometimes they are just chatty.

My quad barks all the time! They even bark in their sleep. They have the loud fast bark (theres a spider in my cage get it out), There the slower bark where one is talking. It like hes telling a story, then theres everyone having a conversation in the quad!!!

Oh and I cant forget Loki. If I have another glider out or Im getting into the treats and passing them out before him he has a jealousy bark. His bark starts low and slow and the longer I pass out treats or play with other gliders he starts to get louder and faster! HAHAHA. Silly loki.

The WONDERFUL world of gliders and all they have to say ...I love it ..As long as they are talking, at least I know they are all alive

I totally agree Anita. I have issues sleeping if I dont hear at least one bark a night. Although when you have 10 gliders going in a night it gets noisy!

Thanks guys! I have a warm feeling listening to youall barking

This is just one of the many things you get with glider ownership. You can't "make" them quit barking...it just isn't possible. This is how gliders communicate and if they have something to say, they say it. You do NOT want to get upset with them when they bark, either...it won't work and it will be greatly detrimental to the relationship you have with your glider. It's what they do. So, I suggest learning the barks...know what they're saying. Maybe they just want a treat? Maybe there's a bug in the room that they want taken out so they can be comfortable? Maybe they're just showing off and saying "Look, Look!!" My best advice...learn and get used to it because it won't go away.

It sounds to me like they want you to go and sit with them, and play with them. If they stop when you enter the room then they're trying to get your attention. At least that's how it seems. Take it as the compliment it is. They want to be around you ^_^, no matter that at 3 am you want to be asleep. Mine do the same thing at 6 am. I get up and go sit with them for a few minutes and they're content with that. I usually stick my arm in and say "Come see me then." and they run up to my shoulder sniff me and run back into their cage.

It just means they love you I think. ^_^

No my Mom and Dad don't bark, never did - but Jr. barks all the time!! I leave a low 40 watt light on for them with a dark shade. He only barks occassionally now and fairly briefly. He's my watchdog lol - if my daughter comes home at 3am he immediately starts barking after the door is closed. Since he hadn't barked in a while I attempted to shut that light off the other night and no sooner did I get back to my bedroom and he started barking - so I turned it back on for him. My mama does bark in her sleep tho - I always feel bad cuz i wonder if she's having a bad dream.

Hmmm... if dogs have running dreams, I guess gliders have gliding dreams! Cool!

im verry lucky all 8 of mine are talkers..not verry often will they bark...Thai is my watch dog,bark someone pulled in the driveway.....my lil man feng will tell on shua he ate all the coconut,hes in the ball pit and wont l4et me in ....Twins what will you do????i get what i call chuckles and kisses a lot by everyoe...i do have a femalw Mazu that chucles in her sleep a lot also...i often wonder what shes dreaming....she was my worse rescue and often wonder if she still thinks of being in the bottom of the bird cage at the pet store...



warnning dont always give treats when they bark....they will train you to do so...


i have also been told of a spider at quarter of 4 in the morning...the alarm whent off in all the cages i knew that somethiing was wrong

I have never heard my gliders bark.
They do squabble talk all of the time tho, like an old married couple
in lovvvvvvvvveeeeeee...........
No barking tho.
I just recently got another to make a pair, so maybe once they settle in.

My girls are very vocal. They can communicate asymmetrically or symmetrically. A single barker usually means "I'm up and ready to play, where is everyone?"
One night I woke to very furious and loud barking. I'm glad I checked. One glider had escaped and my JRT found her. I called for husband support and removed the dogs. Jade had run the length of the house and was on top of my office door frame. She jumped onto my hand to ride back then jumped onto the top of the cage, crawling under the cover rather than into the door. The only time she ever bit me was when I picked her up from under the cover to put her away. Lil snot.
Mine don't bark for long usually. They are pretty good watch gliders. It gets noisy when two terriers and two gliders are barking at some weird noise or person at the door lol.