Hi my name is Amy and I am getting my first 2 gliders. I was wondering how they smell, I have heard different opinions. Do they smell like ferrets or descented skunks? Does diet fix the scent?

Hi and Welcome to GliderCENTRAL!

Gliders do have a odor, it is manageable by not over cleaning and diet. Neutering does help with the boys smell.

I like their smell and would have a house full of intact male gliders before I had a ferret any day.

We recommend cleaning in stages, one day their fleece, one day their toys, one day their wheel and one day their cage.
If you clean everything at once they will go overboard marking up the cage and toys because it has to smell like them.

They are very scent oriented.

You say you like their smell so can you describe it. My friend has some but I'm not around enough to tell. Like is it a smell like a liter box, or ferret or is it a smell like I know it's there but not like a omg what is that. I'm not a sensitive smell I have worked in prisons and in the medical field so I have been around lots of smelly things

Describe it if you can

Personally, I'd say it smells like there is an animal in the house, but it is not overly strong nor offensive. Just a slight musty 'there is a pet around here' odor.

Thank you. I am getting 2 for now but I would like 4 eventually.

When you bury your nose in their fur they have a musky/fruity smell. But that is just my nose.

I haven not really noticed much of an odor emitting from them physically, but then I do not have them close to my nose that often; when I have, I don't detect much of an odor.

Their cages and furnishings can become stinky, when not cleaned often enough or properly, and as Kimberly stated when cleaned all at once.

To wash fleece properly, do not use fabric softener. You may even want to try unscented detergent, but you shouldn't have to. I have laundered my gliders fleece in both scented and unscented, never used fabric softener, and always put through an extra rinse.

Our ferrets only really smelled when they needed their bedding or litter box changed. Otherwise, their smell wasn't too bad (I was allergic to it, but that's besides the point). The important thing with them was daily changing of their towels (what they slept on) and one or two times a day litter box change.

However, gliders are very different then ferrets in their sleeping and litter-box usage. They mark their territory and need their own smell around them to feel comfortable.

Last week I demonstrated to my grandkids how to clean the girls cage. I had them smell their "marking" scent and their pee smell.

To me their marking smells like the outdoors- like fresh laundered clothes with a light musk. The pee smells like pee but not as strong as other caged pets. My grand kids were impressed with their pee smell. They say it doesn't stink. I have to agree. And yes, I change out hammocks and all fleece one day along with the bottom liner and next day wipe down the cage itself. That way they can mark the fleece. I do this once a week.

Great description Feather!! It's exactly how I would describe their toys, fabric, cage scent in between cleanings.