Hi all,

My gliders are 3 years old and I'm hoping someone has some ideas for help. About 2 weeks ago my daughter went to feed them after being gone all day and noticed the male didn't come out to eat. Long story short, he'd chewed thread loose on the inside of his pouch and managed to wrap it tightly around his neck. He was in bad shape but we managed to get him to drink some and eat an apple slice. He improved well and stayed stable through the night and I took him to the vet first thing in the morning. We got him on pain meds and a topical antibiotic for his neck wound. He seemed to be improving well until he began rubbing his eyes a couple days later and we noticed them clouding. We went back to the vet and he was given eye gel for ulcers in his cornea & oral antibiotics this time, along with another round of pain meds. However, he wouldn't stop rubbing his eyes and he started biting his feet. His last vet check yesterday showed improvement on his eyes (and they are looking even clearer today). But now he's chewing his back fur and his feet. I know it's from the stress of everything going on--in the interim his cage-mate (since they were babies) also turned on him and we had to separate them and he absolutely hates being held and have the eye ointment placed. So the poor guy is full of stressors right now. Unfortunately because his neck bruising is still very raw he cannot have an e-collar.

Has anyone had any luck getting them to stop self-mutilating in other ways? I'm hoping for any suggestions.

Thanks,
Tara

It didn't work for me but worth a try, this is a bitter gel you can try to put on his feet.
https://www.amazon.com/Yuk-2e-Anti-Lick-0-5oz-Tube/dp/B00076NTEG

It should deter biting/licking but it depends on the glider.

Hi,

Welcome to Glider CENTRAL! Please take a moment to register so that you can take full use of the forum.

I would not spray anything on him. What has your vet said about his over grooming and mutilating.

Is he still on pain meds?

It isn't a spray, it's a bitter gel to deter chewing.

Please keep us posted once you've registered. We can keep up with you better! If you post back here, we'll have your story.

Unfortunately, his cuddle buddy will try to groom away the hurt. Glad you separated them.

Poor little guy... Hope he turns around and feels better soon!

I think something like that would add one more stress to him, but I appreciate the thought and link.

Hi all,

He is on pain meds still, and antibiotics. I think the course of both ends on Monday. My vet thinks our main concern is getting his pain under control, his neck healed, and his eyes cleared up. He was really hoping that would take care of the foot chewing. When he calls today I'll have to talk to him more about the chewing since it's getting worse, not better. He is doing it mostly after he tries to walk around his cage too much or after I try to put the ointment in his eyes. So it's definitely stress and pain related. Yesterday evening I managed to get gel in one eye but he was so stressed that I let the other one be, hoping that since it's on the mend once a day would be okay. And I can get him to stop and settle down if I give him a treat, like a piece of grape or applesauce, but at this rate he's going to be eating a pound of grapes a day. Okay not really, but at least 3-4 + a few teaspoons of applesauce and that is way too much and can just cause other problems. Right now, though, it's been our only working distraction.

Hi Tara24, are you anonymous? If so, glad to meet you!

Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, too.

Awesome! So, how's your little guy doing?

He's sleeping now, but last night he was chewing horribly. His back feet are raw and swollen, but not bleeding. I didn't even attempt the eye ointment this morning hoping to keep him calm. He happily ate breakfast and took his medicine (because he gets to eat it in applesauce) then settled in to bed.

Tara

He may be experiencing some numbness from his ordeal. Does he have any blankies? (Small squares of fleece about 4 - 5")

Having them in the pouch with him may give him something to hold.

No blankies. He has always been a chewer--we go through a lot of pouches because he chews holes in them. I'm always afraid he'll chew strings loose and choke on them (apparently I had good reason to worry). I was wondering yesterday if a tiny stuffed animal would be a good sleeping buddy for now, but he'd just chew it then there would be stuffing to worry about. His sister has always been the friendly, outgoing and easygoing one of the two.

I hadn't thought of numbness--not sure why that would happen, but even the pain meds could cause it, I suppose.

Tara

Hi Karen,

He was on pain meds for 5 days originally then off for a a few days and has been back on them (stronger) since Monday.

Tara, was he chewing on his feet with the old pain meds? Maybe new ones too strong? As much as I hate to say this, he may need another vet visit, just in case.

The nice thing with a blankie is you can cut a square piece of the fleece out one of his old pouches, there will be no sewn seams. I'm afraid your right about a stuffed animal.

Put a hole in a plastic shoe box sized storage container and fill it with fleece blankets and let him sleep in that. It takes the risk of the strings away.

I wonder if he may have hurt his spine struggling to get loose and has some tingling in his feet and that is why he is chewing on them.

He's been sleeping well all day and hasn't chewed the times I've gone in to check on him, just peeked at me and gone back to sleep, which is much better than the past few days. For now he has 3 bed options and he's choosing to sleep in the hard coconut instead of one of the cozier options.

The vet is open tomorrow so I'll keep a close eye on him and take him if he doesn't seem improved any.

Thanks for all the thoughts and advice so far!

Tara

Thank you for the update!

Keeping him in my prayers!

Just an update. The vet told me to put cortisone cream on his feet. I've been doing so since Sunday and he seems to have stopped chewing them and they're healing, looking much, much better. His eyes are both clear and he was the peppiest this morning that he's been since this happened--running all around the cage and jumping a little bit (he hadn't jumped at all since it happened; he'd been slowly waddling along the cage and only climbing a little).

It looks like he's turned a corner and we're very happy.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Tara

YAY! It's great news!