We are very concerned about my sugar glider, Iana.

At the end of November, we noticed she would occasionally hack (like a cat with a hairball) and throw up small bits of food and/or clear liquid. Her hacking was an audible, squeak-like sound so we always knew when she would do it. We took her to the vet where they did a fecal exam, bloodwork, and x-rays that showed nothing of concern. She was sent home with two medications to take for a week: an antacid and an anti-nausea. After a few days, the situation appeared to get better so after 10 days, we stopped the meds per the vet's orders to see if she got better. We thought she had stopped for good until we started noticing her pouch and bedding had the same bits of food we had seen her throw up. She is quiet when it happens now so it's harder to catch. The vet suggested trying the antacid again, but it hasn't helped, and we decided not to continue stressing Iana out with forcing her to take something that wasn't helping her. It used to be only once or twice, but last night, she did it five times in a row! The vet has recommended a barium study, and while we wait for more details and an estimate, does anyone else have any experience seeing this? We have not been able to find any information on anything like it. We have some reservations about putting her under anesthesia for an extended period of time, but we also want to do everything we can to help our little one. As I was writing this, I was able to finally get a video of her so I'm sharing the link here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gdoMMamib7dJFy8F8

A little more background: Iana is alone so she has not picked up anything from another glider. Her sister, Luna, sadly died of megacolon last spring. We tried to pair Iana with another glider so she would not remain alone, and even though we took each step slowly, Iana wanted nothing to do with her new "friend" so we decided we would just continue to keep her on us daily as we had been following her sister's death. She eats Clitter Love Complete and while she used to eat the salads well, we found she was not consistently or sufficiently hydrated (as evidenced by her sometimes dry poop) so we sometimes supplemented with some canned pumpkin and/or baby sweet potato. More recently, however, we switched from the salads to fruit/veggie baby food (the organic combo ones so she gets a variety) because her appetite had started to decrease, and we were worried she wasn't getting enough food. She hasn't been interested in the salads, but we still use fresh veggies and fruit as treats as she seems to eat them better that way now. So far, she eats well most days, and her poop is more healthy.

I agree with the vet on the barium study as well as a bile acid test. I do not recommend baby food as they have added iron in them, too high of iron is not good for gliders as their livers do not filter it out well and this can lead to iron storage disease.

I recommend feeding the diet as directed. Knowing that a glider will not often 'clean their plates' but will eat the insides of the foods and/or pick something up to chew it to obtain the nutrients and spit the remaining out.
They do not eat the insoluble fibers.

What really caught my eye on this was the statement you made

It sounds like it may be a genetic issue that is going on with her. Maybe bad genes?
One other option, I had one person years ago have a glider that would vomit and the cause was unknown. After doing a few different things we had discovered there was something in the diet that the glider was allergic to.
Although your description and experience is a bit different than hers.

I agree with Peggy, more tests are needed to find out what is going on with your little one.

Here is an article I found from a Google search:

http://www.glidercentral.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/1055758/Megacolon_disease

It also refers in the thread to another thread... It may not help your little one, but it has good info and what to watch for.

I hope it's helpful.

Thank you for your responses. For completeness, Iana never had a problem eating. We have had other gliders so we are familiar with their eating habits. Prior to this situation, she was eating the Critter Love diet and salads as described/recommended, and it was only when her appetite started to change that we offered the baby food to ensure some amount fluid and nutrient intake. I know it's not ideal and certainly not a long-term plan.

Update: I have been communicating with the vet, and we are looking into doing the barium study next week. I mentioned to her the possibility of a food allergy so she suggested introducing the Leadbeater's diet, tracking what she eats, and noting how she responds. We have started that and reintroduced the salad, and she's quickly taken to it, eating some veggies and completely avoiding the baby food. So far, I have not seen any evidence of throwing up. I know this is also a short-term "fix", but perhaps it will help get her through until we get more information from the study.

Please let us know how it turns out.

I also have a picky eater and looking into it myself. Recently I have noticed this glider is having compacted poo and it's on the dry side. I'm watching for the consistency of this and have recently learned it can be a serious problem. At this point, she has a dominance Wound and I am more concerned with it healing(per vet) and will tackle her digestive problems once she's off all antibiotics.

When we are asked about picky gliders, there is a protocol to make sure this article has been read. Some glider slaves spoil their gliders or feel it's a waste of money to continue to offer some foods when they didn't even give the gliders a chance to get used to the smell, texture and so on.

We also recommend vet visits especially when your gut (no pun intended ) feeling points toward this.

Please keep us posted on what the vet says, and how you glider is doing.

So, after eating the new diet for about a week without visible signs of throw up, my husband was hesitant as to the need for the barium study. The vet agreed that if she was eating well and not producing any vomit, then she did not need the study. Things seemed to be going well (she was eating fairly well) until a couple of weeks ago when I caught her throwing up in my shirt on Tuesday. A week later (last week), she did it again three times on three different days. I have reached out to the vet again to see if we can schedule the barium study since this doesn't seem to be food allergy related.

I think I can safely say that we were hoping the lack of further news during this month was good news Sorry to hear the study is still needed and I hope it identifies the issue. Good luck!

I hope that you get to the bottom of your little ones problem. Please keep us posted.

I waited before posting with hopes of sharing good news, but alas, we're back to where we started. We have our appointment tomorrow. Thanks for the well wishes!

Sorry for the delay in reply. We've had a lot going on outside of our tiny one.

So the barium study showed that Iana's stomach appears to be clamped somehow, almost splitting it into two organs. (I'll try to post the pictures.) This slows down her digestion so, of course, when she would eat, she'd run out of room in her stomach and throw up. The only way to see why her stomach looks like this is through exploratory surgery, according to the vet. Due to the invasive nature of a surgery and its inherent risks, we decided to simply split her meals so she's not eating everything all at once. We also returned to her original diet of Critter Love, veggies, and fruit since it didn't appear that there were allergies involved (plus she gained a lot on the Leadbeater's diet). So far, she's been doing well and not throwing up.

All was well since then (late February) until this past week. Iana now appears to have an insatiable hunger. She's also much more active during the day and intense about her grooming (of us, not herself). Nothing changed in the past week as far as our routines so it's unclear what triggered it. We also noticed that when she drinks her Critter Love, she begins to urinate soon after and without regard (usually you can tell she's going to per because she'll pause and squat, but now it just seems to come out). The vet isn't too worries about the urination (as long as she's not over drinking and over-urinating), but I'm worried she's anxious (with the excessive grooming and wakefulness).

Hmmm, first it sounded like you were getting a handle on her problem by feeding her in smaller amounts. The peeing is really puzzling.

I am not a vet so I am just making assumptions, kidney problems or diabetes some to mind. Have you discussed it with your vet.

I am going through this right now! My guy Booster has been doing this off and on for over a year. He seems to respond better to antacids, but antibiotics do nothing so I am not sure it is an infection. I think our guys maybe have an acid reflux thing?

EDIT: I just read the entire thread. An X ray didn't show anything out of the ordinary with Booster.