We have ordered the cage today! Woo woo! After some (ok, a lot) of research, we ended up buying the Brisbane from Exotic Nutrition.
We already have some toys, a cage set (hammocks, pouches and corner pieces), a really cool fleece parachute thingy, and some extra fleece, ready to make stuff with! Now we can't wait to get the cage and set it all up to show y'all!
This waiting for these little ladies is torture BUT I am also glad as well since we are still getting ready.
Kimberley Feathers-Sweetie, Mister Peanut & Big Mack Fur-Guinan, Mr. Spock, T'Mir, Cho, Toothless, Maverick & Maharet T'Pol, Elizabeth & Curzon TY, TJ, Light Fury, Madison & T'Pring Forever in my heart, Gizmo, Tucker, Khayman and the rest of my babies over the
Your cage looks awesome. Those are going to be some very lucky suggies. I know you are so excited and they should be too getting to come to such a good home
It's right in the living room next to the couch so that we can see them and they can see us at all times that we're in there. It's so weird (in a good way) to look over and imagine two little girls running around inside.
Many people keep their cage in the living room. In order for them to come out while you're in there, you may want to be prepared for low light in there. Like night light type light. (Does that make sense?) Especially in the beginning.
Being right next to the couch, whether it's fabric or some other material, you also need to be prepared for thrown food on it. You may also find other bodily waste on or near it depending on how close you place the cage It's all part of glider ownership, so you might want to rethink placement of the cage
Ah! Hmmm.... We did purchase a cover at the same time as the cage but are planning to leave at least one wide side open and part of the other two sides at all times so that they can tell it's day and night. Also planning on creating an eating kitchen thingy to help contain some of the food. Both of the couches have covers on it already that can be taken off and machine washed. After your post, . . . . thinking about maybe adding a towel on the sides closest to the cage. Thank you for the warning.
They throw food husks around. A kitchen can help a little but they will probably take food out to chew and suck on and then chuck it when finished, sometimes they throw around feces too. Be prepared.
Food husk throws are literal throws. With feces it is usually either defecation off the side beyond the tray or kicking it off though I have seen gliders clean feces off of fabric surfaces or food dishes and trays by picking it up and throwing it. I have a lot more feces on the floor than I used to but I now let my gliders run free in the room most nights after a few hours for them to eat so that is to be expected. I spend 30-90 minutes a night in with them. Some on the floor working on stuff on a tablet and some standing and walking around serving as a mobile tree for them to climb and jump on. I do not do tent time much anymore but I think this works just as well for them and they always spend at least some time exploring and grooming me. If I could just get Dobby and Arwen to understand that jeans and sweats are not for chewing.....
They return to their pouch(es) in the cage in the morning and I close the doors before I go to work.
Even if you did have a room I would not let them have a room to themselves until they are reasonably bonded and like you. I was six months in before I tried it. It took a day later they figured out how to crawl under the door and get the run of the house. Have something to block that now but they still escape some times. Usually though they will come to me when I find them. Usually..........
When they do get out, are there a lot of items that you worry they may get into? We will be very careful when transferring from the cage to the tent but . . . . trying to figure out the best way to Glider proof the rest of the house in case they manage to escape from the cage or during tent time.
I want to get plug covers for the plugs that are not in use. Would childproof cabinet locks help? At least for the lower cabinets with the cleaning supplies.
And will be checking for any holes behind any appliances that we may not know about yet.
We are in an apartment. Any suggestions from people in apartments?
P.S. . . . I have been reading tons (literally) of posts from every section of this forum. Some have happy endings and some have not-so-happy endings. Please know that EVERY SINGLE POST is SOOOO very much appreciated! I have read about issues, dangers, and situations that I would NEVER have thought of on my own.
I have checked under and around the cabinets in the bathroom for holes and will be checking 100% of the kitchen area as well. I also want to check into the toilet ladders I read about. I realized that even with the best intentions toilet seats may be left up.
Again, thank you to ALL who have EVER posted in this forum!!!
Not a lot. My house is pretty safe. Then again, I live alone so I control the environment. I did once worry a glider had gotten outside and that she was gone. She had not. I keep doors to bathrooms shut on the story the gliders are on and the lids down. There is a little danger in the kitchen but they have to get downstairs for that and most sharp things are in cabinets. I keep the washer and dryer shut when not using.
I covered the outlets in their rooms but no others. While some of my gliders like to chew on some stuff I have never seen them chew a cable. I do not have any in their room but Arwen and Eilonwy have darted into the computer room and played under the desk and climbed it but they have never messed with the cables. I trust them a little now but not enough to be unsupervised. I also do not have any vents or holes anywhere they can get to and hide in. Generally exterior doors are secure against escape. I would avoid leaving out knives and things like that and I usually plug the garbage disposal when I am not using it, especially if a glider or two is riding on me when I prep their food.
Unless the cabinets are loose and really easy to nudge open I would not worry about child proofing. Gliders can be smart but they are not strong.
For tent time first I would not do it for several days after you get them and I would give them at least two days with almost no interaction with you to acclimate. I usually did tent time in the evening so I would get their pouch out before they woke up and put it in the tent and read or do stuff on a tablet until they woke up. They will probably be very shy at first. I found it best to ignore them until they came to me. To get them back into the cage I would turn the light on in the room. This usually made them freeze and then I held up the pouch to them and they would climb in. Now that I have red lights installed in their room and they are better bonded to get them into a pouch I get them to climb on me and then walk into the closet and turn on that light. They have picked up on what that means and usually dive into the pouch. Rarely they are reluctant but once one or two climb in the rest usually follow.
My current problem is that they all love to climb on me so when playtime is over I have to try to get them all to get off me so I can leave the room without hitchhikers. Far cry from when they used to be afraid to climb on me. Now when I open the cage the girls usually jump right onto my chest and the boys are a little less eager but if I put my arm out they will hop on and dash to my shoulder unless Elric is not done eating. If he is eating I am ignored unless I offer food.
Thank you! Not rambling at all. We will definitely try and use those very ideas.
Yes, we weren't planning to interact with them for a couple of days. . . the only thing I worry about (a little) is that two days after we pick them up we have to take them to the vet for their wellness/fecal smear exam. Hopefully, that won't impede any comfortable-ness that they start to feel but it must be done within the first 72 hours per the person we are picking them up from. The good part is that our vet is definitely familiar with exotics and sees lots of sugar gliders. So not worried about the vet. Yay!
I checked and our cage is all 1/2" bar spacing, EXCEPT for the space in the bars right next to the main doors. It is a little wider than 1/2". So I am trying to figure out what to put there so that they won't escape through that particular area. If I just closed that whole section with duct tape would that work? Making sure there are no strings or anything of course.
You should be fine with cage spacing. I think that is the cage I have and I doubt any glider can or would try to squeeze through there.
Looking at the cage to check that the one thing I would say you are missing is an exercise wheel. Maybe you got one since that picture but if not I recommend. I have two for my four gliders and they still sometimes are doubling up. All my gliders use a wheel to a greater or lesser extent and Elric often takes out of cage time to mean finally he can run in peace while everyone is gone.
If you get one make sure to get a glider safe one. Gliders jump in them as much or more then they run.
Funny you should mention the wheel. I had one on order that I had ordered back on the 1st of September. I recently contacted them because I had not heard anything. No response, so I cancelled the wheel on their website. They did come back today saying that they were busy making wheel and apologized for not seeing my email.
I am just going to pick one up when I pick up the little ladies next weekend. It's the same wheel!
"My current problem is that they all love to climb on me so when playtime is over I have to try to get them all to get off me so I can leave the room without hitchhikers. Far cry from when they used to be afraid to climb on me." This part is awesome!
Funny you should mention the wheel. I had one on order that I had ordered back on the 1st of September. I recently contacted them because I had not heard anything. No response, so I cancelled the wheel on their website. They did come back today saying that they were busy making wheel and apologized for not seeing my email.
I am just going to pick one up when I pick up the little ladies next weekend. It's the same wheel!
OMGosh! Next weekend!! Eeeekkkk!!
Most wheels in a pet store are unsafe. Like 97%. I'm not sure where you going to pick up one, but please keep that in mind.
The wheel, some toys, accessories, the food and the Gliders (two little sisters) are all coming from Peggy at Critterlove. We'll be driving five hours next Saturday to go pick them up. Wheee!! (I just wasn't sure if I could say breeder's names on here.)
FINALLY found a tent to use in our apt for tent time. It took a long time because we don't have a lot of room in the living room. Found one on eBay, received a message the next day they were out of stock. Then today found one on Amazon, and this new one is a little smaller width-wise, which works out even better. So. . . that should be here by Tuesday. We won't begin tent time for a while but at least we will have one ready for when we do.
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T'Pol, Elizabeth & Curzon 
TY, TJ, Light Fury, Madison & T'Pring 
Looks great!!!!
It's all part of glider ownership, so you might want to rethink placement of the cage 
Eilonwy 
