Where in the house is his cage? How busy is the room? Do you know what kind of environment he was in? Like where he was in their house and if there was anyone that picked on him?
I think he needs to be in a busy place. Not THE busiest place, but he shouldn't be in the quietest place either. He has to get used to inconsistancies in his environment. He sees you as his safe place, and anything else as a threat. You need him to get used to changes and to understand that every little change doesn't mean the end of his security. The only way to do that is to let him experience it.
Dex and Gizzy are learning this (as am I) very slowly. It takes a long time. If you watch the dates above, it took months, and then we had a huge setback.
I think start with one thing in his cage. Move it to a different place everyday. Sometimes while he's awake, sometimes while he is asleep. See how he reacts to it the first time, really watch him. And post it. Then write about his reaction to it in a week. You will see some progress.
Does anyone else have any thoughts to mention here?

His cage used to be in a basement; that's as much as I know. They had cats but no idea where the cats were kept.

He's currently in the suggie room which is pretty darn busy. And his cage does get moved a lot, actually, because it's right in front of another cage (we're a little cramped at the moment) so I have to move it to get to the other cage. Also when he's having a bad night I'll move him into my bedroom. He does some circles while I move him but otherwise no obvious change in behavior. It's when things move INSIDE his cage that I notice a differance.

Yeah, then move 1 item in his cage every day. Make it the same item for a while. Like a toy or hammock, or something. It will be upsetting, but he has to get used to it. You can do it, it will be hard, but think how satisfying it will be when you can put new toys in for him!

Subie, how did things go last night?

Er, not that great. I migrated his tunnel, which was probably my first mistake. His tunnel is his safety place inside the cage. He started banging around the rept again... glad it's made of screen, but he hit a pole pretty hard and that was my last straw. Moved the tunnel back, took him out and spent the rest of the night getting him settled down.

Now we're back to square one...

One day at a time. One day at a time. You sound a lot like me, your sympathy for him overwhelms you. But you need to do this, maybe with something else, not his safety net. I know how hard this is.

My problem is that I simply will not allow him to hurt himself. He can spin in all the circles he wants, run around like a maniac, but the minute physical harm is possible I intervene.

He's back to his running into the sides of the rept again. It's so frusterating after we worked so hard to get him to stop doing that.

I've already posted in the Rainbow Bridge section, but Dexter has crossed over. He was very clingy to me before, and would even go down into my bra. I did get bit when I sub Q-ed him, but I expected to. I will have to continue to work with his cagemate, Gizmo, she seems kind of lost tonight.
I hope that his story helps others, and that we can honor him and not give up on our babies. Sometimes it seems so hard, and that nothing we do makes it better. But he and I went a long way in our journey together. I just wish, so much, that it could have been longer. He was so much fun to play with, and such a lovey boy.
Dexter, honey, I love you and miss you. But, you are such a little hero, to quote Val. You are my inspiration, and I will keep helping others and other gliders who are scared. We will make them better.
Please, if you have a glider that has this issue, or think it does, post! Post what helps, and what doesn't. So many times, new owners give up their babies, because of this kind of issue, and they could be having a wonderful life together. Please help by telling your story.

Oh, Shawna, I am so sorry for your loss.

Thought I'd take a minute to update on Niko --

He's living with his cagemate, Mat, fulltime now. They're doing great together. Niko follows Mat around like a little puppy and tries to ride on his back. LOL... Mat is sooo tolerant of Niko. It's so cute to watch Niko follow Mat around and do everything that he does.

As for his stress level, it goes up and down randomly. Most of the time he has Mat to distract him from things that normally sent him into a panic. I'll still catch him doing circles and he still won't touch a wheel. But there is definite improvement and for that I'm grateful.

Shawna, It was great being able to talk to you and I'm so sorry about Dexter. My thoughts are with you.

I'll keep ya'll updated.

I take all that back. I just went to feed the babies and found Niko bouncing off the walls with a huge overgroomed spot on his head.

I'm kinda stressing here.

Oh, Cry! Has he still been getting 1 on 1 time with you? Of course he has, you can't stand it, if not! Maybe more time? I hope he settles in with his buddy. I wouldn't seperate them (don't know if that was in your head or not, but...) But watch them, like you always do. I think with time they'll settle in with each other, just with Niko's personality, it will take a while. ((((HUG)))) It will get better, it will.

Yeah, he's been getting one on one time when he wants it. Basically I give him the option of staying with Mat or coming with me to play. He nearly always chooses Mat but whenever he wants me I play with him until he hops back to their cage.

I wouldn't seperate them unless fur starts flying! LOL. Having a cagemate has been so good for him. I'm really confused by this new turn of events... I think we're going to hit the vet in the morning. The spot he's grooming on his head is quite red and raw looking. If it gets any worse we'll be going tonight.

Right now he's calmer. I moved their cage into my room for the night. *Sigh...* I know it'll get better. I just get frusterated with the one step foreward two steps back thing.

Anyway... thanks for letting me whine Shawna. LOL. It really does help knowing that someone knows what you're going through.

That ain't whinin'! LOL. How did they do after you moved them?
I got your text at about 9. I'm up, you can call anytime.

Okie dokie, quick recap for those who may be reading --

Niko decided to go nuts on me last night. He was crabbing, lunging, and refusing to let Mat out of their pouch. When I seperated them so that Mat could eat Niko bit and scratched my hands all to heck.

I called Shawna; discussed Niko realizing he's a glider and can rule the cage.

Got home, loved on my suddenly cuddly baby who was very happy to see me and very much missing his cagemate... I allowed them to sleep together under my supervision. They're both up and playing, eating, etc. normally. I have their cage right next to my bed along with a spare cage and a large piece of fleece (my hands are shredded enough. LOL.) just in case Niko decides to get crazy again. For now, all is well.

*Knock on wood!!!*

Shawna, you're awesome. Still. LOL. It's sooooo much easier to deal with things knowing you have a back up plan... call someone else! LOL!

I am here 24/7! I am glad he is doing better, and is with a momma that pays attention to the details. You are doing great

OMG! Niko ran in a wheel!

He hasn't touched one since I got him. But today I got my package for the LGG gift exchange and it had a brand new wodent wheel JR in it. Niko was up so I was sitting there talking to him, telling him he should try it out because it was a special gift from Haley... and he sniffed it, climbed in, sat there a minute then started running! I was so excited! LOL I know it's silly and just a little thing but I dunno... he's always been my "odd" glider and seeing him in a wheel makes him that much more "normal".

Needless to say, that wheel is his now. LOL.

On top of this his hair is growing back, he and his cagemate are getting along awesome, and he's gone a full four and a half days without bouncing off his cage. And he didn't even NOTICE when I moved a toy a few inches... noticed when I moved the pouch though, LOL, that went back. But we're getting somewhere!!!

Woohoo! I'm glad things are going so well for your boys!

I'm glad things are getting better!

Oh how I love my Nicky. Really, I do. But that boy is nuts! LOL!

The cage he and his mate are in is pretty small. So we've been working on switching cages (insert horror film music here). He's been doing well with me moving toys, etc. around. Well, I had him on my shoulder while I was putting some things in the new cage and... he hopped in. I held my breath, waiting for the world to stop turning or something. He made a little chirpy noise and his mate came to see what was going on. Next thing I know I've got two gliders happily exploring the new cage. No running in circles, no panicky running into things, no nothing. I know it's silly but I nearly cried. I think it's just knowing how he used to be and seeing his improvement so quickly... I expected weeks at least before we could switch cages.

Okay, I'll stop rambling now.

So good to hear, Subie!!! Yea!

Time for a Niko update!!!

He's doing better and better each day. He's still attached to that Jr. Wodent... that he barely fits in. LOL. But he won't run in anything else! He's dividing his time between me and Mat now. I guess the novelty of having a cagemate wore off a bit.

Now that the cage switching went over smoothly... we have to focus on our next obstacle - neutering. Any advice for getting an already stressed out critter through a stress inducing surgery???

No advice from me - Just a "good luck!" And "hooray!" for Niko getting along better!

I, thank God, never had to deal with that. I would say that with how he is, have them put the e-collar on before he wakes up. Someone else with more experience may disagree, but, that is my thought on that. You have my number if you need help.

I've not dealt w/a glider w/Niko's level of anxiety and I'm very torn here. I've had 2 gliders sm after neuter and a 3rd sm resulting in a tail amp. At the times the sm's happened, these gliders hadn't been w/me long. 2 were rescues that had come in less than a week prior. However, none of them were showing the type of anxiety you're describing. They were all upset being in the collar, but the collars were absolute necessities. Hopefully Niko won't sm after the neuter. You'll need to discuss the procedure w/your vet prior and make sure he's aware of Niko's anxiety issues. If he leaves the pom in place and doesn't use any glue or stiches, Niko may not realize what happened. I don't like to use the pain med w/valium mixed in, but it may be something to talk to your vet about. I don't know if you've pm'd Xfilefan w/this question so I'm going to ask her to come read here. She'd be a good one to hear from on this.

I used the Torbuterol w/valium suspension with my SM, Riker with very good results-it's a very low dose when in the mix. The valium is anti anxiety. I also used it on my girl for a short time that would seizure every time you touched her with good results when we had to have her teeth worked on and suddenly do a lot of handling and she kept going into bad seizures...it was that or let the infection kill her-she HAD to be handled. I think that would be a very good option for a glider with issues like yours. Added to the pain med, what it does is lessen how much they care about what is going on. I wouldn't recommend it for long term, but post op in this case most definitely, no doubt at all should a collar be necessary. I don't recommend this one lightly-meds should be used when needed, and not when not. Although there shouldn't be any side effects other than normal ones (it makes them a bit sleepy, can kill appetite but so can the pain meds) if used short term, it is a useful tool when anxiety and stress is an issue. I'm not sure what long term effects could be, though my vet alluded to the fact there were possibly some to be concerned with long term, we didn't go into details as it wasn't a long term thing, and in fact with Lyah even shorter than we'd anticipated before she decided she'd allow handling long enough for meds and examining her mouth without stressing herself into a life threatening seizure. I think we used it 4 or 5 days with her, not mixed with a pain med and at a bit higher dose than Riker had. Riker was on his about a month with no observable issues from it, but it did help with his stressing. I've also used the combo for a few days on a couple other rescues going through medical issues with good results.

Thanks Jen! I will most certainly keep that in mind.

I'm thinking about not getting him neutered after all. Since I take in rescues it's been, "every male through this door gets neutered!", but I think that if it risks his health, it's not worth it. His cagemate on the other hand won't be so lucky... LOL!

Subie, how is Niko doing?
If they continue to get along, then you should be fine leaving Niko intact. Give him a kiss for me!

Well, it's been a while since I've posted! It's been hectic around here lately~~~

Niko is still doing awesome. His hair is nearly grown completely back and his signs of anxiety are almost nonexistant. He still gets a little scared if something major changes but he deals with it a lot better. For example, if he wakes up while I'm cleaning the cage and it's empty. I've learned to carry them with me while doing this... otherwise he freaks out.

Neutering is still in the future, hopefully. More like something I'd like to get done but no big deal if it isn't.

I'll tell ya, it's been an experience with Niko. There were times when I was so close to giving up out of sheer frustration - I'm so glad that I didn't! He's such a sweetheart and he deserves a stress free, spoiled life, and trust me he's getting it! LOL!

What a wonderful update! to you & Niko! Great job!