ive posted on another site about this but i just wanted to get a few more different views on this what happens is my glider doesnt seem to be scared of me but sometimes he bites hard! well he eventually stop or well i have to specially train him in some kind away to teach him that this is bad. also ive only had him for about a week

Well, it only being a week, he is still getting used to you. Give him some time. He may bite in the far future but normally it's just Tasting you. Haha.

He's young & you are both new to each other...it will pass. In the meantime, just blow on him when he's biting you, he'll get the picture!

When he bites make a "pssst" noise to tell him NO, it is like what mom and dad would do to him. My Zoey will sometimes do a light bite on me when she doesn't want me to mess with her. I do that and pick her up anyway, then she is fine.

okay thanks:D

I have found the best thing to do is buy apple bitters. Spray it on your hands and rub it in right before you handle the glider. The glider will taste it and being soooo bitter it wont bite again. Do this for a couple weeks and should deter them from biting again. You can buy the aple bitters at Exotic nutrition for $6.95, this bottle will last forever,

Yes, it will go away, but you must be consistent with bonding (wearing him in a bonding pouch during the day and doing tent time at night).
Also, "PSST" is like "no" for suggies. Do that every time he bites hard and the behavior will eventually go away (again, consistency is required on your part).
Good luck!

Apple bitters is not recommended for suggies! It is a petrolium based product. They also recommended wearing gloves when using the product. Not to get it in contact with hands or face. They say "works on dogs"....but honestly not recommended due to the damage it can cause to both the pets membranes and furniture etc. Please use the "pssttt" method. It will take longer but well worth the results.

Ive been using it for years. It says right on the bottle for bite control of sugar gliders only, & all natural both 100% glider and human safe. Oh, it even says non- petroleum product/water soluable. The instructions say 2 sprays directly on each hand the rub in and pat dry immidiately before handling glider. Mine didnt come from exotic nutrition but the ingredients are the same.

I have never seen any that was "sugar glider only" but if that's the case then ok. I myself would not want to take the chance that any suggie would fear or hate being in my hand because of the bitter flavor or smell it gets. IMHO the natural approach would have much better results. I'll stick with that and take my bites.

My hand raised female was bad and still sometimes is with the biting and I have always used and still use the "PSST" sound or a light blow and she learns quickly that means NO. She stops for awhile and may revert back to it but she is still young and wild natured so I just teach her as needed with the same technique and she listens every time. I would never use that bitter stuff. I would not want her to become fearful of my hands either because of the taste. Sometimes she just nips me in a playful way wanting me to play with her.

It's actually odorless too, which really suprised me!

I just cannot get behind the idea that Donna is going to bite me, no matter what! She strikes like a snake whenever my hand goes into her pouch or nest. I hear everyone saying, "don't flinch, don't pull back, say tsst, blow in her face..." but I am scared! It HURTS! I have been able to bond so well with Bella, but Donna crabs and strikes at me. I can't just leave the little dear in the cage and ignore her. That would be horrible! I carry her around in the pouch and talk to her, but whenever I peek in, she starts up!

What helped with my lunger and biter was putting a licky treat on my finger and then putting my finger in the pouch. Yeah, he'd lunge and bite, and yeah, it was really scary, but as soon as he hit the applesauce he'd just start licking instead. It was the only thing that helped. If your glider really sinks her teeth in, try doing this with a plastic thimble over your fingers possibly to protect your finger (DON'T go metal as your glider might damage her teeth).

Some gliders are just way harder to work with than others. While gliders are rather "mouthy" animals and mine love to use their teeth to groom me, and nip me to let me know if they're upset, what you are describing sounds like a pouch protecter glider, and with time and patience I'm sure your glider can greatly improve. Kirby will still crab often when I open up the pouch, but he no longer lunges and bites.

Thank you! I have tried the licky treats. BML or honey seems to work for her. She will even take small pieces of avocado from me, but the P level worries me. And I can't even BEGIN to pick up a mealie! I have to skewer them with a toothpick. LOL I know, WIMP! Anything else she just grabs then drops into the bottom of the pouch. I have her sleeping in a pouch right now and am going to work with her some more today...

i had the same problem with touching those meal worms but if you grab the middle they cant put there nasty fingers on you but after you actually grab them even if they do get you its not as bad as i thought it would be

I have twin girls- one is a nipper and the other one is out for blood. And of course when your sticking your hand into their pouch - you never know till it's too late - which one you are getting!!!! I have been putting them into separate bonding pouches. That way I know which one I'm working with. But yes, it is scary. You know it's coming and it's going to hurt- but exactly when!! I've been there!!

mine love to bite my elbows, feet, and ankles!! I know its just them grooming me, but it hurts. I saw what daron was talking about on exotic nutritions site. Its called Better Bitters and does say harmless to sugar gliders. I am wondering if anyone else knows about this product and if its worth it? i even try to wear extra layers..

I took it today!!! YEAH ME!!! I put my fist in Donna's bonding pouch (as a member of another forum suggested so that the skin would be taut) and she munched on my knuckles A LOT! I didn't pull away! (Though I DID flinch once!) I blew in her face a couple of times to show her I didn't like it, and she eventually just curled back up in the bottom of her pouch to sleep! PROGRESS!!! She didn't lunge at me like usual, and she didn't put her little hand up to fend me off, and she crabbed a lot less than usual... I wonder if wearing the bonding pouch for several hours while she slept is helping??? Whatever, I am going to do it again tomorrow! I start working 12 hour days Wednesday (3 days a week), and nobody else will be home. Will I lose all this progress with my girls without someone messing with them during the day every day??? I can still do it the other 4 days a week...

I read somewhere that they crab if you look st them because they think you're going to eat them. I don't look at my gliders when I'm taming them, just for this reason, and they crab much less. Once they bond with you, you can look at and kiss them or st least, I do. All my babies are used to being kissed!

I really don't see how this product will help with bonding. It might help to make them stop biting, but then they are scared of your hands. The whole point of bonding is to get them comfortable with you & your scent. I see it as this: if my boyfriend had that stuff they use to stop biting their nails that tastes like pepper on his hands every time I wouldn't want to be near him! That stuff gets all over the place and in your eyes if you forget its on your hands. I don't know exactly how that product works, but i still wouldn't want to use it near my babies. I know I'm new, but I wouldn't chance it.

PS it says it is just water and bitters. Common ingredients in bitters include gentian, quinine (which is used in antimalarial drugs), orange peels and Angostura bark. So yes everything is natural but is everything safe for gliders?? And technically the package only says safe for birds, then other websites add and gliders too.

My Bashful bites the back of my neck! I can't stand it, but I endure it, because it's always while he is grooming me. I don't want to affect our relationship. Once I am sure the bonding is secure, I will distract him LOL

yea i was thinking last night that it probably isn't good for bonding. and besides, my girls love to lick me too and i wouldn't want to discourage them from doing that too.

My Bennyface is a biter (of EVERYTHING) but I decided not to use any thing on my hands because of the advice from people here. He loves to lick honey and things from my fingers, and I don't want to take that trust away.

After some time, he no longer bites me. He licks my fingers, and if there is nothing there, he just goes off to play.