Benny & Rosie

This glider pair was surrendered to Mending Souls rescue a few months ago. We noticed some issues upon intake and wanted to get these guys established on a GOOD diet before assessing them for potential adoption, and the time has come that they are available to go! Please read the entire bio carefully before reaching out. About them....<br/>These guys are 6 years old. That could be considered senior but also could be mid life, as gliders can live 10-15 years depending on their care & genetics. Their first owner purchased them both as young babies and got them neutered so they were not ever a breeding pair (unsure if they are related). She raised them for a few years with a good diet and regular handling. They were friendly (for gliders) and never bit her. However when she moved away from her parents home she made the decision to leave the gliders temporarily in her mom's care. Her intention was to get pet-friendly housing after the first lease ended, but things didn't work out and she decided to surrender the gliders once realizing that she wouldn't be able to accommodate them. <br/>It was at least a year that the gliders were in her moms care, which was different from how they were originally cared for. Mom wasn't as comfortable handling the gliders so they were not coming out of the cage regularly. They were used to having regular nail trims but no longer receiving those (The daughter said she could still take them out when visiting home & she doesn't believe they became less friendly during that time) but Mom did tell me they "need their nails trimmed!" and that turned out to be very much needed. Mom also bought loads of treats to spoil the babies & threw off the balance to their diet as a result. While she loved the gliders and bonded with them over treats, too much "junk food" with small animals can become a BIG problem pretty fast! It was clear to me that the male was obese but the owner informed me that he only became that way more recently, during moms care. <br/>After intake I was able to notice more health issues, mostly resulting from their change in diet. Not only was the male clearly obese, but I found that the female was also very skinny. This can happen when a pair of animals get fed together and 1 fights the other to hog their meals. It can be difficult to simultaneously feed more for the benefit of the smaller animal but also put the larger 1 on a diet! (It can be done though, and I will explain their feeding needs to the potential adopters interested in learning more.) I do not believe the mom was under feeding these guys and that the female wasn't eating. I believe the female was withering away due to malnutrition. My 2nd indicator that this may be the case was due to how she was walking. Remember those nail trims I mentioned earlier? Well trims can become a more and more important factors in glider care when the sugars start to get older and have weaker joints! Mom was right that these guys DID NEED their nails cut because they were getting caught on their pouch and the bonding tent, and every step they took was yanking on their feet... (It will be a necessary part of their ongoing care for the new owners to learn how to restrain gliders for nail trims. I can also help teach this but you must have the confidence to do it, or find a vet who offers this specifically for gliders). It was sad to watch their mobility struggles. But aside from that I noticed the female really not even using her hind legs properly. I immediately clipped their nails to see what difference that made. The male was a little awkward but okay while the female really had some dragging going on. My first suspicion was early stage of hing leg paralysis - something that many gliders suffer and eventually die from when they aren't eating a balance diet with proper vitamins!! I put them in a "hospital cage" setup which is a smaller cage that doesn't give them room to fall. I started them right away on a fresh diet with a real vitamin supplements. The female was so happy to lap up their food every day and the chonky male was not picky either. I noticed that when given the cereal on the side (which should be a fairly balanced food that they also eat) the female wouldnt touch it. So if you aren't giving fresh foods or monitoring how they eat, it would be very easy for the male to get bigger while the female was essentially starving herself & only eating sugary treats. For this pair I will be REQUIRING that the owner keeps them on the TPG diet. <br/>After a few months with me I can see the female doing much better. The owner had told me that the female was more shy and the male was more outgoing, which is probably true if you're talking about play personalities because he's definitely more confident, but if you ask me I wouldn't say shes "shy" and hes "friendlier". What Ive observed from their feeding behaviors is that he's more bold/dominant and she is just a little more passive. I have watched her be SO THANKFUL for the food that she hasn't appeared shy at all. She is so eager to see me coming and lets me put my hand in the cage without getting defensive at all. Food can go a long way with bonding!! With the male I see that he has the potential to bully her for food and be crabby towards you if he's sleeping and doesn't want to be woken up. Im sure bonding with some treats would be easy to gain his affections but I have him on a strict "no treat" diet currently and his adopters will need to be very sparing with the treats. Taking gliders out in the evening is always helpful too, as they are nocturnal animals and prefer to NOT be woken up in the middle of the day. The male is beginning to lose a little weight and I believe they will have many more good years left in their lifetime if quality diet is maintained!<br/>This pair is pretty friendly during tent time and they would be a lovely pair for the right owners. I always try to set realistic expectations with exotic pets though. Sugar gliders in general are not calm cuddly animals! If you've never had them before and you're imagining little soft babies you can hold, that's not what you'll get when I say these are friendly gliders. They are prey animals who dont want to be held down. They climb on you. They need to be kept contained in a cage or tent and not let loose to bounce around / get lost inside the house. They can be aggressive if you aren't respectful of how you handle them. Bonding is a process that takes a little time. They generally are NOT good childrens pets. But if you think you're ready to get a pair of sugar gliders, these guys would be a good choice for temperament. <br/>I will have some questioning to screen for the right adopters. You'll need to let me know what research you've done, what cage you have, what brand of pouches and wheel and toys you've ordered or plan to buy. The internet has a lot of "sugar glider things" for sale that are not safe at all. So I don't take "we've owned them before" as an answer. It's nothing personal but I need to know what you think you know so I can make sure you're properly informed. The things sold at pet stores ROUTINELY kill sugar gliders and I constantly hear "we didn't know!!". I take my job very seriously to prevent those tragedies from happening whenever I can help it. If you're not patient enough to have a bit of a chat you're not ready to care for these guys. These animals are a big commitment. <br/>The adoption fee on the pair will be $380. If you're interested to know more please send a message!

This glider pair was surrendered to Mending Souls rescue a few months ago. We noticed some issues upon intake and wanted to get these guys established on a GOOD diet before assessing them for potential adoption, and the time has come that they are available to go! Please read the entire bio carefully before reaching out. About them....
These guys are 6 years old. That could be considered senior but also could be mid life, as gliders can live 10-15 years depending on their care & genetics. Their first owner purchased them both as young babies and got them neutered so they were not ever a breeding pair (unsure if they are related). She raised them for a few years with a good diet and regular handling. They were friendly (for gliders) and never bit her. However when she moved away from her parents home she made the decision to leave the gliders temporarily in her mom's care. Her intention was to get pet-friendly housing after the first lease ended, but things didn't work out and she decided to surrender the gliders once re

This glider pair was surrendered to Mending Souls rescue a few months ago. We noticed some issues upon intake and wanted to get these guys established on a GOOD diet before assessing them for potential adoption, and the time has come that they are available to go! Please read the entire bio carefully before reaching out. About them....
These guys are 6 years old. That could be considered senior but also could be mid life, as gliders can live 10-15 years depending on their care & genetics. Their first owner purchased them both as young babies and got them neutered so they were not ever a breeding pair (unsure if they are related). She raised them for a few years with a good diet and regular handling. They were friendly (for gliders) and never bit her. However when she moved away from her parents home she made the decision to leave the gliders temporarily in her mom's care. Her intention was to get pet-friendly housing after the first lease ended, but things didn't work out and she decided to surrender the gliders once realizing that she wouldn't be able to accommodate them.
It was at least a year that the gliders were in her moms care, which was different from how they were originally cared for. Mom wasn't as comfortable handling the gliders so they were not coming out of the cage regularly. They were used to having regular nail trims but no longer receiving those (The daughter said she could still take them