Fancy's Flying Furballs: A Sugar Glider Sanctuary

07/12/2024

Bullwinkle and Sweetie Pie update:

I've been leaving the small doors on the side of their cage open when I'm changing out their food, but they hadn't come during that time. So, yesterday afternoon, I opened the big door on the front of their cage and left it open. A little while later, went in to find them climbing on the outside of their cage and on my bed a bit. Bullwinkle got startled when I moved and ran over to the bedroom door and climbed it. For those who don't know, I've replaced most of my doors inside the house with screen doors. It took a moment or two to coax Bullywinkle to climb onto my arm so I could take him back to where he felt safest. During their time out, didn't hear any squabbling with the gliders in the other cage in that room. Closed up their cage thinking both of them were back in their pouch so that I could let the other gliders out for a while.

A couple of hours later, heard squabbling coming from the bedroom. Went in to find Sweetie-Pie and Flower on my bed. Sweetie would go up to Flower and try to sniff his behind the way dogs do, and that would set Flower off protesting. Flower finally bolted to the door and I was able to pick up Sweetie and put him back in his cage. Went to the door to check on Flower. He was okay. Luckily, Bambi didn't come out of their cage until I was holding Flower, or it might have been a rather worse situation.

After that success, decided to try letting Bullwinkle and Sweetie-Pie have run of the room while I slept today. I opened the big door on their cage just before going to bed. Not long after the lights went out, heard them come out of their cage. A few minutes later, one of them was rubbing against the arm I had curled around my pillow, scent marking it. Felt them running across me on top of the covers a few times before I fell asleep.

When I woke up, both boys were both back in their banana pouch, which I had put into their nest box. Closed up their cage and opened the other to let Bambi, Flower, and Nagaina have some cage-free time.

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04/12/2024

Today was an eventful day for Bullwinkle and Sweetie-Pie. A mesh tent I ordered for them arrived, and they had their first check-up with our vet. Fun bit was having to travel with one of the cats. Luckily each species had it's own carrier. Vet gave the boys a clean bill of health.

They were in their banana pouch inside the carrier when I got home. Pulled the pouch out and put it in the mesh tent and left them for a while. Came back, and they hadn't left the pouch. So, the pouch went into my shirt and I opened the cage so Bambi, Flower, and Nagaina could get some run time. Bully and Sweetie stayed with me for several hours, asleep in their pouch. When they started showing movement like they wanted to climb out, I went to the bedroom and put them in the tent by themselves for a bit.

Grabbed their yogurt smoothie, a couple of grapes, some pecans, and some giant mealworms and went to spend some time with them a little later. They ate the grapes and each ate a mealworm. Neither showed much interest in the pecans. At one point, Sweetie-Pie actually came over and crawled across my lap, and, at another point, gave me a kiss when I leaned over as he was climbing across the mesh in front of me. Bullwinkle spent most of his time hiding behind a pillow or crawling under the blanket, but he did come out once and approach me from behind, rubbing against me as he walked around my hip until I could see him. He let me pet him some, but he's still very shy. Sweetie, though he's not climbing on me much, is more amenable to being petted.

I've put their nest box in the tent. So, when they are done exploring and want to go back to sleep, I can simply grab the box and put it back in the cage. Will try to get some photos tomorrow (Wednesday).

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28/11/2024

Monday, picked up two more unaltered male gliders that needed a new home. Bullwinkle and Sweetie-Pie are about 6-7 yrs. old and weren't handled much by their previous owners. I was told that Bullwinkle was darker of color and a biter. They were in a banana pouch when I got them. After getting home, I put the pouch in my t-shirt until I could get a few more things in place for them. They came out to eat once I had food down for them, but ran when I put my hand in the cage.

Tuesday afternoon, I pulled the sleeping gliders in their banana pouch out of the cage and stuffed it in my t-shirt again. There was some crabbing when I first pulled them out, but not as much as on Monday. Put the pouch back in the cage that evening, and they were out running around a bit before I put their food down. Sweetie-Pie, who is a white faced glider, allowed me to pet him a little, but Bullwinkle ran to the bottom of the cage.

Repeated the pouch in the shirt trick today (Wednesday) and kept them with me longer. At different times, I dropped a little food in their pouch since they'd already wiped out what was in their dishes before I woke up, again. I put them in their cage before I started prepping food. When I went to put food in the cages, both boys were up and running around the cage. I put my hand in, and Bullwinkle didn't run away. He actually let me pet him! Tomorrow, I'll be away from the house for a good part of the day, but plan on spending time with them when I get home.

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12/11/2024

Raksha and Messua came out of pouch together. In the past year, Messua dropped a lot of weight, from 112 grams down to 62. According to the vet, it looked like she was being bullied by her sisters and brother. So I had separated her from them, but added Raksha to her cage because they got along well.

Now that Raksha is gone, I tested the waters to see if Messua would get along with TJ and Flash. I had taken Meme and Flash to the vet in the same carrier a couple of weeks ago, and they seemed to do okay together. Night before last, I tried putting Meme into a pouch where Flash was sleeping, and Flash was not happy with that.

Today, I let Messua and TJ meet up. They sniffed at each other a bit, and then TJ crawled onto her back and started scent marking her. Me didn't have a problem with it. After about 30 seconds of being on her back, he crawled over her head, down in front of her nose, and then started using the scent gland on his head to mark the scent gland on her chest. This lasted about 30 seconds, and then he continued crawling along underneath her until he looped back onto her back. She just sat there and let him do it.

Next I put TJ and Messua into a cage together and they did well. So, I pulled Flash out of the pouch where he had been sleeping and put him into the cage with them. I heard a little fussiness while I was in another room, but not much. When I came back into the living room to check on them, all three were in the large nest box together. I put a hand in to make sure they were all there, and got fussed at for interrupting their nap.

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09/11/2024

Raksha crossed the Rainbow Bridge while I was holding her in one hand up next to my chest and typing a post on her condition with the other. Deleted what I had written to write what I'm writing now. Will wrap her in some pretty fabric and take her to the vet for necropsy on Monday.😭😭😭

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09/11/2024

Got about 6 hrs. of sleep. Checked on Raksha and she's still alive. Looks like she may have eaten some of her yogurt smoothie, but not sure. She was in the hamster wheel where I'd left her last night. She was by herself and cold. So, I tied a scarf around my torso to create a pocket in my t-shirt, and she's resting there now and warming up.

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09/11/2024

Despite the fall, Raksha can still move around like normal. She kept climbing out of my shirt, and she bites me, not very hard, anytime I try to do something she doesn't want to do. So far, she's not eaten anything more than a few bites of grape.

I took her to the kitchen because I discovered that there was p**p smeared on her underside. Held her nether regions under a running faucet and cleaned them and her tail off, then used some paper towels to get most of the water off. Discovered that she's rather swollen and I'm not sure if it's her paracloacal gland or her cloaca.

After this, she hung out in my shirt for a bit. When she came out again, I used a mascara brush to brush out the fur around her back legs and tail to try and help them dry faster. She's moving around, she can p*e and defecate some, but not like normal. I've put her back in her room so she has access to food. She went past her food and water and climbed into a hamster wheel and is just sitting there. If she makes it through the weekend, I'll be dropping her off at the vets again on Monday.

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09/11/2024

Monday, took Raksha to the vet. She'd started hissing like she might be in heat on Friday, but on Sunday, she was still hissing. This meant it wasn't because she was in heat. I checked her and she had black p**p smeared all over her back side, and most of what was coming out was soft. Gave her a dose of antibiotics and put her in with her sister Messua.

Monday, I took her to the vet. Vet said he couldn't see anything specifically wrong, and suggested I add more yogurt to their fruit smoothie so it could act as a probiotic. I was supposed to call him on Thursday to let him know how she was doing, but didn't remember that I was supposed to do that until after the office had closed, and he doesn't work on Fridays.

Tonight, I found her by herself in a pouch they don't use that often. Her backside and most of her tail were wet, but not covered in p**p. She climbed onto my shoulder and stayed there for a bit, but when I went to sweep off the food shelf in one of the cages, she let go and fell on the floor, nearly a 5' drop, landed on her back, and couldn't roll over to get upright. I grabbed her up, gave her a dose of antibiotics, tied a scarf around my torso to hold my shirt in place, and put her inside my shirt. Gave her a mealworm, but she didn't eat it. Gave her a piece of grape, and she ate a tiny bit of it. Put their fresh food out first, but she didn't touch it.

I have a feeling that she's not going to make it through the weekend. :(

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25/10/2024

Took Flash and Messua to the vet today. Flash has been pulling fur out of the top of his head, which is a sign that he's feeling stressed. Messua used to weigh over 100 grams, but over the past year, she'd dropped nearly half of her weight.

Turns out, Flashes last bottom tooth was infected. It came out easily. He's on pain killers for 5 days and antibiotics for 10.

Messua has lost so much weight, that they were unable to draw any blood. Vet told me to separate her from her colony and see if we could get some weight onto her. She's part of the Jungle Book crew in the sewing room. So, tonight she's in the cage with a full compliment of food, while the rest of the crew has run of the room. Leela, her big sister, is supposed to be on a diet. So, the rest of the group is getting smaller portions than everyone else. Here's hoping I can get enough weight and fluids into Messua that will allow the vet to do a blood draw and figure out what's going on.

I love the Jungle Book crew, but they've all had some major health issues. From Raksha's calcium issues and Grey Brother's rare infection to Mava and Bagheera's untimely deaths for unknown health reason, Mowgli's injuries from fighting with TJ, and now Messua has dropped weight. The only one in the group that doesn't appear to have any health issues yet is Nagaina, who is currently in with the boys Bambi and Flower.

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19/10/2024

Added some photos to the albums for TJ and Flash. I have more photos that need to be sorted and added, but haven't had time to do so.

Also, most of my photos turn out like this unless they're sitting still to eat. They can be looking at the camera, and between the time I press the button and it makes the shutter sound, the gliders have turned to leave.

19/10/2024

Flash and Ivy were born in 2014, and they came to live with me in March of 2016. Both of them were very skittish. It has taken several years, but Flash no longer runs from me or crabs at me when I put my hand in their pouch to pet them. He's curious, but not aggressive, and still a bit skittish. He's a very sweet little boy. He shared space with Apollo and Max until they passed. Now, he shares space with TJ, the youngest glider in the house.

19/10/2024

04/10/2024

Laid down around 8:30 to try to sleep. It was another hour before Bambi stopped coming over to scent mark Jacquotte. I think he was happy because I'd left Flower and Nagaina's cage open so he could have more company.

Woke around noon. Went to the kitchen and prepped Jacquotte a small bowl with some water and another diced grape. I put her inside my shirt and put the bow on my chest next to her after I laid back down in bed. She tipped the bowl and most of the water ran down my shoulder, but she ate most of the grape.

Woke up again about 2:30, and she was still alive. However, she'd completely lost her sense of balance; she'd slowly been losing the use of her hind legs, I'm guessing, arthritis and now it was almost completely gone; and I'm fairly certain she was in pain. I put her in a small cage with the food I'd prepped for her and Bambi, and she was able to eat part of a piece of cheese.

Called the vet about doing the humane thing for her. I wanted to go back with her, but, apparently, something has changed and I was told that, for insurance purposes, I wasn't allowed back in the lab while they put her to sleep. I brought a pretty piece of fabric to use as her funeral shroud when they send her to be cremated. I already have an urn for her and her siblings. She was the last living tie I had to Fancy, the glider who started me on this journey. I love you, Jacquotte de la Hays, and miss you already!

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04/10/2024

Not knowing how long Jacquotte was trapped on the bottom of the cage, figured she was probably dehydrated. I offered her some water from a syringe and she perked up and drank it. Offered her a mealworm, but she didn't want it. Tried a piece of diced grape that was about a cm squared and she ate the whole piece. Gave her a second one, and she ate that one as well. Going to try giving her more water and see how she does.

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04/10/2024

I think that I'm going to lose Jacquotte today. She's been eating well, but having trouble getting around. She turned 12 yrs. old Sept. 15th. She's the last of Fancy's babies.

I went in to pull her out of her nest box so she could eat her mealworms, and both she and Bambi were missing from the box. I checked other places they tend to nest, including the pouch with Flower and Nagaina. It wasn't until I pulled a flashlight and was trying to see all parts of the bottom of the cage that I saw the little bit of Jacquottes tail sticking out between the bars on the bottom of the cage, in the front left corner, under a running wheel. I pushed the wheel out of the way and took a moment getting her claws loose from the pet screen. She was cold, but still alive.

I've got her in my shirt with a small fuzzy blanket, trying to warm her up. She's not moving much, and has no interest in eating. I've been worrying that this was going to happen soon. At least I will have her with me and can comfort her as she passes. I hate it when they pass and I'm not there to comfort them.

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01/10/2024

Our sanctuary is in an area that didn't get much more than rain and some high winds, but not so much damage. We've got friends in NC who have adopted animals from Brother Wolf, and they have proven to be a wonderful organization. If you can, please help them out.

For that matter, if you know of a rescue that suffered damage, please let us know and we'll share their posts so that those who can help will know who needs it.

17/09/2024

For years now I've been giving the gliders a yogurt smoothie made primarily of fruit juice, a heaping spoon of Greek yogurt, and Glideraide. Last night, I decided to try something different. I diced up half of an over-ripe mango, half of a ripe banana, added some Glideraide and about 1/4 cup of pineapple juice to a bowl and used my hand blender to puree it all together. It came out like a thick sauce, almost a pudding like stiffness. Gave each pair of gliders two scoops of it using my smallest dough scoop, each scoop being 1-1.5 teaspoons.

Usually, there's at least half of the smoothie left in their little bowls when I go to gather the old food. Checked a little bit ago as I was starting prep on their fresh food, and all of the new mango-banana sauce was gone! I think they liked it.

I've got another 1.5 over-ripe mango's left. Will order another couple of bananas to mix up more of this concoction and store it in the freezer until I need it. In the meantime, I have enough of the first batch to last me about a week or more :)

13/09/2024

Earlier this week, saw light glint off something where TJ's eye was removed. Took him to the vet to make sure the eye wasn't getting infected. Luckily, it wasn't. There was one stitch left that hadn't dissolved. So, the vet removed it and sent him home.

In other news, Jacquotte has started doing something her mother, Fancy, would do. When I pull her out to give her mealworms or to put her up after she consumes them, she'll crawl into the collar of my shirt, and just hang out in my shirt. She just started doing that this week. She's never done it before. I'm tying a scarf around my ribcage, just below my bust, to keep her from falling out. She turns 12 yrs. old on the 15th, and she's having issues with movement in her back legs. They still work, but I think she's suffering from arthritis. Will try to get her in to see the vet next week.