Bonding with sugar gliders can be very discouraging and stressful… I am taking the emotion out of it, looking at this through a difference lens. I know you want to love on your baby… all new owners do… but your new baby may not want to love on you yet and you need to respect that!
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Rushing these steps and/ or chasing your glider around the cage with your hand is not going to help. It will set you back days or months in your bond.
Burbon's Video: • Building A Relationshi...
Bonding has a LOT to do with getting to know their personalities, and getting over your insecurities and your fears about them. Don’t try to HOLD them, let them hold on to you. Hands can be very scary to some sugar gliders. Look like a mouth.
Open environment pouches can work really well when gliders are learning to trust you… they see you coming and don’t just hear a “scary new sound”
If you find something that makes your glider’s breathing speed up or crab or bite, try to avoid doing that thing. Do not change your shampoo, lotion, perfume cologne while you are in the process of bonding. This confuse the gliders because thy are very sent oriented and they may not recognize you and could set your bonding back.One thing that you can do at any stage of bonding and you never have to stop doing if you don’t want to is putting little blankets of fleece that smell like you in their sleeping pouch.
*Ground 0= Glider is lunging
(glider is lunging/ and crabbing when you even come close to the cage.)
Use move chair closer technique “it’s ok” talk to them in a calm voice.
-when to move on… when lunging stops or dramatically decreases. You can sit by the cage without them trying to attack you.
*Step 1= Sit by the cage and talk/ read/ sit quietly (2 hrs a day) one hour during day and 1 at night) Open environment pouch would be great! Offer treats through the bars.
-Move to the next step when the glider takes the treat from you regularly and no longer crabs or lunches when out of the pouch or they see you. They may still crab from the pouch or before they see you and recognize you.
*Step 2= Try a zippered bonding pouch. (if they attack and crab and try to escape from the pouch after the first few min… discontinue the bonding pouch and continue doing step 1 longer) Bonding touch, hold pouch tight Burbon says to hum silent night or a soothing song. Little fleece blankets that you have had in their sleeping pouch can be placed in the bonding bag to help them feel more at home when training to do this… treats never hurt to reinforce them staying the the bag either.
-Continue to do the bonding bag zipped up even when you move to the next step. At some point you may decide to swap the zippered bonding bag for a no sew bra pouch. • Learn From My Mistakes... Only move to this step when they are not trying to escape from the zippered bag. Any time you have your glider out of a secure space (cage or zippered bag) make sure you are in a “slider safe” room until you feel “reasonably confident” that they will not jump off of you. • How To Know That Your ...
*Step 3= Continue the bonding bag daily and then you have your choice of what kind of “lifestyle bonding” you want to choose. This is where you need to decide what kind of daily activity will work best for you and your gliders. Many decide to do tent time with their gliders. Some choose to do bathroom bonding time where they sit in the bathtub and let the gliders climb on them there. Some decide to “glider-proof” a whole room and spend time letting them run around and explore in that room with them. (I have personally tried and enjoyed elements of all of these forms of bonding) Ultimately I chose to do the arguably harder 4th form of bonding. (Training my gliders to come to me and stay on me) This is what I show on my channel in many videos. If this is ultimately what you want to do with your gliders, you can try these other forms of bonding first BUT you may need to retrain the hobbit your gliders will develop of jumping off of you. This will mean a much longer time in a “safe room” training your gliders to stay on you before you venture into walking around the house with them.
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