Stress

Gliders stress. You know it, I know it, and they know it. They can stress about stressing. What causes stress, how do you know that it causes stress, and how do you combat it? I want to know what you know, think and do.

Illness causes stress, the actual illness, and our reaction to it. I combat it, by trying to correct the problem immediatly. Vet, meds, hospital cage, special food, heaters, weigh them, check on them during the day, swap out the toys immediatly if they aren't played with, put in something they will play with, clean, clean, clean. Then, I get online, ask everyone else what to do, take some pictures, STOP IT!

What on earth are you doing to that poor glider? If you have the flu and someone keeps after you and your room like that, it's going to stress you out, too! But, you're trapped and can't leave. Don't speak the same language, do you can't say "Hey, sleepin' here, come back later" Why would you do that to your glider?

There are many ways around stressing your glider out even more. And just as many ways to reduce stress, bring on that "OHHHHMMMM" meditation feeling back to your glider room. Get ready, the ideas are coming. Tried and true, tested and trusted ideas and knowledge. Right here, from experts in glider stress.

You. Quit looking around, yes, you, the one reading this post right now. You know about glider stress. You've seen it and dealt with it, and did a good job with it. So now, share, talk about it. Say something you did, that I might not think of. Say something you did that made it worse, I don't want to do that. Say something you did, that was an "ah-ha" moment. Teach me, and everyone else that comes here for hope.

We've seen them. It's a trickle right now. "I was told I should come here if there is something wrong with baby". But, we need food for the flood, when they come. That knowledge up there, in your head, thats food. This board, is the table. The arrangement of the knowledge on this board is the meal. So, get cooking! Are you in? Start typing!

We have minds to feed, and they want stress tonight.

Ummm...let them be? As much as possible? Like, if you have to give meds, fine - but don't keep checking on them every 20 minutes while they're trying to get some much needed sleep?

My Destiny is very easily stressed. She is what I would call a high strung glider. She has been known to pull joeys and to pull out her eyebrows when stressed. I have learned over the years of being owned by her what "triggers" her stress.

1. She is paired to a very mellow glider Aidan, who loves her to pieces and that is very calming to her......Having the right buddy helps alot

2. I never do anything "suddenly" within the cage. It gets cleaned in stages. Their cage has two of everything. That way I can replace one item with clean while still keeping one that "smells like home"

3. One of the things she HATES the most and that will stress her everytime, is for me to vaccuum around her cage. So on vaccuuming day, her cage pouch is transfered into a large bonding pouch and very gently moved into my bedroom AFTER I have awakened them with soft talking and mealies/yogies or licky treats. Nothing more stressing than to go in and move their cage or pouch abruptly when they are sound asleep! I dont have to vaccuum very often as I purchased a push broom and that gets the majority of the "food fights and poo throwing"

4. I always try to announce my presence in the glider room with a soft voice and calling the gliders by their names as I enter. Not only does this relieve the "shock factor" but they also learn their names and ALL of my gliders will come to their names being called because they associate that with treat time.



Try to put yourself into their shoes. How would you like it if some giant walked into your bedroom and suddenly pulled you out of bed when you were in a nice deep sleep? or started banging pots together over your head? or shook the bed violently?...Pretty soon you would be a sleep deprived stressed out mess too!!!

Ever hear Silence is Golden? Well for my Haley that is the only way to live stress free. Haley is my high anxiety baby. It took me awhile to figure it out and a few fecals and even a shotgun of meds to figure out what was stressing her so much and all the time. At first I thought it was the changes that come with being in a new home/surroundings. That could be what started her anxiety's because she was not not over grooming when she came to me & they were the only cage of gliders in their previous home. For Haley, her surroundings need to be silent, she stresses out over the sounds around her that are on a constant basis. Their cage can't be around the noise of other gliders, the sound of a tv in the same room stresses Haley out or even the running of a sewing machine in the same room. So for Haley's cage, it needs to be in a room that doesn't have a regular source of some kind of noise. Their cage stays in a room with no tv and has a low traffic flow of noise. There are times if it gets to be too much, Haley will let me know she is stressing. When stressed, Haley will over groom the sides of her face leading back to her ears & at times up towards her nose. There are many days she has one side that will have no whiskers.


Long story short, it took quite a bit of time watching/listening and eliminating. What set me off to realize Haley was stressed, she has a faint wimper when she is stressed from the sounds surrounding her.

Linus never used to stress. He became stressed after his neuter.

He dislikes being any where near one of the intact males, ESPECIALLY when there are joeys. Linus thinks ALL the joeys belong to HIM and Stella Luna. He will try to get to them, and if that fails, he will start to over groom.

It took a good deal of watching him, and taking notes, to figure out exactly what was causing his over grooming, as well as lethargy (nights he just hides in his pouch and refuses to run in the wheel).

Now when there are joeys in the glider room (it is the first 2 weeks OOP that really get to him), Linus and Stella Luna get moved into the cage in my bedroom. He gets lots of talking and cuddles and mealies.

AND - I know this sounds dangerous, and I wouldn't recommend it to those who do not KNOW their gliders - he gets to visit with the joeys.

There are huge risks of having other adult gliders babysit joeys. So, I do not recommend it. However, Linus and Stella Luna are very gentle and caring, and they just want to groom and cuddle the joeys. My hand is ALWAYS in the pouch with them and the joey, and I never look away. I've watched closely when I return the little ones to their parents, also - and there haven't been any problems. Yet. Knock wood. I don't do this lightly - and if Linus weren't so stressed by WANTING those joeys, I wouldn't do it at all.