prayers please

I'm new to this forum so I will first start out by saying HELLO to everyone! My name is Lacy and I have 2 girl gliders. Nibbler Nichole, 7yrs old and Akadia Ann, 5yrs old. I have have had nibbler for 6yrs and kadi for 4years. Now with that being said, for the last month I have been hearing Nibbler making a awful hiss/crab noise which is very uncommon. She is very calm. So I took her to the vet after about a week of this and the vets around here don't seem to know much :( They acted like nothing was wrong and I even brought a movie clip of her making this sound. Well they gave me some meds for a "just in case" cold for 7 days and she still is not any better. I now have it brought to my attention that both of the babies are constipated. I am guilty of not giving the best diet though I thought I was doing good - seems that I am not. So I have changed it the best I could for tonight and I have put Nibbler in another cage from Kadi so that I can see if she will poop. She has been in there since 5pm today still no poo, but there is urine. I was told that if there is not any poo in the morning I'd need to take her to a vet and I will need to go to one out of town since the ones here don't have a clue. I just wanted to share my story and see if I could have some prayers sent my way. I need a nice bm for my girls so we can get them on their way to healthy asap.

I hope I'm posting this in the right place..

My little nibbler has been in a cage by herself over night so that I could see if she was pooping or not. I also put her on a new diet. She did not poo or eat,but my other glider didn't eat the new food either. I tried just putting frozen foods to thaw out in the bowl,but I saw they didn't eat so I cut it up about 30 min ago. I guess if she don't go in a hour or two another vet trip is in order,but what I was wanting to know is what if she is impacted what do you do about that or is there anything that can be done?

A bit of canned pumpkin will sometimes help with constipation. (pure pumpkin, not pre-mixed pumpkin pie)

What diet have you beed feeding them and what diet have you switched them to?

Prayers sent for the girls. I responded in your other post. ;)

Keeping your gliders in my thoughts and prayers.

Honestly if you get her out of the cage and let her walk around she should poop for you within a little while. Most gliders will poop if they come out of the cage for a bit. They get a little nervous and this leads to pooping. If you really think she has not pooped I would get her into a knowledgeable vet today.

After reading your two posts if you feel she has not pooped then I would get her into the vets today. Go to a more knowledgeable vet. If you take her out of her cage she should poop as most get excited/nervous and they poop.

Please keep us posted on her we all worry about everyone's gliders.

I have pretty much just been feeding what I was lead to believe was a good diet. Chicken every day which I now see is a no go.. mixed frozen veggies, corn, sometimes egg, mixed fruits like cherries, pears, peaches and mango. For snacks they get nuts, meal worms or crickets and yoggies. Last night I gave strawberries, blueberries, mango, broccoli, cauliflower & spinach I also mixed pumpkin, prune and honey together. Neither one of them ate anything other than the meal worms maybe a little broccoli after I cut it up but not very much. I have taken her out and she just has not used the bathroom. She's not swollen or anything. I just don't understand. I haven't really seen her try to poo either. She just makes the hissing sound mainly while she is in a pouch,but she always pokes her head out like she wants me to see her. I have the movie clip on you tube its under nibbler sick. Just search for uploads this week and u will see it. It just breaks my heart. I plan on giving a drop of mineral oil and try to give pumpkin by hand. If there isn't anything by morning then I guess that's all I can do at home for her.

Good luck! You have my thoughts and prayers.

Lacy, what part of TX are you in?

I live in silsbee texas. About 2 hours from houston and a hour away from louisiana

Well its now been 24 hours without a bm. She still hasn't had her dinner, but I'm about to feed watermelon, pears, honeydew, cantaloupe, some baby food, spinach and broccoli. I was thinking about avocado but I was told to try and stay away from protein. I gave a drop of mineral oil about 7 and a little fiber one yogurt. I'm just so upset I have been holding her and crying for hours. She don't look ill its just hearing that sound and knowing she hasn't pooped. I can't hardly stand it. I have spent 50 dollars on different foods to try in the last day. I haven't hardly gotten any sleep I wake up and sit by her cage for hours waiting to see if she poops. My heart is just broken knowing I have caused her this with a poor diet =*(

I know where Silsbee is! One of my very good friends grew up there!

Okay, do you have vet reccomendations? There are several very good vets in Houston.

That's awesome. Are you from around here? As for vets, I haven't found a good one but I have spoken with a couple in Houston and I may have found a decent one in Beaumont. He was the first to know they aren't rodents, but he did say my babies are at the end of their life span at 5 and 7 yrs old and as far as I know its up to 15 in captivity.

Lacy, please try to remember that this is our medical section, so proper punctuation and spelling are required (no text speak).

For our members: I have been speaking with Lacy by phone, so she IS getting some assistance with this issue outside of the boards.

Lacy, without a vet visit, you won't really know if she IS impacted or constipated. She could just be very ill. She could have something else going on. You really do need to get her to a vet.
Yogurt has protein in it. Avacado is mostly fat.
Also remember that she will feel your stress and anxiety. I know it is impossible to stop worrying, but you can make sure that you are thinking logically and not allowing your emotions to cloud your judgement or to paralyze you from acting.

Quote :

but he did say my babies are at the end of their life span at 5 and 7 yrs old and as far as I know its up to 15 in captivity

He is not wrong. 12-15 years is a POTENTIAL life span for a well-kept glider, but it is not the AVERAGE lifespan of gliders. Most gliders do not live that long (unfortunately). The SUGAR Group regularly publishes these type of statistics, which we can use in our teaching and to continue our own learning.

I'm only a phone call away.

Sorry. I am taking both of them to the vet at 9

How did the vet visit go???

It was good. I finally found a vet within a hour away that actually seemed to care. He said he didn't think nibbler was impacted,but couldn't really tell. He said he did feel some poo in her,but is to be expected. I brought both gliders in one case and I tell you someone pooped like 6 times and I don't know who! I had them together most of the day at my parents but now that we are at home and I have thim apart, no one has pooped. The vet gave me some metoclopramide to stimulate bowel movement. Now Kadi is making a hissing noise from the other cage. I'm not sure if its a call for Nibbler or if she's hurting =( this whole deal is making me crazy. Thank you for asking.