A Small Crisis

M sent me a note late this afternoon saying that Foehn's front hand/paw was bleeding. M had been hanging some toys in their cage when both Foehn and CB jumped out of the pouch she had around her neck, on to her arm, and in and on the cage. That's when she noticed Foehn was bleeding. M was able to gather her up and check her out. One of the nails on her right front paw had torn partially from her "finger". M was able to get Foehn calmed down but wasn't really able to get a good look because Foehn did not want her to mess with it. The bleeding had stopped, though. By the time I got home the nail had come completely off, and that may have actually lessened the pain for Foehn. We applied some Neosporin to the affected area, and we have an appointment at the vet in the morning. Foehn is actually doing pretty well. The finger doesn't seem to bother her and she is leaving it alone, which is a good sign. We have her in a "hospital cage" for the night so we can keep an eye on her and so she doesn't injure herself further climbing around her cage with CB. After some initial anxiety in being in a new space she has settled down in one of her blankets. Her cage (actually a plastic storage container with a latching lid, with food and water) is on a chair next to me here and Foehn is curled up on her blanket watching me. She seems to be comfortable and calm.

CB will be spending the night alone in their cage and we're not sure how he will react. I expect we will hear him barking tonight trying to call his sister. Between the two of them, it may be a long night.

M adds: And as if this wasn't enough, Berg went to put CB back in the cage, and... Pop, he was suddenly in the mood for adventure! We had him cornered under the cage for about 10 min. then he escaped. I was holding Foehn, so she could not get at her nail, and CB scooted under the sofa, then made a bee line for Berg's office. Oh, good, thought I, at least he is in a somewhat safe room! But, even with mealies and yogurt treat, Berg was having trouble getting him to go back into his pouch! A first! After about 10 min, I asked him if he had CB, and he says, "No, I can't find him" WHAT!!! So, I cautiously open the door, and Berg says, "I think he may have gotten into that hole in my wall"!!! WHAT!!! Now, I am seeing a REAL crisis! How are we gonna carefully start tearing up drywall, at 11:00 at night, AND keep him close? We couldn't possibly... I am thinking, crap, he is going to get into the basement, and be gone!

Then, Berg says, "shhh, I think I can hear him!." I think,"Great, we can hear him in the wall, as soon as we start tearing up the wall, he's gonna run, " I am still cuddling Foehn, so she doesn't hurt her foot more, what the hell are we gonna do?

But, the noise was coming from Berg's closet!!! Berg opened the door slowly, and there was CB, kinda deep inside but visible. Almost had him, but he got away from us, and went over by that hole in the wall! We had him trapped there, it is behind a tall file cabinet, in a corner. This time, he needed an energy break, and went into the pouch to get his yogurt treat, and was safely deposited into his cage!

Who's Who?

One of the first issues we encountered when we got our gliders was how to tell them apart. Of course there are the obvious differences "under the hood", so to speak, but that's not much of a help unless you are actually checking. You really can't see Foehn's pouch without brushing back her belly fur. There's no way to tell when they are running around or even when they are still. We read a suggestion to dab some food coloring on the white fur on the head, and we tried that with CB. However, that didn't last more than a day before they cleaned it off. It turned out the best way to tell them apart most of the time is by their personalities. CB is more laid back and likes to sleep. Foehn is much more active, always first up and first out. After about a week or so there was another difference which I noticed - the dark stripe on their heads is different. CB's stripe is a little wider and the end is more rounded. Foehn's stripe is a bit narrower and the end of the stripe is not rounded. Most of the time this is pretty reliable, especially when they are together. In the photo below, Foehn is on the left, and CB is on the right. See the difference?

Foehn (L and upside down) and CB (R)

Glider Wrangling

After I posted last night it was time to get the gliders back to their cage. I was still at the computer when M called out from the other room. Foehn had jumped out of her hands on to her arm and M hadn't yet opened the cage door. I hurried to give her a hand with CB still with me in a pouch. As I opened the cage door CB jumped on to my arm, much to my surprise. Uh oh. Since I was right at the cage door I moved my arm into the cage and CB jumped off. One down, one to go. She wasn't going to go easily. Foehn jumped on to the outside of the cage and for the next 15 minutes she ran up one side and down the other (but never the side with the door). CB was in the cage, and at times he and Foehn seemed to be communicating. Although M and I were keeping her corralled near the cage, she didn't seem to have much interest in leaving the vicinity of the cage, and she could have. Maybe it because CB was inside or perhaps because dinner was waiting. Eventually we were able to gather her up and let her join her brother. That was enough excitement for one night for them and us.

CB - the Explorer

The gliders had a somewhat different schedule today. We were gone much of the afternoon and so they spent the entire day sleeping in their pouch in the cage. They were starting to stir when we got home around 6:00 p.m., so M went into the tent with Foehn while I had CB, sleeping of course, in a blanket. (By the way, these are small fleece "blankets", roughly 12 x 18", lest someone thinks we are using a large regular blanket). When he finally was awake and a little more active he went into the tent as well. No wheel tonight, though. They both spent more than 90 minutes on the wheel last night, and except for very short climbing breaks spent their whole time spinning around. Foehn was climbing the walls of the tent tonight at first, but once they both found they could crawl under the flannel sheet on the bottom of tent, well, that was a pretty darn comfortable place to be. This was earlier than their usual play time, so both readily climbed in the pouch when we placed it in the tent.

We settled down again with the both of them, M with Foehn and me with CB. Foehn is getting very comfortable being out of the pouch, held (in a blanket), and petted. CB was in a blanket as well, but he's like a squirmy kid sometimes, always readjusting his position to find that "just so" comfortable spot. At one point he poked his head to look around, and before I could react he was again out of the pouch liked greased lightning. He jumped on to the arm of the sofa and then on the floor. He first headed under the sofa, and I could see the tip of his tail sticking out from under the back The pouch was on the floor but he was not interested. He skittered out from under the sofa and across the floor to where the entertainment center sits in a corner. This is where Foehn ended up the second night we had them. It's easy for a glider to get behind it, but not us big creatures. CB moved along the side and to the back before I could get him. I didn't want him getting into the dusty tangle of cables back there. Fortunately, he stayed toward the side, but out of reach. I went to the back, he would move toward the front. I went to the front, he would move to the back. In the meantime I knocked over a plant which fell on to the tent and them making a very loud noise and spreading dirt when it hit the floor. CB appeared to be a little scared at this point from the noise and with being in a new and strange place. We thought we would tempt him out with a yogurt treat. However, he snatched that before I could get to the front to grab him and took the yogurt treat to the back where we couldn't reach him. We figured by now he would probably welcome the security and comfort of his pouch, and we laid it on the floor with a yogurt treat inside. Within seconds he was in and ready to end his latest adventure.

"Cleanup on aisle 10..."

The Wheel Goes 'Round 'n' 'Round...

We just got finished with some time in the tonight. The last two nights we have put their "Custom Choice Cruiser" wheel in the tent, which they love running on. It's big enough so both of them can be in it, but they are not always of like mind. CB generally likes to run from left to right, and Foehn likes to run from right to left...I have no idea why. However, it's comical to watch because when that happens the wheel doesn't really turn and they end up running up their respective sides of the wheel. When they are in synch they love to really get going on it. Every few minutes one of them (usually Foehn) will try to get out while the other is still running full tilt. Foehn will hang on to the outer rim of the wheel for dear life while CB is running full speed. It makes me queasy just watching it! They take brief breaks from the wheel to run around and climb up the walls of the tent, then hop back on. For all of his sleeping, CB sure makes up for it on the wheel. He was on that for the better part of 90 minutes tonight. Of course, now that they are back in the cage he is "resting" in the pouch.

Yesterday marked their third week here. They are becoming more and more comfortable and the signs of trust are gradually becoming evident. Tonight, for example, Foehn let me pet her while we were in the tent. A week ago she would have run away from my hand. The next milestone we are looking for is for them to climb on to our hand or arm.

CB celebrated their third week by briefly escaping for some exploration last night. I was returning him to the cage in their pouch. Normally, you can't pry him out of it once he is in, but last night I opened the pouch to check him and put him in the cage and he was out like greased lightning. He jumped on to me and to the floor, and then it was exploration time. He headed to the foyer, and to my dismay toward the basement stairs. "Not good", I thought. If he got to the basement there are a zillion places for him to hide. He scampered down the first two steps and looked like he had intentions for more. The only way I had a chance of ending this well was to get below him on the stairs. I was able to do that pretty easily, and he tried to get away from me back up the stairs. However, the stairs are oak and not carpeted and he wasn't able to get a grip. I scooped him up with one of his blankets, ending his little adventure.

A New Glider Sound

We have only heard the gliders bark twice...well, three times now. I woke up this morning at 4:00 a.m. to hear quiet barking (it didn't wake me up). A glider bark sounds much like a dog, but a very small dog. I went out to the great room to check on them, and it was Foehn barking this time. I think she was trying to call CB to get his butt out of the pouch and come and play. He crabbed a bit when he heard my voice, so he wasn't asleep.

M had an interesting experience today when she went to put them in a bonding pouch. CB was already in one pouch, and she had coaxed Foehn into a second. All of a sudden both CB and Foehn started what could best be described as crying. M said the sound was sort of like a cat mewing. She could not get them to settle down, and finally realized that they wanted to be with each other. When they finally got together in one pouch they stopped and settled in to sleep. This was something new - we've heard them crabbing, hissing (especially when Foehn bothers CB when he is sleeping in the pouch), barking, and chirping, but never crying.

Bonding, Escape, and the Wheel

I didn't get a chance to write an entry this weekend. It finally stopped raining, the sun was out, and it was no time to be sitting on the computer! The evenings were spent bonding with CB and Foehn.

The last few nights we have been coaxing CB & Foehn out of their pouch and into our laps. They both have spent a couple of hours being held in a fleece blanket and being petted. M has had Foehn the last three nights (she is always the first out) and I've had CB. They both have taken to this little ritual without any problems, and we are both marveling at how far Foehn has come in two weeks. We still have a ways to go, but the progress has been great so far. Foehn seems to enjoy being held and petted, although she does crab a few seconds once in a while just to let us know she isn't completely happy yet. CB is more concerned with finding a comfortable position in which to sleep, so he wiggles around in the blanket to get comfortable. Then he tucks his head in and goes to sleep while I pet him. The boy does like his sleep!


Twice now CB has gotten curious and jumped away from me to explore. Last night he ended up on the screen on the window, and I could see that chasing him wasn't going to get him back very easily. So, I held the pouch up near him and the attraction of a comfortable place to sleep was too much to resist. He tentatively poked his head in the pouch, and then quickly the rest of him followed. It was almost too easy! He made a short escape tonight, but only to the arm of my recliner. I moved the pouch next to him rather than trying to pick him up, and without hesitation he headed for the bottom of the pouch. There he remained, looking out at me for awhile and even venturing to the top once or twice. However, it wasn't too long before he was curled up asleep, and now he is back in the cage, asleep, in the pouch.

We stayed up later than we should have last night to watch them in the cage. CB really likes to run on the wheel and this was the first time we have seen him go to town on it. He runs like crazy to get it going, then stops running, holding on while the wheel keeps spinning, riding it around. When the wheel slows down he does it again. Foehn joined him in the wheel last night, but they couldn't quite get the coordination thing down. At one point CB was running one way, and Foehn trying to run the other. The wheel doesn't work so well that way, but they were having a great time nevertheless.