Running Hot and Cold

For the last two weeks the gliders' tent time at night has been pretty frenetic. All four of the gliders have spent the better part of an hour and a half running, jumping, and playing around. It's been fun to watch and be in there to interact with them. For the last several days, though, they have done a complete 180. They will be out long enough to get their yogurt drop treat, and then they have made their way to the hanging boat and spend most of the time in there, grooming and napping.  That makes for a long hour in the tent, so I've been cutting things short. CB has been the one exception the last couple of nights as he has stayed and played while the girls do their grooming thing in the boat, so we have had some good "buddy time". I may try and roll them out earlier and see if that makes any difference in their activity level.

The gang also got in on some Thanksgiving goodies this weekend. M boiled a turkey neck and they got a piece as part of their dinner. Last night it wasn't too long after I put them in their cage before they discovered the turkey. At one point, Cirrus, CB, and Foehn were working on the same piece while Virga was working on her vegetables (she loves her veggies). I tried to get a photo of the three of them eating the same piece, but before I could snap the photo CB decided to take a break and go for a run in the wheel.

Cirrus (l) and Foehn (r) enjoying some turkey neck

Goin' with the Flow

With the cage moved into the wide open spaces of the great room, M was determined to continue the morning yogurt routine in some fashion or another. She decided to try and bring them into our master bath, which in addition to be a little roomier also had a heated floor, The trick was to get the gliders after they had climbed into their sleeping pouch but before they had settled down to sleep. With the sun coming up earlier now that we were off Daylight Saving Time this worked pretty well as they typically turn in just before sunrise. The first morning was a success, and M was able to take them from the cage into the bathroom. Once there they got their licks of yogurt and had a chance to run around and play. These little guys caught on fast, and Foehn and CB continued to run to the pouch, followed by Virga, when they saw M come over to the cage. Lately, however, Cirrus has decided this is an excellent opportunity to check out the world outside of the cage. Luckily, she has let M take her off the cage and carry her safely to the bathroom. Normally they spent from 30 to 45 minutes running around the bathroom. The first day they discovered that the sleeve of M's heavy, warm robe is the perfect place to snuggle in for what they hope is their "nest" for the day. Instead. eventually M carefully puts them back into their sleeping pouch and safely carries them back to the cage.

Cirrus checks out what is going on from inside the sleeve of M's robe

This morning they got to run around my newly floored and painted office. Since not all the furniture has been returned, they had a great time running across the floor. When I came in to get my things for work, M told me she had lost track of one. After checking all the usual hiding places, I needed to leave for work and left it to M to find the missing glider. Some 15 minutes later, M was looking around the office for Virga and she heard a loud "plop" behind her. Virga had hunkered down in one of the cubby holes on my desk, only coming out when she figured it was time to turn in! The other three had already snuggled in M's sleeve, so Virga climbed up the robe and into the sleeve to join the others until M had to return them to their pouch.

New Arrangements

Finally, after a couple of years, I am getting my home office "done" - new floor, paint, and at some point, new furnishings. Last weekend we moved the gliders' cage out of the office and into the great room. It's now in the same spot it was originally when we acquired Foehn and CB. M has not been looking forward to this move, since it has a major impact on her morning routine with them. For the last several months she has been getting up in the morning to give them their yogurt treat. In the last two months or so they have looked forward to a free run of the office at that time. In fact, they now often bypass the yogurt initially to go off and explore - they are out of the cage as soon as M opens the door. With the office door closed they are contained, and once they have had their fun they come and get a few licks of yogurt and then climb into their pouch in the cage to sleep. With the cage in the great room we can't take the chance of them getting out into the rest of the house. Even when the office is finished this arrangement will be permanent, but for another reason. We have ordered a new cage for them, one that will be twice as wide as their current age, and it will not fit in the office. It will give them a lot more room to play and run around, perhaps even room to glide a bit.

The first morning the cage was in the great room M gave the yogurt thing a try hoping to keep them in the cage, but Foehn was out and exploring before M could stop her. Fortunately Foehn headed right for the office, where we corralled her into a pouch. M was hopeful the morning routine could continue as that is her time to bond with them, but not if they are intent on leaving the cage. However, things may work out in the long run. With the switch to Standard Time, we wake up an hour later in "sun time". Generally they turn in by 6:15 or 6:30 a.m. now because the sun is up and it is getting light. The last two mornings M has been able to take them from their cage in the pouch to the now almost empty office. They generally aren't quite asleep yet, and they have come out to get their yogurt and play. If we can keep this up for a few days we hope they will figure out that this is the routine, and M will still have her time with them.

The last two days M has carried them around in her outer shirt after their afternoon snack to get some more bonding time with them. They usually snuggle in to sleep - most of the time. Virga occasionally grooms M rather aggressively and M has a few marks to show for it. In general, though they are quiet and sleep until it's tent time sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m.

Cirrus sleeping inside M's shirt

Decorating for Fall

M, being a talented "crafty" person, likes to decorate the gliders' cage depending on the month or season. In October she made a large witches hat pouch which the gliders enjoyed because it was roomy. There were also a couple of other Halloween themed items in the cage. The past week or so M was sewing new "leaf" pouches for a fall theme. She also made a hammock of sorts, which they can climb on and also crawl into a pouch on the top. The new cage set includes four leaf pouches - orange, yellow, gold, and burgundy. The two large puches near the front of the cage are new for this year. There is also the orange hammock, and fall colored pieces of fleece stuck in the cage openings for them to play with. Along the top of the cage there is a fall leaf garland for them to climb on and around. When we put them in with their new cage set last night for the first time, they were a little uncertain about the changes, but they quickly explored the new furnishings and gave it their approval. It adds a nice touch to the office as well.

A fall-themed cage for the gliders

Howling Winds, Barking Gliders

Winds started picking up here yesterday as a major storm gathered strength over the central U.S. They were pretty steady and strong last night, rattling the windows. M followed her usual morning routine of coming in and giving the gang their morning yogurt treat and some time to run around the office. About 20 minutes after she had gone in with the gliders I came out into the kitchen and could hear several barking gliders. That's not typical, especially in the morning. By that time, it had started to rain and between the rain and the wind there was quite a din - fortunately no thunder. When I went into the office I found M sitting there with three of the gliders barking. Cirrus, I believe, was running across the floor, but the other three were sticking close to the cage. Virga stayed with M, and was comfortable sitting there with M's hand over her. It wasn't long before Cirrus was back in the cage, but they all had trouble settling down. The wind, rain, and perhaps even the unusually low pressure had them a little freaked out. They eventually did get settled in their pouch a good hour after M first came in, just about the time the power went out! They were also rather subdued in the tent tonight, with even Virga less frisky than she usually is. Foehn spent most of the time curled up in my hand, which is a first for her for that long. When she wasn't in my hand she was tight up against my leg on the floor of the tent, like she was just was just trying to feel secure. It will be a quiet night tonight, so they should be less stressed out. Foehn already seems to be feeling better as I write this. She is running in their wheel while the other three are taking a snooze.

Loose Ends

It's been fairly quiet with not much new happening.  All the gliders are doing well, and it will be another week before one of the girls is in heat again. CB has a break this week. It turns out that we have Virga and Cirrus both pegged in that department - they came into heat on the date we had marked on the calendar. The telltale sign was the barking, although it wasn't as nearly as constant as it was the first round. Foehn is the one who didn't fit the pattern as far as barking is concerned, so we'll have to pay a little closer attention to her next week when her urn comes around.

The gliders really enjoy their time with M in the morning. They are waiting for her when she comes in, and they ae more interested in first running around the office than having their yogurt. They have been pretty active this week during tent time as well. I think the secret to getting them going is to turn off all of the lights except for some indirect lightning. It doesn't take long for all four of them to start running and jumping all over. and they have certainly been getting their exercise.

Cirrus reached a milestone of sorts this weekend when she weighed in on Sunday at 70 grams. That's the most she has weighed since coming to live here. Part of that gain might be due to the yogurt she had just prior to being weighed, but she has that all of the time when we wake them up to be weighed. It's the bribe to get them to come out of their pouch. Nevertheless, it was good to see.

One Year Ago...

October 14, 2009 was a cloudy, cold day in the Midwest. M and I were on our way back from picking up two  sugar gliders who were just a little frightened and uncertain about what was going on. They were a 5-month old brother and sister we named CB and Foehn. We had asked for two young females and were told they would be available, but that wasn't the case. I was close to walking out of the breeder's home empty-handed, but something told me to go ahead. During the ride home we discussed how this wasn't what we thought it would be (in terms of not getting what we asked for) and whether we had gotten ourselves into something more than we initially bargained for. Foehn was the more frightened of the two and she let us know during the five-hour drive home, crabbing at every opportunity and adopting a defensive posture when we peeked in the stinky pouch they had. Her brother CB, well, if he was frightened he didn't show it. He slept during the entire ride and seemed unfazed by his noisy sister. One thing was clear - these two had distinctly different personalities.

One year later, we are happy we made the decision we did. Not only were CB and Foehn removed from a crummy living situation, but they have won our hearts and we their trust. It's taken a lot of patience, persistence, and more than a few anxious moments (most of which have been documented in this blog). It was such a good experience that we felt ready to adopt two additional gliders in need of a new home in March of this year. Virga and Cirrus are older and were more wary, but what we learned with CB and Foehn helped us to work with them to overcome their fear and to eventually create that bond. It was cemented when they were introduced to CB and Foehn in July, and all four are now happily living together.