A Disappointing Setback

The first week of everyone together went pretty well. There were a few incidents of chasing and griping, but most mornings everyone was sleeping peacefully together. This weekend things started to go downhill went Foehn went into heat. There were a couple of ball-ups in the pouch, which of course gets everyone else all worked up.  The vet noted a healing scab on Sprite's chin at her wellness checkup last Thursday, as well as some minor abrasions on her rear foot. Those might have been from running on the wheel (which she does a lot), but she has never had them before that we know of. Yesterday Foehn was chasing Sprite down in the tent again, and trying to latch on to her tail, so we removed her from the tent. M also noticed that Foehn had some abrasion on her face and near her eye, so obviously both were getting their licks in. Sprite is back to being fearful of Foehn again, so we are more or less back to where we where before last weekend. Last night I brought up the small cage and Foehn and Rossby are now together there. We couldn't leave Foehn by herself - Rossby is her man.

Foehn's behavior is getting to be somewhat of a concern. She is constantly trying to mark and she bites on everything from the wheel to the cage bars. Tonight she was intent on getting into the pouch where CB, Flurry, and Sprite were in to the extent she was ignoring offers of mealworms.

We're not sure what we are going to do at this point, but it seems unlikely that Foehn will ever tolerate Sprite. Even though they got along fine for a few days, it seems that once the boys are in the mix Foehn's hormones kick into high gear and she needs to protect her turf.

A Happy End to a Long Road!

Once Flurry was accepted by CB and Sprite, we introduced him a couple of weeks later to Foehn and Rossby. It was another easy introduction, and we're sure Foehn was happy to have another man around.  All that was left was to get Foehn and Sprite on the same page if possible. We split Foehn off into the smaller cage about two weeks ago to give the other four time to acclimate to each other. We were also hoping that Foehn's yearning to be with the guys would distract her from her issues with Sprite.  After a week we tried getting them together using the bathtub to introduce them. They would cautiously approach each other to a point, and then one of them would move suddenly or crab, and they would stay away from each other. In the bathroom Foehn appears to be interested in checking Sprite out by some sniffing, but Sprite won't let her get very close. This is in contrast to when they are in the tent when Foehn aggressively chased Sprite and they would ball up if she caught her.

To me, at least, they seemed to have a mutual fear and distrust of each other, and neither would leave their guard down enough to find out differently. At one point in the past they got along fine. I thought if they both could learn that there was nothing to fear with the other then this reintroduction would have a chance. My thought was to try a method called wet introduction. For this each glider is wet down with warm water from a spray or being wiped down. When gliders are wet their main focus is grooming and they don't pay attention to much else.  M wasn't too sure about this, but my feeling is that we had nothing to lose at this point. If this did not work then they would never be together and one of them would have to live separately from the rest (or most likely two and three).

So, on Saturday with some trepidation and a lot of hope I wet both of them down with a spray bottle of warm water. They looked miserable, but both started to groom themselves. We placed them in a small cage together along with a clean (neutral) pouch. The stayed away from each other, but more importantly neither was interested in chasing the other. Foehn took up residence in the pouch, and Sprite would occasionally stop and think about trying to enter. They both crawled up and down and across the top of the cage, once in a while sniffing at each other (without incident) but then quickly moving on.  After a few hours we added a large fleece blanket so that if one of them would not enter the pouch with the other in it, they would have a place to sleep comfortably. We decided to stay up with them to be able to intervene if there were problems. I chased M to bed sometime after midnight and stayed out with them until about 4:00 a.m. (dozing off from time to time). There were no problems whatsoever although they still weren't sharing the pouch, but that was OK. I came out about 7:30 a.m. to check on them and thought the pouch (open style) looked to be hanging a little low. It was, because there were two gliders in it!

We moved them to a larger cage on Sunday, but not in with the boys. We wanted them to get more comfortable with each other before they joined CB, Rossby, and Flurry.  Here are the two of them having their yogurt on Monday morning.

Foehn (L) and Sprite (R) 36 hours into their "reunion" enjoying yogurt.

On Monday night I had all five in the tent for play time and it was more active and relaxed than it had been for some time.  All five are now together in the big cage. More on the reunion in another post 

Next task on the list - a family (colony) photo!

Two Minutes!

That's how long it took for Flurry, CB, and Sprite to become a trio.

We decided to make the attempt on Friday so we would have the whole weekend to deal with any issues that might come up. That morning I washed all the cages, and when everything was back in place it was time to see if they all would like each other. The last time we tried an introduction attempt (not these three) I spent several hours in the bathroom hoping things would work out, so I was expecting to spend part of my afternoon in there.

We spread a fleece blanket in the tub, brought in the "neutral" pouch and some extra fleece in case I had to separate them. M handed them off to me and so it began.

I set both pouches in the tub. For them it was the middle of the "night" (one reason we do it then) and none of them were anxious to leave the warmth and protection of their respective pouches. Flurry crabbed a bit as he will do still, and that got the attention of Sprite and CB. Sprite slowly ventured out of her pouch, and Flurry stuck his head out of his.  Sprite approached him. I was talking to her and had my hand over her just in case. She got closer and closer - and then crawled right in the pouch with Flurry!  Elapsed time - about 15 seconds.  They sniffed each other a bit and then Flurry came all the way out. By this time CB was out and curious about what was going on. Flurry and CB approached each other, sniffed each other, and that was that!  I brought in the neutral pouch and all three readily climbed right in.

CB (left) and Flurry (right) moments after they were introduced to each other.
Sprite was still in Flurry's pouch (white and black one).

We later put them in the big cage.  Flurry explored a lot and you could tell he was a little nervous. Sprite was thrilled to have another male to dote on and she spent time grooming Flurry. He was sure to let her know when he had been groomed enough. There still are occasional "nitches" from their sleeping pouch (meaning that someone is being bugged by someone else), but they are getting along great.

The trio now have permanent residence in the large cage, and Foehn and Rossby are now in the smaller cage. In another month or so we'll see if we can start the process of getting two and three to become five.  Should be interesting, to say the least.

Sprite, CB, and Flurry enjoying their first morning yogurt as a trio.

Is a Trio in the Works?

For the last two weeks Flurry's cage and CB and Sprite's cage have been within four inches of each other. In addition, we have been switching cages every night - they use each other's pouches, toys, and everything. Nobody has objected to being moved each night! Flurry has become more relaxed in general, and each night when CB and Sprite are returned to their cage all three are on the back of their respective cages checking each other out. There has been no crabbing or aggressive behavior.  In fact, we think Flurry really would like to join them if he could. We'll find out soon. Since their familiarization has gone so well we are going to try introductions for the three of them this weekend.

Flurry is calming down a lot. He loves to be with M. Most days after yogurt he climbs in her overshirt (a large shirt she wear over her regular top), makes his way to the back and spends his day sleeping there. He willing goes into his pouch if she needs him to. Flurry gets his allocation of mealworms at night, then goes to his cage. If all goes well this weekend he will start playtime with the other two next week. We are leaving Foehn and Rossby out of the equation right now.

Flurry enjoying a mealworm while sitting in M's shirt earlier this week.

Growing Up

Yesterday was Rossby's and Sprite's 2nd birthday. They came to us when they were seven months old and are terrific gliders. They are both have great personalities and are very social, other than Foehn and Sprite still having to work things out.  Foehn has become somewhat neurotic that past several month and we are not sure why. Rossby is pretty relaxed about things, and he must have the patience of a saint to put up with Foehn sometimes. Rossby loves to run and when he is in the tent he will race around the perimeter of the tent. We think that he may just like the sound of his feet on the plastic tarp floor.  Between that and the wheel he keeps moving most of the time, occasionally taking a break to climb up the front of my shirt to my shoulder where he will sit and survey the scene. Once in awhile he will nuzzle my cheek while he's up there. After a minute or two he is off again running around until the next time for a break.

Sprite is a little sweetheart, and has become my favorite, partly because she has been the odd one out for much of the last year.  Initially she and Foehn did not hit it off, but then they were OK and she and CB had differences.  When we were finally able to get Sprite and CB together, then she and Foehn were at odds (we are still working on it).  Sprite has decided my shoulder is her safe place and will head there when Foehn is after her. Sprite likes to be petted and will sit on my shoulder and let me pet her much longer than any of the others.  When it's time to go back to the cage from the tent I put her and CB in a pouch. She will stay in for a minute or so, but then her little head pops out to see what's going on. She often will climb out and on to my shoulder for the ride to her cage. I don't have to worry about her jumping off and going exploring. When we get to the cage she will climb down my arm into the cage and wait with CB for dinner to be served.

Flurry is a New Man

On Monday Flurry went in for his neuter. Everything went well and he didn't have any problems afterward at home. We have moved his cage from the laundry room and placed it near the other cages so he can start becoming familiar with the other gliders and they with him. Since we are not having much luck convincing Foehn to leave Sprite alone, we are going to try and introduce Flurry to CB and Sprite initially.  We have already started swapping pouch blankets, and in another week or so will start swapping pouches.

Flurry is starting to calm down a little. He takes mealworms from me, although sometimes he will take it and then tun to the back of the cage to eat it.  Other times, though, he will sit at the door of the cage, snarf down the mealworm I just gave him, and beg for more. He is still M's little guy and he spends most days with her in his pouch. He loves to come out and crawl into her overshirt to sleep.

Still Trying

We still have three cages of gliders at the time. CB and Sprite, Rossby and Foehn, and Flurry.  Flurry will be on his own for another month or two yet.  He is scheduled to be be neutered on April 1, and once he has recovered from the surgery we'll see about getting him together with one of the pairs, unless they are all together by then.

We have been trying different tactics to get Foehn and Sprite together for the last couple of months. The first thing we tried was taking the two of them into the bathroom to let them interact with each other. For brief moments things would seem OK, but then either Foehn would make a move at Sprite, or Sprite would start loudly crabbing. After that Foehn would stalk or chase Sprite, and she spent her time trying to stay as far away from Foehn as possible. Her first route of escape was to climb up the shpwer curtain and sit on the shower rod, watching Foehn from high ground.

Sprite sitting on the shower curtain rod in the bathroom.

Her other spot was on my shoulder, and if she was on the floor that was her first "go to" spot.

Sprite keeping an eye out for Foehn from her perch on my shoulder.

Eventually Foehn got brave and started climbing the shower curtain as well, so Sprite stayed on the move. When she wasn't chasing Sprite, Foehn was marking and chewing on things, and can't seem to just chill out.

The bathroom turned out to be just too big as they could easily avoid each other. So, the next step was to try the two of them in the tent. That ended up with Foehn chasing Sprite most of the time. They did ball up once in a while, but Sprite seems to be faster and more agile than Foehn and manages to stay ahead of her.

The latest variation, which we just started a few days ago, is to bring the boys (CB and Rossby) in the tent as well. Foehn is somewhat more distracted with them present, but still takes every opportunity to chase down Sprite. At this point we're not sure what it's going to take to break this stalemate,