Young sugar glider joeys need special attention and feedings when they are this vulnerable age. If you find them with bite marks and sores on their bodies or if you find them at the bottom of the cage or crying all the time then this is a sign that the mother sugar glider is rejecting the young gliders needs.
In this type of situation you may need to hand-raise the young gliders for a little while. You should first feed the joey and keep it warm by wrapping it in a fleece blanket. Keep the joey close to you as much as you can. The feeding is to prevent dehydration which the young gliders are susceptible to.
You can then try and place the joey in the cage on his father’s back. If the father starts to carry the joey back to the nest, cleans and cares for the joey then rejection is not occurring. If the father pushes the joey off his back and ignores him then this is a major and worrisome sign of rejection. You should take the sugar glider out of the cage and continue to hand-raise the joey. Rejected sugar glider joeys usually die from dehydration before anything else.
Premature sugar glider joeys need to be cared for very carefully. The premature joeys do not have any fur and you can not wrap them in fleece. The fleece will absorb the joeys natural oils out of the skin which would harm the joey more. Use a t-shirt and keep the joey close to your skin and heart. This will need to be done 24 hours a day so you will be sleeping sitting up until the joey is strong enough.
Breeders recommend that you feed the premature joeys with a syringe or catheter. The syringe allows the drops to be small enough to prevent choking. No baby cereal should be used for a premature joey, it is to rich and thick. Wombaroo Milk Replacer is the formula that is recommended by breeders. Feedings need to be done every 20 to 30 minutes so the joey has a steady supply of food. Just a few drops is all that is necessary.
Once the joey starts to get fur and the ears come away from the head you can make an incubator for the joey to keep him warm. You can use a plastic bucket or a glass tank. Both will need a heating source. The glass tank you will need to use a Heat Wave Reptile Heat Pad on the outside of the tank.
The young joey needs to be kept at about 85- 90 degrees. For the plastic bucket tank, you will need to drill holes in the walls of the bucket and use blankets and a human heating pad wrapped around the outside. Place a thermometer inside of the enclosure to ensure that the temperature is not exceeded. Using a glass tank should only be used for the hand raising portion of raising a joey. Once they are old enough then they can go into the cage with the others.
My name is Allan Stewart and I have several websites dedicated to health and well being for people and pets.
Want to learn more about sugar gliders: sugar glider as pets Or visit my website at Sugar Glider Care for more facts about sugar gliders. Also see my other articles on Victorinox Products:
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