August 26th, 1998 12:36 pm.  I was holding Cherie about an hour and then she started squirming. I tried to put her in my pocket, but she insisted on being in my hands. She kept curling up and flipping over. She kept licking her pouch and her left foot or paw. Before I saw the joey, Cherie kept licking this little pathway to her pouch. When the joey came out she licked it and she kept licking behind it. I held her a little while longer to see if there was any more, I didn't see anything else. She would hold open her pouch after she licked it and it would be kinda like she wants me to see. When I put her in her pouch Jerry tried to stick his nose in her pouch and she made this sneeze sound at him. After that he curled up and didn't bother her until night. The joey was like a little pink blob of skin and blood.  That was my story. Pretty good for someone who was in shock the whole time.

                                                                    look for the red spot in the pouch areas

From Bella:: Saturday October the 3rd, 1998

i was reading a post on the message board you wrote about bonding with gliders.  there were things you mentioned that i was really impressed with.
1. that you and your husband don't hold the gliders...they hold you.
2. that if they don't want to come out, you don't make them.

my andy seems to be an atypical glider.  he doesn't like to be in a pouch or pocket, no matter what. w hen i first got him, i couldn't touch him or hold him unless he was in a pouch....but now, he'd rather be sitting on my shoulder, or on top of my head.  not too long ago, i tried to put him in his pouch (a crown royal bag) because i wanted to take him out of the house to show to someone, but he *would not* go in there.  finally i gave up, and just let him stay home.  i figured it wasn't worth the stress for him if he
really didn't want to go in there.  i called the woman, and told her that if she wanted to see him she would have to come to us.

also, i have noticed that occasionally, he just doesn't want to come out of his cage to play.  on most evenings, i just open his cage door, and eventually he will come out, and then jump onto me.  but there are those nights when the door will be open all night, and he will be in the cage playing or whatever, but just won't come out.  he'll hang on the side and peek out, but no more than that.  i used to go get him...but he would just jump off of me and go back into the cage on his own. Once he does come out, i usually let him decide when it's time to go back "home".  after 2 or 3 hrs of play, he will usually just jump on back to his cage....if he does, and it's not to just get a drink or something, i will then shut the door. he seems to be happy with the routine, and even tho he doesn't always do things the way other people's gliders do, i think he is fine.

i love reading your posts!  you don't know how many times i have been worried over something with him, and then i read something from you that says it is OK for them to "be their own person".  i have now come to the point where as long as *he* is happy, and *I* am happy, then that's really
all that matters...thanks for posting, and always being around for questions, questions, and more questions.
Bella (and andy too!)
 

From Erin on Tuesday, October 27, 1998

Well, being a newer owner, I know what advice HAS worked. I have two gliders, both of which I got
at a very young age. Wink was scared and crabbed in the beginning, but the Pocket T-Shirt idea that
Bourbon spells out on her web page worked wonders (can get the pocket T's in the men's section-Hanes- at any K-mart, Target, Wal-Mart, etc). Also bribing her with treats and giving her time
to get used to my smell took time and worked.
Rocky has been a true test of patience. But when he started biting, I just let him. I didn't pull away or
reprimand him AT ALL, and eventually he stopped. I learned to ALWAYS have yogurt or a treat on
my finger when I put it in his cage so that when he went to bite, what he got instead was a sweet treat,
and he learned to lick me instead of biting. By the way, he no longer bites, AT ALL (keep in mind that
he came to me with a ripped webbing, so he associated me with pain. He had stitches and had to wear
a cone around his neck for 14 days...so I've truly had some obstacles to overcome). Rocky always
crabs when I wake him or startle him. But always having a treat on my finger and patience have
worked wonders, combined with changing the pocket-t every day. And don't leave them in their cage
all the time, or they'll bond to the cage and not you. Even if they crab, take them out and let them
explore a glider proof room. Hope that helps.
Erin, Wink and Rocky
 
  From Kelly :: Thursday November 5, 1998

  Just wanted you to know that I tried your method last night and IT WORKED!!!!! Although he is still timid, after about an hour last night little Slider was eating melon from my fingers. I sincerely appreciate the time you have taken to create your web page. It is a tremendous help to frustrated owners like me who have purchased gliders from pet stores and did not receive accurate information.
 Thanks again,
 Kelly & Slider