I have had Lucy and Bojangles for over a year now making them both around 1 year, 6 weeks old. Neither have crabbed towards me in a very long time (except for when I accidentally wake them up ). Bojangles is very, very gentle. She enjoys just sitting on me licking and chattering away. Lucy is also very gentle... At first. Lucy will come right to me when I call out for her, and she will start licking me, but then she turns to biting, and they are pretty deep sometimes. I have 2 questions: 1) Is this an indicator of anything good/bad? 2) How can I stop this without scaring Lucy?
Offer her a treat as soon as she begins licking you. She does not mean to hurt you - sounds like she is grooming you. They are sometimes very rough with each other when they groom each other.
Also, be very careful what soaps, lotions, shampoos, etc that you use. If you smell fruity or delicious to her very sensitive nose, then she is going to try to bite to get some food out. If she always bites after licking, then when she licks, you can offer her a small piece of fruit, dried fruit, corn, etc as a treat. This will help with your bonding as well.
Val B
Mom to
1 human son
21 personal gliders + rescues looking for forever homes
6 birds
4 dogs
Psssst! at them when they start the hard biting. That is what their parents would do. Don't back away and not play with them anymore. They need to learn that no matter what, you're gonna be there. The more you can handle them without scaring them, the easier it gets. Use a pouch if they seem scared. They seem to equate fleece with safety. Handle them inside the pouch or put the pouch on your hand like a mitten. Just let them get used to the movement of your fingers and smell. With a light barrier of fleece, they can still bite, but they need to learn you aren't a threat.
animalluvr,they do eat corn, but normally trats are yogurt drops,rose hips,meal worms, dried fruit ex. pineapple,mango,apples.yogurt.there are alot of treats that can be given.
I'm sitting for some ones glider (Sydney is her name) and she did something very funny today. My sister stuck her finger in her pouch and she sniffed it. Then i did the same thing and Sydney started licking my finger like a mad man! Then i switched fingers and she did the same thing! She nibbles a little bit after she licks but its not very hard at all. Why does she only do this to me and not my sister?
SpiderGlider,
I'm a little confused. On another thread here, you explained that Sydney is your Sugar Glider. Now you say that you are only Glider Sitting for somebody else's Sugar Glider? What's the deal with that???
Also, maybe Sydney is smelling or tasting something on your fingers such as food, hopefully it's not cologne or any type of spray that could be bad for them. Anyhow, my Sugar Glider, Scooter, grabs my finger and "gives me kisses" by licking it. He's a sweetheart, maybe Sydney is just doing the same and it is a gesture of affection?
Lauren
Sorry for the confusion... SpiderGlider is on vacation and and gave me the login in info in case i had any questions about Sydney.
Maybe its the salt on my hands after i've been holding her for a while. Today she seems less interested in my fingers and more fixed on my palm (the more sweaty part of my hand)