ToandFro's Philosophy on Saving a Joey

 

It is my belief that God gives life and takes away. As Caretakers of His world we are responsible to see that we use our best judgement when caring for His creatures. This goes for animals as well as humans.

 

I may not be an expert in the field of rejected joeys, but I actually teach about rejected joeys and the care of sugar gliders here at the Vet Tech school in Tulsa. I know that the joey needs colostrum which is present within the first 72 hours of birth. Since colostrum gives antibiotes to the joeys, if they don't have it, they don't have a good chance of survival. I do know that mother's milk is the best for sugar glider joeys, and I strongly believe in that. This is why I believe and teach that it is best to leave the joey with parents when there are signs of rejections, but also supplement the joey until the mother can take over. I will only pull a joey if the joey is physically hurt. I watch my gliders so closely that I see and hear other signs before it ever comes to that point. The examples on my rejected joey page happened 4 years ago. At that point I had only been a breeder for one year. I have left the stories up to show people how situations can be different, depending on the situations of gliders. Those situations could have to do with mother being too young, too old, new to a home, or a father that dies, a wild mother, first time mother, first time father, nervous mother, or a poor diet. If a joey is rejected, it could be due to one of these reasons and not simply that something is wrong with a joey. Most individuals don't succeed with hand rearing a joey. I have tried different methods so that others in the community can have that chance. I hope that my rejected joey page will educate you in the proper care of the rejected joey. None of us want our joeys to die.

Below are two stories which have happened to me recently.

The Triplets (Hina, Artic, Dione)

There was a colony of gliders mother, father, and daughter. Mother (Abbey) had a white and one normal baby come out first. When I have an expensive glider, I check often. Abbey rejected one of her two joeys in the previous litter (not normal for her), therefore I was extra nervous about these two since one was white. I checked the cages often because the babies were hanging out of Star's (her daughter also in the cage) pouch too early and there were legs and tails hanging out. Star is a small mother. I observed a couple of days before the date (when I found the joeys loose in the pouch) that she was having triplets. I did check the bag twice a day because I was nervous about her being a first time mom and in a trio situation. I checked them at 5:00pm that evening. At that time all three babies were out of mother Star's pouch and detached, but Star was no where to be seen. Two days before I discovered the triplets, I made them a large double lined extra wide bag so that I would be able to observe all 5 babies without disturbing them. When I checked the bag two days later, all three babies were wondering around the pouch like I said. I checked the pouch and Star had made her way through a boxed corner that obviously was not double sewn, otherwise she would not be able to have gotten through. There is no way Star could have gone through that hole with the babies attached. My guess is that they were hanging out and when she went through the hole, which was the size of a half dollar, the babies stayed on the other side. Every morning I gave them mealies and all three parents were in the pouch that morning. By the looks of the babies tummies, all three still had milk in them, so it must have happened in the last hour. I could not get Star back through the hole, so I had to cut the pouch open and retrieve her. I took all the gliders out and put them in another bag and sewed the new bag back up and put all the gliders back in the original bag. The mother put two of the joeys in her pouch completely and there was no room for the little white Leucistic boy, Arctic. Before I transferred them back into the original bag, I tried to feed the little boy. When I found them, I thought she has rejected them. I didn't think through the situation and hadn't come to the conclusion until recently that she went through the hole without them. Arctic would not eat, but I saved the picture to show others how small he was and what I was facing. I never tried to feed him again because I realized that I had no hope of feeding him or saving him and only Star could do that. I put the babies all back in. By 8:30 that evening, all three babies went back into Star's pouch. At one time, the white one was even in Abbey's pouch and she carried it around at dinner. After that night, I never had to give those babies, nor any babies in that pouch a touch of anything but mother's milk. The mothers have done it all!

Princess, My Albino

Albinos are in danger of becoming extinct, and I feel a responsibility as a breeder who owns one, to try and help it live on. In late January 2005, Princess had joeys due and normally I trim the nails right before joeys come out so that the joeys will not be scratched. The day after I trimmed their nails, I was performing my normal morning routine of cleaning the glider room and feeding mealies. When I got to Princess's Cage Pouch, the two joeys were out of pouch. Princess's weight is normally 75 grams and being as petite as she is, cannot hold two babies like other gliders can. They normally come out of pouch a day or two early. To my surprise, I found Gus, her partner dead in the pouch and the babies out of pouch. I removed Gus and he was already stiff. I weighed him to make sure that I didn't overlook anything and examined him to see if perhaps I had clipped a nail too far the day before. I could find nothing unusual about his weight (160 grams), his nails, nor the cage. Princess was very stressed as Gus had been her cage mate for three years since I purchased her. I had a fecal and float done on Princess that day to determine if there was a bacteria in the area. Nothing was found and all levels were normal. Two days later Princess started having diarreah. Albinos are succeptible to bacterial stresses because of the low immune system. Princess became ill and didn't eat for three nights. The day that I discovered the loose stool, I started her on Flagyl. On the fourth night, she ate yogurt, corn, and a dry food. Every night she increased her intake of food and after a week was well. I did not want Princess to be alone, nor did I want to have to feed her joeys. I kept the babies with her and she fed them the entire time even though she didn't not have enough milk, she never pushed them away. Princess is a strange glider. She sleeps real hard during the day and I am guessing because her eyes are sensitive to light, she doen't like opening them, so when you wake her up she is normally in a deep sleep. I started off feeding the joeys 6 times a day. Princess was a great mother in that she continued to nurse them even though she was ill. . Princess not once, licked them down when I put them back after supplementing them.. Gus, her mate always licked them and cleaned them. The times I supplement the joeys is in the middle of the night, because she doesn't come back to them, she just plays and plays. In one way she enjoys letting the gliders nurse on her (I have never seen her bite at them or push them off), but on the other hand, she doesn't understand what she is suppose to do as a mother. They never cry, and with Gus being gone she stays out all night. Princess has only been breeding for about a year. Her first set of boys she rejected, but never harmed them in any way. She would go out at night and would not come back to see about them. Little Bear is now 9 months old. He fathered his first baby at 5 months of age. She is three months old and weighs 85 grams. I don't believe that every baby that is supplemented has poor health. Lil Bear was with his mom for 10 days before I had to supplement. Even with a valuable glider such as Princess, being ill, I never pulled the joeys. I felt that Princess would be better off with them than without a mate or being alone. Princess is well now and the joeys are 7 weeks weighing in at 35 and 40 grams. Last night I saw the babies come to the table with Mama. I am so pleased that within a couple of nights I will be able to sleep the night through. I plan to leave the baby girl with her mama and hopefully will find her the perfect man to replace her precious Gus.

Please visit our Rejected Joey Page for More Stories