Champ
written by: Christy
07/10/2000
I have a sugar glider named Champ
that is 5 weeks oop and not completely
weaned from it's mother. I had just bought him
and took him to my parent's
house. He liked to sleep in a snuggly place so
I put it in a sock and sat
it on a shelf in the cage (thinking it wouldn't fall).
Well I went back to
check on him later and the sock had fallen with Champ
in it. I took it out but didn't force Champ to get out of the sock
because I figured it didn't hurt him. Well I was trying to get the
other sugar gliders out and sat Champ on the bed in the sock.
Well I forgot about him and
when I remembered about him, I picked up the sock and tried to get him
out. Right away I noticed something was wrong. He was wimpering and
having trouble moving. The only thing I can think happened is he
got hurt in the fall and I didn't realize it or maybe I sat on him (since
I had forgotten about him being in the sock). Anyway he couldn't
move his arms or head and he had blood on his nose and in his mouth.
I cleaned him up. I couldn't take him
to the vet right away.
He survived the night and I
took him to see a vet that works on sugar gliders. She checked him
out and said no bones were broken but he had hurt his neck. We've
been hand feeding him and put him with his brother (which I had also bought)
and hoped that his brother would encourage it. It's been 5 days and
now Champ can move one of his arms and can move his head. He's trying
his best to move. He'll jump around and is trying to balance himself.
He's eating and eating and eating. It's looking hopeful.
My suggestions to anyone
buying a small sugar glider is just be careful
with them. They are very fragile. Keep it
in a cage and don't put them in
socks because they can be very easy to miss. The
sock that Champ was in,
just looked a sock that was lying around.
Update...10/11/2000
He is doing a better, he still doesnt' have complete control
of his front arms but he's a happy little guy. He's able to get around
in his cage(he even escapes sometimes)
I feel sorry for him sometimes, but he doesnt'
let his situation get him down. We've thought about putting him to
sleep just in case he was suffering but after monitoring him over the past
month he seems like he is in no pain and he plays just like the other gliders
so we have decided that he isn't in any pain and that it would be too extreme
to do that.
