Jan 9, 2001

    Sassy was my baby she wasn't a pet. I owned her for 4 years since the day she  was
weaned.  I am now 17. I lost Sassy  on Jan 8 2001 she died last night about 11:30. I was so
heart broken my best friend became extremely ill, during the time I was in school that day.  She
was up tearing around in her cage that morning.  I came home from school, went into my room to
check her and found her out of her bed laying upside down against the side of the cage. I took her
to my mom immediately, she said earlier that day she was fine asleep, as she routinely checked her.
Fortunately I checked her water she had enough for her till that morning, but that morning, I forgot
to refill it so that leaves me wondering If I caused her to be that much more sick.
    We live in a small town about 2 hours from a exotic animal vet, the vets here ask what a Sugar
Glider is, so we were in a slight predicament, in the first place, secondly we had to find an vet
office open at that time of night, that knew what to do.  Fortunately  the vet we found could give
me enough info to try.  He did not know what her problem was he had never dealt with them
before so we were at a brick wall.
     I had to keep her warm first off. Secondly she was extremely dehydrated, we tried sugar
water it gave her a little energy to give a little zip around, but not anything to save her, she lost
that pep with in a couple seconds.  She kept pulling herself on to my hand and hiding her face in
the cuff of my shirt. Sassy seemed to be light sensitive. I then had her cuddle up on my neck.
She crabbed and chirped at me. I then felt this wet spot on my neck,  she had began
uncontrollably salivating.  That was when we called the vet, He gave me some ideas, that was
when we remembered we had IV stuff for animals, naturally living on a Horse and Mule ranch we
had those things on hand.  I vet flipped He told us to give her 5 to 10 Ml every 6 hours  to help
rehydrate  her and make her more comfortable. Sassy didn't even flinch when we gave her the
sub dermal IV. Not long after maybe 5 min. did her body burn it up.
    Sassy then got really still and the started convulsions. Her little weak eyes were fixated on me
she then would flip her little head back and she would  start shaking body and flailing her tiny
arms. She was so helpless my mom and I were in tears trying so hard to make her comfortable.
But were unable to help she went through the convulsions about 6 times I gave  her my finger to
hold on to during the convulsions.  (I warn you to be careful if ever in this situation you must be
careful not to let your hand or any part of your body to become bitten) I know the little Glider
wouldn't mean to but they are unable to focus, and it would be so unintentional.  I also found that
any stimulation like petting her little back would set off a convulsion, so I was best off to just hold
her close and carry her in a towel so she was safe but able to just relax when possible.
    Sassy died during her last Convulsion. I checked her heart many times during this and it
seemed to be racing much faster than normal too.
    I hope this is able to help you know more about what you may be going through or have gone
through, or to be better aware of this odd happening to a Glider. I and my family have spent a a lot
of time researching this an have found that she may have been Vitamin D deficient.  I recommend
you add a calcium and vitamin D-3 supplement to your gliders food. Unfortunately I was not aware
of this supplement or having to do this till now. I guess a little to late. Also you must pay a lot of
attention to you Glider they will become depressed and unhappy, luckily Sassy got a lot of attention
from me., even with my very busy schedule. During the end of her convulsions Sassy had not
enough strength to hold on to me and seemed to have Paralysis but then would grip my fingers.

SASSY's LIFE !
I received Sassy just before I turned 14, she showed  a quick attachment to me having just been
weaned.  We became quick friends I was instantly attached to her as well. She truly had a
lovable personality.  She never was a burden.  She would crab at me when I was in my room
during the day to let me know she heard me.  At night after I would put her away so I could
sleep. She would bark at me to get my attention.  I would watch her play and bounce around. I
had to buy her a silent wheel so I could sleep needless to say it helped but that wheel was not
silent, she would get it going so fast that it made lots of noise.  If she stopped running it was going
fast enough to spin around with her  hanging on.  She would look around like that was cool and
then do it again. Sassy wore them out I replaced 5 wheels for her.
    Sassy really loved fruit, Raspberries and Strawberries were a favorite, she would eat out the
middle of the berry and then proceed to wear it as a hat or have it around her whole head
completely, it was also good around her neck.  She would then proceed to bark at me to get my
attention, and show me how good she was at finger painting, with her yogurt.
    When I would watch  movies in my room  she could run amuck the great tricks she would
pull on me. She would act as if she were hiding something then zip around the side of my bed, run
up my back on to my head and then hang from my bangs to steal the food that was in my mouth
or being put in my mouth.  She would the jump to my bed and hide and eat  what she just robbed
from me.
    These were just some of her antics  and I already miss them, and miss her, I cried all night.  I
can truly say that ever second spent with her up till her becoming sick, was full of laughs and
joy.   Sassy holds a big place in my heart and will always have a special love. So enjoy every
moment with your Glider, each second is so precious,  I know Sassy loved me. She wouldn't
leave me if I held her , but would commit a great leap from someone to me if I walked into a
room, and the care and compassion she showed in the end showed me I was her mom her friend
and what made her feel cared for.