I went to a breeder to select a perfect young glider. The first male baby he showed me seemed
cranky and unpleasant to me. The next little male was much sweeter, and a bit younger, barely weaned. He was pretty cute in the breeder's living room. I took him home, and put him to bed for the night. The next day, when I took him out to play, I noticed an ugly dark gray, shiny raised bump on his back about the size of an Advil. It interrupted his stripe line down towards his lower back. Of course I was upset, because I wanted a pretty glider. So I asked the breeder what he thought it was,
and he looked at him and sadly said he thought it was a form of juvenile cancer, and the only thing to do was "put him down".  He was suggesting that someone kill my glider! I of course refused this idea, not considering that Syd might be suffering, just resisting the diagnosis. I finally took him to a really good vet in the Austin area, and he weighed Syd, and took his temperature, etc. It was so cute. Sydney wasn't too impressed, however. The vet thought it would be really strange for a baby glider to have cancer. He felt it was either a bite or abscess of some sort. He finally offered two suggestions.
He said we could put a tiny gas mask on him, knock him out, and surgically remove this bump, then
stitch him up and hope he survived the trauma of surgery. It would be difficult to wait and see if just the anesthesia was too much for him. Plus, comparatively speaking, even a bump the size of an Advil is huge in proportion to a 6 week old glider. And stitches, too- I just don't think a baby glider can take that much body invasion, even to save his life.  So, the other option was to give him an oral antibiotic and hope it goes away. While the second option was also iffy, I went with it simply because it was
cheaper and less involved. The medicine was pink and in liquid form. I had to draw it up in syringe without a needle, work the end of the syringe into his mouth, and squeeze it into him, holding his mouth closed so he would swallow it. I did this twice a day for at least 10 days. And you know what?
That bump WENT AWAY! Sydney is now about one and  a half years old, and the only evidence that the bump was there is that his stripe stops for about a centimeter and then continues on down
to his tail. He is healthy, happy and alive, which is great news. I just really have to thank this vet for knowing about sugar gliders and giving me options. I am positive that Sydney would not have survived surgery at such a young age.  The bottom line is to ask a qualified person about the problem.
Even if you ask somebody who has worked with gliders for years, they may not have the right answers. If I had listened to my very nice, concerned, and experienced breeder, Sydney might be in a shoe box in my yard right now. Just ask around until you find a solution that seems reasonable to you.