The first thing to do when you see a Joey being rejected is to immediately get it out of harms way. By this we mean moving it from the habitat with the parents. It is not uncommon for adult Sugar Gliders to euthanize a deformed of ailing Joey. The next and ongoing obligation to the care-giver is the feeding of the Joey on a semi-hourly basis for the next three to four weeks until the Joey is eating solid food on its own. After nourishment the next most important consideration is warmth and nurturing the Joey needs to survive. Just food and proper habitat are not sufficient. The need for a caring mother or in this case a surrogate mother is very essential. The Joey should be housed in a warm humid ventilated housing when not with the caregiver. But experience here tells us that being with the surrogate mother is very important for survival of a very young Joey abandoned by the natural mother. When housing the Joey in a confinement we suggest a container of plastic or other non-porous material. Place a
continuous
run heating pad under the container. Line the bottom of the container with a small face or hand towel. Put a small amount of water in the bottom to generate moisture in the lidded container. Make sure you provide air inlets of some configuration in the lid. The Joey does not need tremendous amounts of air to breath but surely does not need to be tightly sealed in a vent less container. On the hour for the first week give the Joey a formula of the marsupial milk replacement available from several exotic pet products manufactures. Administer the mix of milk replacement and water with an eye dropper, syringe, or specific small animal baby bottle. Let the Joey drink until it is full. Once the feeding is completed it is advisable and necessary to stimulate the Cloacae Valve to induce a bowl movement and urination by the Joey. Once they begin to do these function without stimulation it is not longer required. We use a warm wet baby wipe or paper towel moistened to stimulate the movement. Although not always successful we have numerous successes saving an abandon Joey at very young ages. The pictures in this section are of a Joey whose eyes are not yet open, but the caregiver Belinda Clayton of Hickory Flat, MS is having great success with this endeavor. She has already had the Joey at the time of the pictures just 7 days OOP all over north Mississippi running errands with her but getting it nourishment every two hours. Belinda will also allow the Joey to ride in its special blanket pictured in either in a pouch or inside her blouse. The whole idea here is Keep It Warm. Actually at four days OOP Belind other obligations to carry her mother to the doctor required the Joey to experience its first field trip into uncharted waters. Being this young the Joeys are basically much uncoordinated and will be quite messy in their taking nourishment. It is quite often necessary to clean them up after each or some feedings. We recommend warmed baby wipes. Once cleaned it is very important to keep the Joey in a very warm environment until dry again. As days pass begin to introduce foods beyond the milk replacement. Begin with yogurt and or baby food. As these become acceptable and the Joey shows indication it may be ready to advance to solid foods introduce the Joey to bland fruits and vegetables. Again as always be cautious with the fruits as over feeding of fruits may well cause diarrhea. As we emphasize so frequently diarrhea can be very dangerous with such small animals can dehydrate at an alarming rate. The last hurdle in the food chain will be the manufactured palletized Sugar Glider nutrition essential to good health and long life of the Joey. These products contain eucalyptus along with other vitamins and minerals unique to the Australian rain forest that are not easily duplicated or commonly available in America.The
successful survival of a rejected Joey is mostly the directly the care given
by the surrogate mother. The process is very time intensive for anywhere from a week to several. With this in mind if your lifestyle will not allow this
dedication to the survival of the animal I strongly suggest you contact a
commercial breeder or dedicated hobbyist that can give this time to the Joey. I am a firm believer, a live Joey elsewhere is better than a lost one in ones possession. Like most task and decisions surrounding the care and raising of
Sugar Gliders the care of rejected Joey's does not require a degree but rather good old fashion common since, your dedication and love of the animal will go much further. Be cautioned the rejected Joey you do raise from this age will
most possibly be very attached to you sometimes even before the eyes open due to scent. The possibility of parting with a rejected Joey will most likely be
very difficult. The ones we have successfully raised are very special to us.
Even thought some were sold, we keep closer contact with the owners than maybe we do with others and monitor the Sugar Gliders ongoing life. In fact I just
picked up a pair of Joey's from one customer whose male was one of our
rejected Joey's and even his offspring have a special significance to us when we place them. We only hope this writing will inspire owners of Sugar
Gliders to understand and identify rejected Joey's and then either take the
time or find a surrogate mother who can, to save those Joey's that are
rejected.