I was just about to leave to go to Mudgee, my nearest biggish town, to do some shopping, when the phone rang. One of my fellow carers had just rescued a sugar glider, and it needed to go to the vet asap. Seeing the vet was in Mudgee, and that’s where I was headed, it wasn’t a problem, so I arranged to meet her, and take it with me.
Let me tell you a little about sugar gliders. They are tiny little creatures, about the size of a rat, but with a long tail, longer than their bodies. They have the sweetest little faces, and are covered with soft grey fur, with black markings, and their tail is fluffy, and used for hanging onto branches. Between their front and back legs, they have membranes, which they use to glide from tree to tree. When they jump from a branch, they throw their legs out, and the membranes act like a parachute. Their glides can reach 50 yards. Because they live in trees, they have very strong little claws, so that they can hang on to the trunks and branches of the trees.
This little one was delivered to me at the appointed place, wrapped up in warm clothing, in a box, but it was freezing cold. The carer who had rescued it was very concerned, because a dog had brought it home and delivered it to its owner. It’s very unlikely the dog actually caught it; more likely it had already been injured, and the dog merely found it. However, the whole ordeal would have been pretty traumatic for the poor creature, and it would have been in shock. And who knows what extra damage the dog had unwittingly inflicted. The poor little thing was just lying there, seemingly barely alive. I didn’t think its chances were all that terrific, but I knew it needed to warmed up if it was to have any chance at all. So I did the only thing I could think of doing under the circumstances, and that was to put it right next to my skin, and then get it to the vet as quickly as possible. So I unbuttoned my shirt, and put it in, then buttoned my shirt up again, got in the car, and arranged the seatbelt around it and me, and off I drove. All was well till I was almost at Mudgee…..and I could feel it moving around. Good I thought, it’s warming up. However I was a bit concerned when I felt its sharp little claws as it climbed up my body, and fairly quickly too. I suppose it thought it was climbing a very strange tree. Felt fairly weird too, as you can imagine. So I stopped the car, just in time to catch it, as it exited the neck of my shirt, and popped it in the box and securely clamped the lid down. We only had a few minutes to go and we would be at the vets, which was probably just as well, seeing it had come to life!
I took the box into the vets and explained all that had happened. I arranged to call when I had finished all I had to do to see what had transpired. Upon my return, the vet told me the little glider had spinal injuries, but she had given her (she had discovered a pouch) a cortisone injection to bring down the swelling in the hope of recovery. She said she was still having problems maintaining her body temperature and wasn’t terribly hopeful for her eventual recovery. But….as we all think, if they’re still alive, and there’s a chance, you give it to them. She had been placed in nice warm things to keep her comfortable till I got her to the carer, so I took her to the car and decided to check her out before I started the car. Well. In her eyes this was the final indignity. She had had quite enough poking and prodding, on top of whatever caused her injuries, and being carted round by a dog. And had an injection! So she bit me! Right on the end of the finger, and so hard that when I automatically pulled my hand back, there she was hanging off my finger. So now it was my turn to be less than impressed! I called her and all her relatives some impolite names, and I was VERY pleased when she decided to let go! I covered her back up as quickly as possible, and back on the box with the lid, and then I ransacked the car for a band aid, which I eventually found up the back of the glove box. My finger was throbbing, and it bled quite freely, so I had no worries about the wound being clean…..but gosh it hurt! So after giving myself first aid, and still mumbling and grumbling, I set off for the carer’s place to put this little fiend in her care….
By the time we arrived, I had calmed down considerably and was once more concerned about her welfare. She had also calmed down, and inflicted no further injuries on anyone when she was placed on the heating pad, to try and keep her warm throughout the night. A small “fruit salad” was placed in the box with her, consisting of several chopped up pieces of fruit, and some blossoms. Night time is when they normally feed themselves, and are active. So, seeing she had been settled down for the night, I went home.
Unfortunately, the little glider didn’t survive. By the morning she had slipped into a coma, and passed away quietly. Her injuries were too severe for even her feisty spirit to overcome. But we had tried….
Mamaroo's Diary 