Sugar Gliders Update

We made major strides tonight! They're really beginning to warm up to us. When they first woke up, they still crabbed at us and retreated from our hands. Now that I'm about to go to bed, they no longer crab at me or flee my hands. They curiously sniff and then nibble at my fingers. They even allow me to pet them a little bit. Towards the end, I had them coming to me almost by command. If I stood nearby in a convenient place and made some encouraging noises, and maybe held my hand out, I could get them to jump onto me.

They are so very playful and interesting, and incredible climbers. Today, they were climbing on a 7' tall lamp of ours made of smooth plastic. They could only reach about halfway around it and couldn't get any grip with their claws, but still managed to scurry up the thing without too much effort. The way they climb drapes or wires is incredibly human-like. They pull themselves along hand over hand with their front paws just like a soldier climbing a rope. When they're on the ground (which isn't often) they hop and skitter from place to place very much like chipmunks.

Their noises are really fascinating. I mentioned crabbing already. That's the "leave me alone" noise they make when they're upset. It's a really loud noise that sounds very much like one of those old pencil sharpeners where you turned the handle and it broke your pencil every time. Everybody jumps the first time they hear it. They bark like puppies when they're happy. They make a coarse chirping noise when they argue or play rough with eachother. I also heard a noise like air being released from a valve, but I have no idea what that one meant.

And they're so smart too. They want to explore and figure out everything around them. We have a bunch of baby toys in their cage, and they play with them the same ways an infant does. Tonight I watched them chase eachother around in an almost hide and seek fashion. For a little while, I played a game with them where I repeatedly surprised them by poking them from behind, and they seemed to love it.

Overall, I'm in love. I've never had such a fascinating pet, and I've had quite a few pets. They're only 8 weeks old. I wonder how they're going to develop over the next 10-15 years of their lives.