Everyone has standards. For some, offering basic life necessities...what's needed simply to survive...is all they do. For others, nothing short of offering everything the gliders need to be healthy and happy is acceptable. Personally, I don't believe any rescue home should be content with that first option. While there are times when gliders must be removed from a dangerous situation immediately and a temporary stopover offering the bare minimums is the only available option, it should not be the ending solution. The goal should be to get the gliders into a home that offers emotional, as well as physical, support because that is what's best for the gliders.

Many people have found such joy in the care of their gliders that they have a desire to become a glider rescue home. While their hearts are certainly in the right place, there is more to being a Glider Rescuer than just taking in gliders that need to be rehomed and providing a good home for them. It may seem simple to say you are a glider rescue but there are many things to consider before taking action on your desire to help. There are many ways to do that without being a rescue home:

1. assist in railroading gliders
2. donate time, money or items to rescue homes
3. educate other owners or "wannabe" owners
4. support 501(c)3 sugar glider groups
Each role plays a vital part in helping gliders. No one can do it alone, and by working together we can achieve greater results.

For those who do want to open their doors as rescue homes, realize that there is more involved than simply taking in gliders. There's a lot of hard work and very little public thanks. Your life revolves around the gliders in your home...feeding, nail clipping, cage cleaning, etc. As a rescue home, you must uphold a level of standards of care that goes beyond those of the average pet owner. Rescue homes must:



1. be knowledgeable and experienced
-know how to properly care for a wide range of illnesss and
injuries (many gliders that come to rescue homes have physical
and/or behavioral problems)
2. be prepared
-have supplies on hand, including medical supplies, pouches
and enrichment
-you need to have enough on hand to be able to accept at least
2 sets of gliders (and assume they come in with nothing as
many do)
3. have finances available
-must be able to offer ALL needed care from the moment they
arrive ***YOU AREN'T HELPING GLIDERS BY TAKING THEM IN IF
YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR THEIR CARE***
-community support comes and goes; you can't count on
donations to pay for gliders you take into your home
4. have time
-there's a huge difference between caring for 2 cages and caring
for 10 or 20 cages (food preparation and feeding can take
1 hour/day; cage cleaning can take 8+hours/week; add to that
out of cage time, recordkeeping and nail clipping and it's like working a second
job)
5. have space
-gliders need adequate size cages that are spaced apart from
other cages
-you'll need more than 1 quarantine room (it's not unheard of to
have 3 sets of gliders arrive within 1 week)
-you'll also need out of cage time play areas (again, remember
quarantine must stay separate)
-also, all areas must be easy to keep clean and sanitary
6. have a support network
-you'll need to have relationships with rescue homes, vets, and
other glider owners (this is invaluable when you need to discuss medical care issues with someone else who has experienced similar situations. You will need to share information about potential new owners for the rescues in your care both in placing gliders, getting the heads up on those not to adopt to due to their past history of glider care.)
7. be committed
-there will be many physically and emotionally challenging days;
you may need to pick up gliders on short notice or spend hours
on the phone trying to arrange railroads; gliders come in ill,
injured, angry and scared and you have to be dedicated to
putting their needs above your own wants
-gliders will be with you at least 30 days in quarantine and
usually longer while trying to find good homes; they are your
daily responsibility for as long as necessary
-you have to spend the time and energy to screen homes to
ensure that they are going to their forever home and that they
will have a better life there than they would with you...it's not
just about moving them out

Some other questions you'll need to ask yourself:

Does your lifestyle provide a flexible schedule which will allow you to provide 24 hour care when necessary?

Do you have reliable and consistently available transportation and a driver's license?

Have you contacted your local SPCA, Humane Society or Animal Shelter to see if they require you to hold any local or state license in order for them to turn animals over to your care?

Have you established a back-up plan for someone to care for and if necessary house all the gliders in your care if something were to happen to you? Have you communicated that plan to the individual you expect to care for your gliders and are they in agreement?

Do you have a surrender contract to be signed by the prior owner when you receive a glider to protect your self against claims by previous owners.

Have you established an ongoing relationship with at least one veterinarian who is experienced with glider illness and injury care, who can be reached 24/7 for emergency treatment, not just a vet who provides routine well care? Do you have personal experience in recognizing gliders who are ill or in distress?

Do you have the knowledge and ability to adapt cages for injured or special needs gliders?

Do you have a written policy and procedure for accepting gliders including starting paperwork on each glider who comes in? Are you willing and able to keep detailed records documenting the health, behavior, diet (past and in your home), information on any surgery or other medical treatments provided any illness/injury and your assessment of temperament.

Can you establish a screening process for adoptions and match the glider’s temperament to a home and have an adoption contract with new owners indicating that the rescue gliders will not be used for breeding at any time? Will you follow up with the home after placement?


If you cannot meet all these goals, the please do not call yourself a rescue home. You can take in and rehome as many gliders as you comfortably have the time, space, cages, and financial resources to support. But this does not define you as a rescue home. Perhaps, with more planning and experience you will be ready to become a rescue home in the future.

Becoming a rescue home, one that upholds the highest standards of total care, is tremendously hard work, and while it is rewarding, it's certainly not for everyone. For many current rescue homes, it's more of who we are than what we do. It's a type of work where you will never know all the answers and where you can never stop learning. It's a type of work where you must constantly adapt your techniques as you learn new information and you must keep your mind open to gaining that new information. You have to always ask "how can I do better?". A rescue home that does any less isn't helping gliders.

Fortunately, rescue work has many facets and we can all participate in some way. Everything done to help rescue gliders...whether it be donating money, helping to transport or being a rescue home...is equally important in making their lives better.