Sugi is fine! He's moved back in with his family (and has actually been back with them now for some time - I'm bad - I forgot to update). My little man is happy again, and it's as if nothing had ever changed.


SugarBear, SugarBear, SugarBear! - "Can't get enough of muh SugaBear"!
(this is the slogan for an old commercial for a kid's cereal - way back when I was growing up, and I just loved this cereal - thus, Sugi's name)

I just love Sugi's vet, and she is taking such great care of my boy! I am also very thankful to my employer who allowed me time off to tend to my little guy, since my vet's office is two hours away from my work - one way. I have to say that the staff at this vet clinic is just incredible. I mean, they REALLY take a very personal interest in your pet. Once we arrived, we were quickly taken into the examining room, and we had to "persuade" Sugi to come out of his pouch (he teased, he'd peek out, then withdraw, peek out, then sneak back in and then "crab" (if you have never heard a sugar glider's vocalizations, you are really missing something because they have quite a repertoire); so, finally, I had to take him out (and I had a handy little fleece blankie - just in case). Once Sugi was out of his pouch, he strutted his stuff and wouldn't let the vet "see his private parts" - or as I should say, where they used to be. He was coy, and then decided that we would have to do things his way. He bounced from me, to John, and then back again. I'm so thankful that my vet had a fleece-like covering placed over the examining table or Sugi would have sliiiidd and went "ker-splat". See? I told you, this office makes sure to cater to your pet's specific needs. Two thumbs waaaaay way up!

The "Tease"
OK, finally, Sugi just isn't going to show the "full monty" so we had to take him back to "the room" where the anesthesiologist was waiting. Sugi was once again coaxed out of his pouch (we had to re-pouch him since we walked through another room), and he crawled into a "little container" that had a hose attached to one end. The anesthesiologist did what she did best, and suddenly, little Sugi was ever so much more cooperative. I was very impressed with this set-up because not only was he "out" she had a little mask-like cover which kept him out. One thing I have noticed on other vet visits is that these little guys "come out of it" pretty quickly, so I was very pleased to see this procedure handled this way, which seemed exactly what we would expect if a human were being "put under." Sugi "stayed under" so that a full examination could be performed.

The findings:
Just as I had feared - he did have an infection. The one thing that I do not understand, though, is that I had been keeping a VERY close eye on my little man, and still, I did not see that there was a problem until last night. Anyway, the vet thoroughly cleaned out the wound with some kind of blue stuff (and here's the great part, she explained what she was doing every step of the way, and she even mentioned the name of the stuff she used - I just can't remember what it was). Afterwards, she gave him two injections (one on each hip) and then some medicine, which would keep him calm all the way home. She advised me to keep him separate from his family for about three days, and during that time, she said that his wound should close up on his own. Sugi HAD been healing, but the infection had slowed the process. She explained that though she could re-stitch him that, in doing so, he would very likely go through the whole process all over again, so this solution, she thought, was for the best, and I agreed.

The before and after images
Since I have just had two of my males neutered, I will post two photos: one of Oliver, who is healing normally (but that little squirt, or his mate, removed his stainless steel sutures and did a very effective job) and then one of Sugi, who had several complications. Neutering sugar gliders can be a tricky thing to do, so I hope these photos will help another owner better understand the process.

This is a photo of Oliver before his neutering. The "pom" is completely visible. The procedure that I had performed involved the removal of the "pom." Oliver's before photo.

This is Oliver after his surgery and, although he is still tender, he is healing well on his own. This photo was taken last night (my date is wrong on my digital camera). However, right after his surgery, Oliver was just his "regular self" and had no complications. Oliver's after photo.

Within the blue circle, you can see that Sugi's "pom" has been removed and that the site has opened. This site was infected and treatment has been obtained. The vet believes this site should close on its own in about three days. Sugi's after photo.

The lurid details...
Now, as a side note, I happened to notice that last night while I was sitting up with my little man, that he was feeling "amorous". I believe that I only slept about two or three hours. Anyway, there I was, sitting in my chair while maintaining a watchful eye, and he is doing what? "Getting lucky"? I felt like such an intruder because the little bugger was actually "romancing" his lady! While injured! Good heavens!

Gliders are such interesting and endearing little pets, I must say. One glider is fun, and two are absolutely adorable (because it is just so interesting to watch them communicate and to interact with one another), but when you have three... almost anything goes! Not only was I disturbed by this unexpected nocturnal activity (I was so worried that he'd somehow hurt himself), but Sugi's other "lady" was upset, and she barked during the entire ordeal... while "the romancee" barked in complaint, which indicated that Sugi just needed to go away and leave her alone. Men.

Sugi, who is ever the loving mate and "gentle-glider" (and also a truly wonderful father) finally did... and he went sulking back to his pouch to tend to his joeys. Twin girls.

Poor Sugi! So misunderstood.