The Great Escape
(Nocturnal My Ass)

My concern about an escape was realized today. It was a pretty amazing hour for Bunni Dolittle and the critters!

I had just awakened and I'm not at my best early in the morning (even if early morning happens to begin at 2PM). I'd made coffee, let Deva and Panama out and come into the office to see how the other critters were doing. Morph & Glyph had been making quite a racket after I'd gone to bed last night and I discovered this morning that they had eaten every scrap of food I'd given them last night. This was a first and also confirmed to me that although I didn't know why or how, last night was somehow pivotal in our relationship.

They were wide awake and came immediately to the bars to see me. Today would be a good day to get two critters into my pockets I decided and although I hadn't had my coffee yet it seemed like a good time since they were up and at em, so to speak.

My two bribery foods so far are walnuts and provolone. Morph will clearly sell his soul for provolone so I have not been giving them any of these in their food bowl not only because of the higher fat content but because a bribe should be special.

While they climbed all over my hands I attempted to extricate them from each other and Morph from the cage. Glyph was on my palm so it seemed a good idea to take her out first. Good idea to me maybe...but apparently I should have asked her opinion. As soon as my hand would begin to close around her she would nip at me. Ok, she could wait. Morph came without much trouble the only impediment being that they do tend to grab onto anything within reach (and they stretch out to about twice their normal length when reaching). His hold on the bars was not very dedicated this time and I managed to get him out and into my pocket pretty easily...considering that Glyph was climbing up my arm at the same time. Although this takes a while to write..and to read, it happens in about 2 seconds and I could not contain her without smashing her little head with the door. (And even for that I'd have needed another hand!)

By the time he was buttoned into my pocket, she was on my shoulder.   She made it very clear that she was happy to be there but that if I grabbed her she would make every attempt to remove my finger, not only from her but from my hand.

I sat very still for a moment thinking, "Shit! I'll never see her again...and where the hell is my coffee?"

Barb, a person I'd met in a chat room had told me, when I'd expressed my fear of them escaping, that she could tell when she had an escapee because things would start crashing. She also said that the gliders would come to her as soon as they were hungry. I did not doubt her but I was concerned that these gliders are not yet especially attached to me. Also, my only experience with critters of this size has been with hamsters. I realized (I thought) that just because these are small and furry does not mean they are anything like hamsters but apparently I had unconscious hamsteresque expectations of them.

My experience with hamsters has not been good. They were the pets of my children who I visited only enough to be sure they would not starve to death. On the occasions when one would escape it would act like a house-mouse in that it would take off for the far reaches of the house-universe, leave only droppings for clues, and eat holes in my favorite clothes in the laundry basket but never be seen there. Never have I caught an escaped hamster.

While I considered these things (which took about 20 seconds) Glyph scurried down my back over my leg,  off the chair and across the floor behind the door. My office is a shambles where she could easily hide out for a year (and probably be well fed if she could live on the seeds that Fenton scatters over most of the floor) but the rest of the house is a maze of dangerous lakes (the toilet), fire pits (the oven), poisonous forests (potted philodendron), a million hidey holes and perhaps a dragon (since there is no telling if Deva would choose to chase her if I were not watching).

I eased over to the door and closed it. (Could she squeeze between the door and the carpet? I wasn't sure.) She was no longer in sight but I was certain she was still in the room. Opening the door again and keeping a good eye on the floor I went to get my coffee, shutting it quickly behind me. She'd still be escaped in 5 minutes but maybe I could consider some plan of action with a little caffeine in my system.

Back in the office at my desk, in my usual chair at the command center I didn't take more than a sip of coffee before hearing her right next to me in a box that my printer sits on. She was having trouble climbing up the sheer sides of the box with no foot holds. This could be a good thing. She was contained at least.

"No I'm not" she appeared to say as she peeked over the arm of my chair on her way to my shoulder again, and down my chest to sniff at the pocket in which her mate was buttoned. I fed her a bit of cheese which she stopped to eat before leaping off the chair and scurrying out of site again.

Still concerned about how this little scene would play out I was heartened to see that she was not trying to avoid me. She wanted to explore but she apparently had no desire to vanish. Explore she did as my coffee started doing it's work and I determined to enjoy the show but to also to take control.

I watched her as she moved around her chosen territory. Although she was not always visible the area she chose to explore stretched from my chair to the closet and included the bookshelves and a pile of junk topped by a tinkertoy "gym". She could get into the closet under the door but didn't seem to have any desire to stay in there. My chair was the place she kept returning to.

In the path between the closet and my chair I placed a ceramic jar that I had offered them as a hideout in their cage while I cleaned their house and which (because I'm a pig) probably still contained their smell. I baited it with a piece of walnut and a bit of provolone just inside the entrance.  While I did this she climbed behind the cushion in my chair and watched to see what foolishness I was up to. When I sat down again she made the trek across my shoulder, down my leg...pausing to sit on my foot and check out my odd human toes. Then she was on to the tinkertoy gym before coming back to grab the provolone, climb in the jar and get cozy.

With a sigh of relief (but an odd reluctance to see the show end) I deposited the jar into her cage.

I've learned a few things about sugar gliders in the past 15 hours and about myself.

I am timid of being bitten which disgusts me. Although I am not so wimpy that I will let go of my hold (or tighten it) on a biting sugar glider I do cringe at the prospect of it and it effects how I handle them (or don't). Maybe that's not a terrible thing.

I've seen what social creatures they really are. Glyph is a lot like me. She wants to hang out, has no intention of going away, but she wants to do it on her own terms, independently. I can respect that. (I'm not entirely sure how to deal with it, but I do respect it.) Although they are small they are not about to be strong-armed into submission. (You go girl!)

I'm going to have to let them train me and try to be a quick study so that we can have fun without shattering my nerves (or theirs).

Now they are asleep. All is quiet.

And I have the perverse desire to let her out again. I really like these critters!

Panama's Birthday Party - The Office Staff - Bunni Dot Com - Sugar Gliders