Hey guys I'm Jessi, we're back at animal wonders.

I have a behind the scenes video for you but before we show that, I want to kinda set ya up. Last week, we introduced you to our new animal ambassador, and you can check that video out afterwards. Basically, it was a Sugar Glider that we wanted to introduce to our old guy Gizmo and we're really excited!

It worked out, but I would like to show you the process of the introduction so that you guys might be able to do that in the future.

So as I said before, it can  be difficult to introduce two different animals. Sugar gliders are territorial by nature and males are the head honchos in the species. So when we did come across a young male that needed a home, we were a little, slightly concerned that the two males wouldn't get along.

What we were hoping for, was that one of them would become submissive.  Most likely it was going to be the new one because she was younger and because Gizmo already had that territory claim. So we were hoping for the new guy to be submissive and become gentle in his acceptance. The reason we were thinking that Gizmo might be gentle in his acceptance of the new guys is that he was probably craving companionship. Sugar gliders are very social animals and create very strong bonds and live in family groups. So Gizmo lost his longtime friend Nemo. Ten years they were together. That's a long time for a Sugar Glider. Nemo passed away two months ago. When this happened, Gizmo became less active, a much more picky eater. So we were really putting our feelers out there to see if any Sugar Gliders needed a home. And so we were pretty happy when we did come across this new guy.

So the first thing of business when we get a new animal is we want to make sure he's healthy. We don't want to introduce a sick animal to a healthy population. So we took him to the vet and get a clean bill of health. And he wasn't showing too much distress, he's too young. He was a healthy little guy. So... It just depends on the behavior of the animal, how they're interacting. But it took about two days for us to feel comfortable for them to interact. So the next step was  protective contact, meaning there's a barrier between them and they can see each other, smell each other. So the next step is free contact:

He's now exploring the new pouch, looking at his friend.

So the new guy has already come out of his pouch. He's hanging out up here. He's kind of unsure about things.

"Hey Buddy." He doesn't like me, does he? He smells where the other guy was. And I think he's going to go back to his cage.

(Sounds of animals)

"Hi Gizmo...Hello." He's kind of scared because it's  a new place for him. Better than Gizmo being mean to him. Cuz this is Gizmo's territory and he's being accepting. The other guy, the young guy, is probably pretty nervous. So he's on defensive mode. He wants to go back into the patch, have a little time out time.

"I don't know I'm kind of old for this stuff."

"Hi Bud! How are you?"

(Sound of animals)

"Aw friends." Gizmo's on the bottom. The new guy's on the top. Look at how good they did!

We couldn't have asked for a better introduction. I'm just so happy Gizmo has a companion now. I'm so happy we're able to give a new home to someone who needed it. As you can see from last week, they are getting along awesome.  They're the best buds. He still doesn't like me. But that's ok. The most important thing is that he's bonded to Gizmo. And Gizmo thinks he's pretty cool, too! Ah, I'm not worried about it. We have a long relationship ahead of us. I hope you guys like this Behind the Scenes. Have a great week guys.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Animal Wonders Montana. You can find me throughout the week on Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube. Ask me any of your animal questions.

First thing's first. Look what we have. 
(Shows poster)

And yay, I'm happy they've met. They've hung out. Now the new guy's exploring. Oh! (chuckles) We're going to grow up in a new place. That'll be difficult.