Maybe this seems like a strange topic, but I feel that it is one of importance. So let’s delve right in! What should you wear when bonding with your gliders? A lot of people do tent time (tent time is basically where you sit in a mosquito net tent with your gliders so that you can bond better. I have a whole room to do this in).
When doing tent time, your gliders are crawling all over you. They’re jumping up the sides of the tent and onto your face, head, arms, legs, everywhere. Wearing appropriate clothing is vital to making tent time a good experience for you and your gliders.
Sweatshirt or Hoodie
Wear a thick shirt with long sleeves. This keeps gliders from biting or scratching your arms. If you’re grossed out by pee and poop soaking into your clothes, get used to it. It’s better than being stressed out because your arms are getting scratched and bit.
If your sensitive about having your neck touched, find a shirt that will protect it. I’ve been bit hard enough to draw blood on my neck a few times and it is NOT a pleasant experience. I’m super jumpy when any of my gliders get near my neck. If I have a shirt that protects it, I’m a lot more relaxed. If your sweatshirt has a hood, that’s best. A lot of gliders love heads. I have one that attacks my hair and another who grooms my head very roughly.
Jeans or Thick Pants
Don’t wear shorts for the same reason that you don’t wear short sleeves. Long, thick pants will protect your legs from bites and scratches.
Hats
If you don’t have a hood, find a hat. One that you can pull over your ears is best. For some reason, a lot of gliders enjoy attacking ears. Very painful! If your glider is particularly prone to biting ears, you can wear earmuffs or big ear protectors. If you’re worried about gliders flying in your face and scratching your eyes, you can wear plastic eye protectors.
Gloves
If you have biters, gloves are extremely valuable. Having your hands protected, makes it so much easier to tolerate the nips and to get them used to your hands without stressing them out (most gliders hate hands because they look similar to a mouth).
Socks & Shoes
This is a similar reason to wearing gloves. Socks and shoes protect your feet from bites. If you choose to wear shoes, however, be very cautious when standing up. You don’t want to accidentally step on your glider.
Maybe this all seems a little extreme. After all, who really wants to put on all of this clothing before spending time with your babies? This isn’t meant to be a hard and fast list of clothes that you HAVE to wear. These are just suggestions for having the least painful interaction with your gliders. Once you get to know your gliders’ personalities better – if they bite, where they bite, what their favorite part of your body is, etc. then you’ll be able to adjust your clothing accordingly.
~Hattush
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