Sugar Gliders are wonderful companions and return a great deal of affection
to their owners. They are undeniably cute, with big dark eyes, soft fur and
agile human-like hands. It is easy to understand why so many of these creatures
are purchased impulsively. Unfortunately for many Sugar Gliders the cuteness
wears off in the eyes of their owners when the realistic demands of Sugar Glider
ownership are experienced. It is the purpose of this section to educate potential
owners about those realistic demands before the purchase or adoption of a Sugar
Glider takes place.
What is a Sugar Glider?:
A Sugar Glider is a small marsupial which lives mainly in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. They are gray(most of them)and have a black stripe that runs from their nose to the beginning of the tail. White/cream/yellow underbelly. The tail(which isnt prehensile) has a black tip. A Sugar Glider is about 12 inches long with the tail being about half that length(6 inches). The ears are furless and the eyes are big and dark. A Gliders front feet have 5 'fingers' with sharp claws at the end of each one. The back feet have 2 'regular toes', 2 syndactylous toes(meaning they look like they're stuck together) and they also have an opposable, clawless thumb. Sugar gliders have a membrane (patagium) that stretches from their wrists to their ankles. They stretch this out to look similar to a kite when they glide. An average adult male weighs 5 ounces, average female is 4 ounces. Why do they call them 'Sugar Gliders'? Well, they LOVE sweet things, and they glide!
Cage Care:
Sugar Glider care can be a pain sometimes. Minimun cage size for one Sugar Glider should be no less than 27"x27"x36". Always get the biggest cage possible. The spacing should be either 1/2"x1/2", or 1/2"x1". They are superb escape artists and if there is one place they can squeeze through they will find it. No doubt about that. They need a spot cleaning done everyday on their cage due to them flinging food everywhere. If not, there will be on heck of a smelly cage. Yes, they sure do fling food! Every week they need a cage cleaning, once a month disassemble cage and clean it thoroughly and toys are cleaned. Food dishes of course should be washed everyday. Fresh water should be given everyday.
Toys:
There are two types of toys, inside cage toys and playtime toys. Inside cage toys are ones that gliders can have and play with in the cage. Those are safe toys for them. Playtime toys are toys that gliders must be supervised with. Inside cage toys would be branches(I know, those arent really toys), any bird toys and a few cat toys, hammocks are good, and little hamster toys. Playtime toys would be things like feathers(cuz they might eat them after chewing them up), strings that they could choke on, and just basically anything they could chew up, swallow or break. Gliders are very good at breaking things too, and should never be left unattended while out of their cage.
Diet:
Sugar Glider diet can be a confusing thing. If not on the right diet they could die. Ie. Too much calcium could kill them, too little calcium gives them Hind Leg Paralysis and they can die from that. Some gliders are very finicky eaters and if they pick just their favorite food out of the whole meal they're not getting everything they need. If not caught in time they can die from that. Every owner has their idea of a good glider diet, some use Leadbeaters(with supplements), some Briskys Accu-Feed. Thats a complete diet. Some use the zoo feed. Others use 4 day rotational diet. It depends on the person and what works best for them and their glider. Some people dont have the time to cut up fresh fruits and veggies and freeze them/get them protein that they need/suppliments. Pregnant/lactating gliders should be given a little more protein in their diet. Treats should not be more than 10% of their diet. They can have almost anything as a treat; moderation is the key. No chocolate! That is toxic!
Sugar Gliders: Bonding:
Bonding doesn't happen over night. Sugar Gliders don't always come as nice, cute, friendly little guys. Some are quite nasty and can be very intimidating. Gliders can and will bite HARD when scared. Remember: NEVER hit a glider for biting! Negative reinforcement is not the way to go. You have to just take the bites and try putting something sweet(ie. honey or vanilla pudding) where the glider is biting and it will learn to associate you with good things. ALWAYS be friendly and loving with the glider no matter how much it bites and crabs. Some gliders take a long time to bond with, up to 1 year even. It took me 4 mos. to bond with my Cherie. To me all that time was well worth it. She crabbed at me even when I offered her treats. It seemed like she just hated me, not so. It just took her longer to adjust to her new surroundings and to trust me. Once bonded, gliders make awesome pets. They learn their names, can play games with you, and they give back the love they get.
Sugar Gliders: Night time:
Sugar Gliders are nocturnal, meaning they get up at night time and sleep all day. At night they bark and make other sounds. Sometimes gliders get very noisy and their owner(s) gets annoyed. Gliders can and will keep you up at night.
Sugar Gliders: Teen owners:
Most teens do not make good glider owners. Teens tend to be busy people and don't have the time it takes to care for a glider. Sure, there are exceptions..not all teens make bad owners. It's not just teens, there are some bad adult owners too. Teens also have the parent issue to deal with. I know, I've been there. Ie. you're going on a trip and want to take the glider(s). One parent, or both, says no and you say yes(or vice versa)..now what's going to happen to the glider(s)? It can work the other way too. Teens can be better owners than adults, some have more time to be with the glider(s) than an adult would.
Some more of my issues with teen glider owners, these are posts I made on the subject.
The main issue on gliders at a young age is parents. Parents are the biggest problem besides being responsible and mature. Lets take a real life example here, this happend to me and Im 17(now, not then), not 13. My glider had an accident and burned his feet, he NEEDED a vet BUT my parents(mainly one of them) said no, we're not taking that thing to a vet(even if I could've gone myself without him) he will be fine. See, at a young age you have people running your life, you CAN NOT be free to do what you want to do. Parents dont understand a lot of the time. Burned feet is very serious because of the blistering/mutilation/infection. I tried to tell my stepdad this but he didnt listen and didnt wanna be bothered. I had to try and take away my gliders pain and suffering as best I could with no vet- no antibiotics which he needed and no topical cream to soothe the burn and help heal. Thank god I finally got him to the vet and taken care of! Do you know how hard it is to go through the parent issues? I have been there buddy, this is the reason I would never say a glider is a good pet for a young person- because they have parents running their life. Can 13 year olds drive? I dont think so, how can they rush a glider to the vet if the parents cant/wont/dont wanna be bothered? These are some of my points. How quick can a young kid respond to an emergency, that a glider might need a vet trip? There are also other reasons about teens and life changes but I know everybody else covered that- and its true. You'll start dating and all that good stuff that comes with growing up. You'll become busier with friends, it happend to me at 13/14 and once I became homeschooled I got my gliders(not by my choice) and had all the time in the world for them because they were more important to me than friends who were just "aquantainces". Im a backwards teen if ever you knew one. Just keep the parent issues in mind..
I do think it has to do with age because age determines your level of freedom(or restriction- if you look at it that way). If you dont have the freedom of being 18 you have parents, and you have to depend on parents to either get you to the vet(if need be), or wherever to get food for the glider if the parents wont. In an emergency sometimes parents dont understand how serious it can be(in my case) and some just dont care. If you're under 18 how can you do something your parents wont help you with, or just flat out wont allow? You're stuck, like a sitting goose with your glider suffering if he needs a vet in emergency. THAT IS NOT GOOD! It all has to do with age. But see, maturity and age are different, you can be mature and responsible for your age but you still lack freedom if you're 12 or 13. I will not tell people they arent responsible enough or arent mature, or dont have the money cuz that I dont know about, but the freedom and age thing I do know. Its the same for all kids under 18. You're not your own person at that age, you cant come and go as you please, you depend on people for things because you are still a kid. I know this already, I've gone through it, I have experience in parents and teen glider issues and even have experience with the problems Im talking about- like the emergencies. When you have a parent who has no time for things like pets and/or just doesnt wanna be bothered there isnt much time for the glider. Gliders hide illness very well, its instinct to protect themselves in the wild. If your glider is sick and you just noticed it, you have to haul *** to the vet because there is a very small window of time before you see it sick and the time you're crying cuz its dead. You cant haul *** if you're not old enough to go as you please and your parents wont take you, or even if you can drive and your parents wont allow you to go you're still screwed. How hard is that to understand?(this isnt directed towards any one person so dont take it that way)
Sugar Gliders: BABIES!:
"Oh, I must have a baby glider! They're so cute!" STOP right there! Dont even think about getting a breeding pair before bonding with just 1 glider, you are in for trouble. First you need to know about gliders and babies. That part is fairly easy. Gliders mate, 16 days later a joey is born live and crawls into the pouch. That's a rare sight, it lasts appox. 5 minutes unless something goes wrong. The joey could fall off, the mother could stress out and eat it, or it could just go the wrong way, get tangled in fur then die. After its in the pouch it remains there for 2 months before sticking body parts out. Once it can no long squeeze itself in that pouch it stays out of the pouch, but sticks its head in to nurse. At about 45 days OOP it begins to eat solid food and stops depending on the mother so much for food. Once it starts eating on its own and the tail is completely puffed out it is fully weaned. Now that you know that, before you go buy a pair to breed, you need to know if you can keep the joey or will you sell it? You might want to find a GOOD home in advance, make arrangements beforehand. "UH OH- The joey disappeared from moms pouch!" That happens, sometimes from lacking a nutrient in their diet, or maybe the mother is stressed out, possibly something was wrong with the joey. It might even still be there, momma gliders can hide their joeys in the back of their pouch when they're real small. "NOW WHAT?" Glider sometimes reject their babies too soon and most of the time they cannot be hand raised, gliders are very fragile and most likely to die if orphaned. There has been some great saves tho! Make sure you are prepared to hand rear a joey if orphaned and also make sure you can cope with the loss if the little one doesnt make it. Hopefully you've thought twice about breeding gliders just cuz the babies are so cute and cuddly. Dont forget- they do grow up. Breeding is best after lots of research and full preparation.
Some questions to ask yourself before you get a glider:
Do I have room for a glider cage?
Do I have the time and would I be willing to spot clean the cage everyday?
Is it possible for me to be able to give the glider(s) the right diet?
Would I be willing to feed the glider(s) every night before I go to bed and clean it out in the morning?
Do I have the time and patience to bond with a glider(s) even tho it could take a year or more?
Am I prepared to handle a biting glider?
Do I have the time to spend with it?
Can I sleep at night with gliders making all kinds of noises?