Sugar Gliders

Sugar Gliders are marsupials from Australia or Indonesia. They are a nocturnal, tree-dwelling, animals that will often live in groups of twenty to as many as forty! They're very soft, brown animals that have a black stripe running right down their back. They have a gliding membrane that is used in flying. If they are high enough, a sugar glider is capable of gliding as much as one hundred and fifty feet! 

An adult glider weighs about 120 - 135g and they are about 10 - 14 inches long with about 6-8 inches of their length making up their tail. The tail of the glider is used to balance and steer when he is gliding, but that is about all it is used for. 

A glider has some strange traits like opposable fingers and toes. They can also make a variety of sounds such as chirping, barking, chattering, crabbing and other unique sounds that have to be gotten used to so you will eventually know what they measn.  The lifespan of a glider is anywhere from ten to fifteen years, if it is well tended to.

Another thing, bare wire cages can harm your glider's feet and it could also get quite loud when they climb on this type of cage. It's ideal to get a vinyl or powder coated wire cage. This will minimize the risk of harm as well as being a lot quieter. It is also much easier to clean out it won't rust. I've heard that galvanized wire could result in heavy metal poisoning, and I've also heard of folks having no problems at all with it. For problems to arise, your glider would have to gnaw constantly on the wire and then eat it. To be safe, don't use the bare galvanized wire. You can get plexiglass cages for sugar gliders, but they scratch very easily and your glider would need a lot more branches to climb. You might even consider a bird cage, but it will be really expensive if you find one that is big enough. 

Items Necessary For Your Sugar Glider's Cage

A Nest box or pouch

A glider needs a safe, secure place where he can sleep.  A nest box is the best thing to get if you are planning on having a few gliders. If you get a nest box, make sure it's not bare wood because the glider's urine  will soak right into it and it will have to be replaced quite often. It is best to get a plastic or plexiglass box. In the bottom of his nest box you should place a liner such as aspen bedding or tissues or a nice piece of fleece. But, if you have fewer than four gliders, try a pouch instead. You can take a pouch right out of the cage and put the gliders directly into your bonding pouch without disturbing them too much. This can make the bonding process much easier on you both! You can make one or buy one at your local pet store. Keep more than one on hand so they can always be sure to have a clean one. You can also have both a pouch and a nest box in the glider's cage then switch back and forth between them. 

Branches And Perches 

You will need some non-toxic branches.  You can get eucalyptus or manzanita. Both of these, just to name two, can be usually be found in specialty stores for birds.  You may even have to look for a website that sells them!  You could also try to use live tree branches but please make sure that they are non-toxic and have never been sprayed with pesticides!  Ordinary house plants, (even the non-toxic type) are not a good idea at all.  You may have trees or plants that your gliders can play on outside of their cages, if you supervise them carefully....make very sure they are not eating any! You may even want to have you own trees for the gliders to play in. 

 Food And Water 

The large cups made for bird seed work just fine because they attach to the side of the cage. You should get ceramic or stainless steel dishes because plastic dishes scratch easily and can hold bacteria. Sugar gliders don't usually eat food that is positioned too close to the ground. A good thing about this is that if they are placed higher up in the cage, then the glider's mess is not apt to fall into their food. Their water bottles shouldn't be too large.  Also their water, like most pets', needs to be changed often. An excellent kind to buy are bird water bottles. 

 Toys 

You can entertain your glider/gliders with bird toys like swings, rings, ladders, and mirrors. Don't get any with strings or fabric or wires they might ingest though. Rotate the toys so your pets won't lose interest. A wheel is also a way of providing both fun and exercise. But don't buy just a regular hamster wheel, they are not a very good idea. Lots of glider owners highly recommend the "Wodent Wheel" as The safest choice so your glider won't get his tail caught in it! 

Bedding 

You'll also want to put some bedding on the floor of the cage for your pet. Never use newspaper, cedar, or pine shavings, all of these these are toxic to very small animals. You can use aspen shavings, corncob bedding or oat hull. 

Trays 

Most pet stores carry two different types of trays. There is one that you put underneath your cage and there's another that is a sliding litter tray replacement. Both of them come in large sizes. 

Cleaning The Cage

Approximately once a week you will have to clean your sugar glider's cage. If it's a male, don't clean too often. If you are always cleaning his cage this can result in the him scent-marking even more. You can make a mixture of baking soda and water and spray it on the cage then rinse it off and this will help to control odor. 

 Feeding 

Sugar gliders are omnivores. They can eat many different things, including: fruits, vegetables, protein, and breads and cereals. Their diet should consist of 15-20% fruit, 40% vegetables (citrus fruits often cause diarrhea and canned fruits contain much too much sugar, frozen vegetables are acceptable), 25% to 50% protein (monkey chow, tofu, cooked turkey or chicken, hardboiled eggs, baby chicks or mice, and insects), and 15% breads and cereals (never too sugary or too high in fat). Gliders are high-energy creatures and they do need a lot of carbohydrates which breads and cereals can provide. You may once in a while give them them small pieces of wheat bread, shredded wheat squares (with the raisin in the middle) or many other HEALTHY cereals. Try new foods and make sure to rotate his favorite ones to keep him from losing his interest. 

When in the wild, insects are a regular part of a sugar glider's diet. They really enjoy live insects such as crickets and mealworms.  You could also offer a variety of other insects but make sure they haven't been exposed to any pesticides. If you don't relish the thought of dealing with live insects, you can always buy the freeze-dried ones!

You could also just buy a pelleted food, meant to be a complete diet, at pet stores. You can feed them this solely or as a staple in addition to a 25/75% balanced diet, and add fruits and vegetables.  

NEVER Feed Your Glider: 

Junk food, candy, onions or foods with onion powder (it is toxic to pets), wild insects that could have parasites or pesticides on them,
houseplants or distilled water!

Every food you give your glider needs to be as low in fat as possible. They don't handle fat very well. 

Limit the number of seeds and nuts you feed your glider, maybe only reserve them for treats. 

Stay away from artificial sweeteners and preservatives. a lot of the low-fat foods are artificially sweetened.  

There is a lot of controversy over feeding your sugar glider yogurt. The concern is that gliders may be lactose intolerant. But yogurt contains bacteria that digest the lactose. As long as you use non-fat plain unsweetened yogurt, there should be no problems. 

You should also give your sugar glider a supplement high in calcium to prevent hind-leg paralysis. Hind-leg paralysis is caused when the glider becomes deficient in calcium or vitamin D3 or he has too much phosphorus in relation to calcium in his diet and his body takes calcium from his bones until they become brittle and break. A sugar glider can recover from this, but a lot of times this condition results in death. Calcium supplements are especially necessary if you are feeding him a lot of fruits or vegetables. They are high in phosphorus and low in calcium.  It is the same for a lot of the food regularly given to sugar gliders. A reptile supplement will do just fine for a sugar glider. It is phosphorus-free and contains natural oyster shell calcium and vitamin D. If you get a powdered supplement - mix a little bit into yogurt, baby food, or honey. Supplements should be given no more than 1-2 times a week. The main vitamins and minerals you need to supplement are calcium, vitamin D3, and vitamin E. 

Good Luck with your pet sugar glider!  Enjoy it!

 

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