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What is a sugar glider? A sugar glider (Petaurus brevicep) is a small marsupial that lives in Australia, Papa New Guinea, Tasmania, and Indoneisa. They live in the tree tops out of preditors way. They are noctornal, which means that they sleep in the day and wake in the night.
These guys commonly come in a grey color with a black stripe that runs from between the eyes down to the end of their spine. A couple of inches at the end of the tail on common colored gliders is black. There are a few other markings of black on the legs and near the ears. The usual size from nose to the end of the body before the tail starts is 6 inches with the tail of the same length The tail is bushy. The adults weight from 4.0 ounces to 5.5 ounces which is 115 to 160 grams. The average male weights 140 grams while the average female weights 115 grams. Gliders that live in warmer areas tend to be smaller than the gliders that live in the cold areas. A sugar gliders body temperature is 89 F (38 C). Their teeth are known as diprodonts, meaning that they only have two incisors that are large and point forward. Their ears are in constant motion. They are large and bold. These ears are able to pick up small sounds almost like a radar. The eyes are large and are set on the sides of the face so that they can see a bigger view of things. Now you may think that the tail is used for grabing onto things. Well I'm sorry to say the answer is no. They use their tail to stabilize and balance themselves. Also they use it to control the direction that the go in when in flight. The feet are very interesting. Their forefeet each have 5 digits much like humans fingers. The nails are sharp and are used for griping during landing or when runing up trees. The hindfeet also have 5 digits with only 4 nails. The big toe is clawless and opposable. The second and third toes are partly fused together. This is known as syndactylous. They use it to groom themselves. These glider appear to be like flying squirrels on the outside, but on the inside their skull and brain has several reptillian characteristics. The pelvis was thought to serve as a support to the pouch area, but is not readily apparent.
Interested in getting a glider? Consider the following:
Before getting a sugar glider you must know that they can live up to 15 years. Are you willing to care for a glider this long and to keep up with the responsiblities? Are you able to have a large cage that will give pleaty of room for the glider or gliders to run around in? Will you be able to keep this cage clean and safe? Are you able to prepare fresh food for them every day? If you are not able to get two gliders, will you be able to take your glider out and consistently give attention several times a day? Do you know who will be able to care for your glider while being away? Do you know any vets that specialize in gliders or are willing to give proper care if needed? Will you be finacially ready if anything comes up, like an illness, injury, etc? Do you have other animals in the house with you that might bother the glider or cause stress to the glider? If yes then are you able to keep them separate so there is no stress or accidents? Any one in your family or house hold that might be alergic to fur? If you have a landlord, will this land lord let you have animals in your house?
So now that you are wanting to get a sugar glider here are some other things to know :
You should check with your state fish and wild life to make sure that gliders are aloud in your area. There are some states that prohibit sugar gliders. You should also check with your community just to be sure.
Deciding weither you want at female or male. To some they may not care if it's a male or female. Here's something to think about. The male glider has sent glands that may sometimes smell. I'd describe it as a musk, fruity smell. It's not and over powering smell. It eventually goes away. This smell is not like the skunks or any other animal with a powerful odor.
How many sugar gliders are you planning on getting? If you care able to get more than one that is great. If you every get too busy and are not able to spend time with them they will not get lonely as fast. It doesn't matter if you pair off a male and female, female and female, or a male and male. They all get along just fine.
Do you know where you will be getting your supplies? There are several places that you can get your supplies. Some areas have pet stores that care sugar glider food, books, suppliements, ect. You can also go to e-bay to get some accessories. Get creative with bird toys and ferret toys, etc. You can go to websites to get all kinds of supplies. Your local grocery store can provide you will a few things that your glider needs for nutrition or ingrediences for diets.
Where are you gonna get your glider from? There are some pet stores that have them. I suggest that you give an interview and look at the gliders to see how healthy they are and if they the area they are kept is sanitary. It is recommended that you get them from a breeder. There are several breeders all over the USA. It's best to get them from an area that you are able to drive to. If they are shipped, they may get stressed out. You should also give an interview when adopting from a breeder also. You should also be expected to be interviewed by the breeder. Most ethical breeders do that. Here are things to consider when getting ready to adopt a glider. How long has this person or store been in business and do they have the license that enable them to breed and sell gliders? How much do they know about gliders? Will they be able to take time and answer any of your questions when you have adopted a glider? Do they have any guarentees about the health, wellness, and abilities? See if there are any references that you can check into with past customers. Have a document written out and signed so that there are no misunderstandings with your adoptions, health, wellness, abilities, and guarentees. Make sure that it is in detail and that you understand what was written.
Here are some links to learn more about the sugar glider and how to care for them.
HOME EXAM -- This is recommended that you do this at least once a month to ensure your gliders health.
WELLNESS CHART -- Here is an example of a wellness chart that can help you keep track of your glider's well-being.
INDENTIY CHART -- Someone gave me the idea of a sheet for personality. I thought to myself what more could go on this sheet. Just personality alone is not enough, so therefore I made it into the Identity sheet because personality would go under that along with other things. I think this would be a good way to determine the difference between each sugar glider.
IMPROVMENT SHEET -- I decided to make up an improvement sheet. This is something to give all glider lovers or researchers something to think about. This would be a good way to introduce sugar gliders to people. I would like to think of this as if it were an orientation sheet.
