In the last decade or so, the popularity of sugar gliders as
pets has grown considerably. The small size of these furry
acrobats, their personalities, their plush fur, their large
eyes, their agility and their ability to bond closely with
humans have attracted legions of new sugar glider devotees.
What is a sugar glider and where did they originally come from?
Sugar gliders are small marsupials and members of the possum
family. They are found in Australia, Tasmania, Indonesia, and
New Guinea. Their scientific name is Petaurus breviceps.
Most sugar gliders these days are captive-bred and not
wild-caught.
Like their larger marsupial cousins, kangaroos, sugar gliders
have a pouch where their infants grow and develop. Their young
are called "joeys," as are the young of kangaroos. You may come
across the term OOP while researching sugar gliders on the
internet. OOP means "out-of-pouch" and it indicates how long the
joey has been completely out of his mother's pouch. Joeys are
ready to go to a new home at approximately 8 weeks OOP.
Sugar gliders are approximately chipmunk-sized, measuring about
9 to 12 inches long (including their long tail), and they weigh
about 3 to 6 ounces as adults. Their normal color is steel gray
to brownish with a black stripe down the back, but selective
breeding in captivity has brought out other color variations,
including albinos. In captivity, they can live as long as 15
years, although 8 to 12 years is more usual.
One of the most distinguishing features of sugar gliders is a
thin membrane, called a patagium, that stretches between their
front and rear legs, much like the more familiar flying
squirrels of North America. This is what allows them to glide
from tree to tree. When they glide, the skin spreads out, making
sugar gliders look like furry kites! When the sugar glider is
sitting, the patagium looks like ruffled furry skin, shaped
somewhat like the edge of lasagna noodles.
Their tail is not prehensile, unlike their more familiar
American opossum cousins. That means that sugar gliders cannot
grasp, grip and hang from their tails. Instead, the tail is used
as a balancing and stabilizing tool, especially while gliding.
Sugar gliders are nocturnal, which means they are active at
night. They have very large (relative to their size) eyes, which
help them see at night. They also have large ears, an obvious
benefit to an animal who is both preyed-upon and a predator.
Those big ears allow them to hear even the smallest sound.
Sugar gliders have fixed teeth, incisors, molars, and premolars.
You should not trim your sugar glider?s teeth. Unlike some
species, such as guinea pigs, their teeth do not continue to
grow once mature. If a tooth falls out, it is not replaced. Wild
gliders chew on branches and in the process, clean their teeth.
Gliders in cages will also chew on branches.
Sugar gliders have 5 toes on their front feet. Each toe ends
with a very sharp claw that helps them land when they glide.
Those claws also make gliders very agile climbers. Their hind
feet also have 5 toes, but one of them is an enlarged, clawless
opposable toe. An opposable toe means that they can use that toe
to grip things, much as humans' opposable thumbs allow us to do
the same.
Why are they called "sugar gliders"? In the wild, sugar gliders
eat, as part of their diet, manna (a crusty sugar left where sap
flowed from a tree trunk or branch) and honeydew (an excess
sugar produced by sap-sucking insects). In captivity, sugar
gliders have a fondness for sweet foods. They will eat too many
sweets if allowed, so sweet foods must be rationed.
In the wild, sugar gliders nest in holes of trees in colonies of
7 to 15 members and have been observed gliding as far as 300
feet! The ability to glide is one of the most amazing features
of sugar gliders, and one of the things that makes them such
special pets. Teaching your sugar glider to glide to you is very
rewarding!
Sugar gliders are social animals, which means they live in
groups. They get along with and love the company other sugar
gliders, and many sugar glider owners choose to have more than
one glider. It is their social nature that allows them to
develop strong bonds with their human owners. But it is also
that social nature that creates their need for attention from
their owners. Sugar gliders are not the kind of pet that can be
left for long periods of time without any attention from their
owners. The more time you spend with your sugar glider, the more
he will become bonded with you.
Many sugar glider owners bond with their new gliders by carrying
them around in a bonding pouch for several hours a day while the
glider sleeps. Sugar gliders are sometimes called "pocket pets"
because they will often curl up in your pocket and go to sleep!
Diet and housing are perhaps the two most important factors in
deciding whether a sugar glider is the right pet for you. Sugar
gliders require a varied diet consisting of a protein source
(meat, insects, etc.), a fruit and/or vegetable source, and a
supplement of calcium. There are commercial sugar glider dry and
soft-pellet foods available, but it is not recommended that you
feed your sugar glider a diet consisting solely of these
commercial foods. Sugar gliders require fresh food sources in
addition to any commercial food. Calcium is also crucial to
their diet, and there are a number of products on the market
that will allow you to easily add calcium to your sugar glider?s
diet.
Sugar gliders require as tall a cage as possible. They feel
safer up high because they are normally tree-dwellers. 30 inches
tall is usually the bare minimum for a sugar glider cage, but
most breeders and sugar glider experts recommend cages 4 feet
tall or higher. Many sugar glider owners buy flight cages
designed for finches and other small birds. The flight cages are
tall enough and roomy enough for a sugar glider. It is also
recommended that sugar glider owners permit their gliders
supervised play time in a glider-safe room for at least several
hours a day.
Although sugar gliders are loving, affectionate and adorable, it
is recommended that an adult closely supervise any young
children around sugar gliders.
The cost of a sugar glider is approximately $150 to $250. If the
glider must be shipped to you via airplane, there will be an
additional cost. Certain desirable color variations can raise
the price of a sugar glider considerably.
About the author:
Miles Fowler is the author of Sugar Gliders: The Ultimate
Guide, a comprehensive book for both novice and experienced
sugar glider owners. Learn more at: http://www.sugarglide
rauthority.com
|
