Class: Mammalia                              Subclass: Marsupialia Order: Diprotodonitia                        Suborder: Phalangerida Superfamily: Petauroidea                  Family: Petauridae The scientific name for a sugar glider is Petaurus Breviceps.  Petauraus is a name that means "tight rope walker" and Breviceps means short head.  There are six species of Petaurus.  These six species are the sugar glider, squirrel glider, Mahogany glider, northern glider, yellow-bellied glider and the Biak glider.  These wonderful little creatures are called sugar gliders because they love sweet things.  Sugar Gliders are native to eastern & northern mainland of AustrliaIia, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago and were intoduced to Tasmania.  Sugar Gliders can also be found in Indonesia.  Most sugar gliders that are being sold here in the U.S. as wild caught are caught in Indonesia.  In the wild they eat sap from eucalyptus trees.  Sugar gliders can glide from tree to tree about 150 feet in the air by using a gliding membrane located from their fifth finger to their first toe on their back legs called "Patagia".  In flight, their tail helps them to direct where they want to go.  Unlike a monkey, their tail is not prehensile so they can not swing or hang from their tail.  Sugar gliders are marsupials.  They have a pouch in which their babies grow until they are ready to come out.  When a female is pregnant, you can see a lump or two in the pouch.  They have one to two joeys (babies).  On very rare occasions they can have 3 to 4 joeys.  A female can also get pregnant while she is pregnant.  This is also rare but has happened.  I had one female that had one joey and when that joey came out of pouch (oop), I noticed that she had two lumps still and sure enough she was pregnant. It generally takes 2 months for a sugar glider to be fully weaned from its mother. The males when mature have a bald spot on the top of their heads.  I have found that they usually get the bald spot when they are ready to mate.  Sugar gliders are sexually mature between the ages of 8 months to 14 months. Sugar gliders are about eleven to twelve inches long from tip of nose to the tip of tail.  Their colors are grey with a black stripe down the middle of their back with a white stomach.  Sometimes you’ll see a glider with a cinnamon color, white-tipped tail, or even a white-faced glider. A sugar glider’s eyes should always be a clear black not cloudy or foggy.  Sugar gliders are nocturnal so they sleep all day long and are awake at night.  On occasion, your glider might be awake for a while during the daytime.  That is normal.  If you wake your glider up at the same time everyday then eventually he/she will start looking for you at that same time for attention. Gliders do tend to make a few different sounds.  Crabbing is when they are scared.  They generally make this noise as a warning and will continue to make this noise until you back away.  If you continue to approach them, they will put their hands up in a fighting mode and will try to attack if you do not give them their necessary space.  If you still continue to approach them after they have made that stance, then they have no choice but to bite because they have run out of options to warn you.  You should always be careful not to scare them since they are tiny.  They will make a sound that sounds a little like a puppy barking.  They usually do that to call to other gliders or to call their human companions.  When you hear a sound that is like a tsssing sound this means they are letting the others know that they are getting annoyed.  Some gliders also make a "psst" sound to get another gliders attention.

Sugar gliders love sweet fruit.  In the wild they eat nectar, sap from eucalyptus trees, acacia gum, and insects.  There are a lot of mixes you can make to feed your glider or you can buy dry sugar glider food.  The dry sugar glider food is not recommended because it does not contain everything your glider needs in his/her diet.  Dry food also has alot more sugars, sodium and preservatives.  When looking for a mix to feed your glider, try to find one that has less preservatives and fat.  The more natural the food the better it will be for your sugar glider.  By doing this, it makes it better and easier to have a healthy glider that can live to its full potential of 15 years. You can give them fruits and vegetables that have 2 percent calcium to 1 percent phosphorous ratio.  Please do your research on what fruits and vegetables have the 2:1 ratio.  You should not give any sugar glider corn, coffee, chocolate, raw sugar, or anything containing garlic or onions. They do need plenty of fresh water preferrably bottled spring water.  Their protein should provide about 25-50 percent of their diet.  When a female is pregnant, more protein should be added.  Gliders also need a lot of calcium in their diet.  You can add a calcium supplement to their diet.  Calcium deficiency is the biggest problem people have with their sugar gliders.  We do offer a sugar glider recipe for our customers upon purchase of a sugar glider.  This way, you won't have to worry about what to feed them for a staple diet.  We have been using this recipe for over 8 years now and have never had any health issues with our sugar gliders.

Sugar gliders bond rather easily when tame. They love attention and love to be in your pocket. The more time you have to spend with them the better your glider feels.  Gliders will bond with more than one person but might pick a favorite if that person is the one who gives him the most time or the most treats.  When purchasing a glider, he/she should be no less than 8 weeks out-of-pouch (oop).  You also want to make sure that the joey is fully weaned first before bringing him/her home.  Gliders that are 8 weeks oop will be great to bond with because they are extremely accepting and easy to bond with.  You can find some sugar gliders that are older that will bond just as easily; especially if they have been handled and introduced to many different situations such as other humans, pets, or by going places with their previous handler even if they are a year old.  Sugar gliders love to play so if you don’t have an extreme amount of time to spend with them, then you should purchase at least 2 gliders so they can play with each other.  Having two gliders does not mean that they won't bond with you, you'll just have double the love and fun.  Most people bond with their sugar gliders by keeping them in their pocket, a pouch or by placing them in your shirt so that they can freely roam under there.  You can also place a piece of cloth that has the owner’s scent on it in their sleeping pouch or nesting box so that the can get used to your scent while they sleep in their cage. If you put a sugar glider in your pocket and he won’t stay in there, just pick him up and put him back in. After enough repetition, he/she will understand that they need to stay in there. Owning a sugar glider is the most fulfilling experience anyone can ever have but you need to make sure that you have the committment and knowledge that it takes to care for one. If you do all your research and take the necessary time with your glider(s), you won’t regret it.

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