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INTRODUCTION
The scientific name for a sugar glider is Petaurus Breviceps. These wonderful little creatures are called sugar gliders because they love sweet things. In the wild they eat sap from eucalyptus trees. Sugar gliders can glide from tree to tree about 150 feet in the air.
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.
Gliders do tend to make a few different sounds. Crabbing is when they are scared and are ready to attack. 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. When you hear a sound that is like a tsssing sound this means they are letting the others know that they are getting annoyed.
DIET
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. When looking for a mix to feed your glider, try to find one that has less preservatives and fat.
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. 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. We have been using this recipe for about 8 years now and have never had any health issues with our sugar gliders.
BONDING
Sugar gliders bond rather easily. They love attention and love to be in your pocket. The more time you have to spend with them the better your glider feels. 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.
Most people bond with their sugar gliders by keeping them in their pocket or by giving the glider a piece of cloth that has the owner’s scent on it. 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. You won’t regret it.
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If you would like to read about our Standard Criteria For Breeding CLICK HERE
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