Yup, another critter post because honestly, why not?
I love my animals, not only are they a big inspiration for my writing but, they’re also a safe place for me, and they help to ease my depression. Even on the worst days when I can’t take care of myself, I still scrape myself up out of bed, and I go take care of them because they need me. I think that’s really important for me, honestly.
Without them, I don’t think I’d even remotely leave my bed sometimes.
So, what is a sugar glider exactly? Are they like flying squirrels? Rats? Hamsters? Lemurs?
The answer to all of those questions is NO!
Sugar Gliders or Petaurus Breviceps are small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possums that belong to the marsupial species. Their common name refers to their predilections for sugary foods such as sap and nectar as well as their ability to glide through the air, similar to flying squirrels. They also have a lifespan of 12-15 years, which means you’ll need to devote quite a bit of your time to them if you choose to keep them as pets.
That being said, not everyone should just run out and buy a pair of sugar gliders because they are not easy pets to keep! They might be sweet, cute, and adorable but there’s a lot more to it than just looks!
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- You Can’t Just Have One.
Sugar Gliders, like rats, are very social animals in the sense that they cannot be left alone. Meaning, if you are considering them as a pet, you need to have more than one because they need that bonding experience with another one of their kind to play with and to groom one another. Without the company of at least one other glider, they will become depressed and start overgrooming or even self-mutilating.
- They are Nocturnal!
Like I said before, sugar gliders are nocturnal animals, this means they sleep during the day, and they’re awake almost all night! So, if you work a regular 9-5 job and you value your sleep, they’re not the critters for you! Especially because gliders require lots of exercise and that means 9/10 if your gliders will use it, they need a wheel- and wheeling is noisy! They also may not always like or appreciate being woken up during the day if you want to spend time with them, and they’ll let you know this by either crabbing at you, or biting depending on your gliders.
It all depends on you, your animal, and your personality however, because my Gideon doesn’t usually mind being woken up for things like little treats, pets, or just a few minutes of saying hi before he goes back to sleep.
Pibble, my other boy however, doesn’t enjoy being woken up quite as much. So, chances are, if you go and wake him up before he’s ready he will crab or hiss and you, and he will nip your fingers.
- They Have Very Long Lives!
Sugar gliders can live for a very long time! 12-15 years in fact, which is like that of a cat or a dog. That is considerably longer than most “pocket pets” so, if you choose to bring one home, remember you’re not just making a 1-2 year commitment.
- They Have Very Specific Nutritional Needs!
Sugar gliders get their name from loving sweet things, and if they had their way they would eat nothing but sugary foods. However, they actually require an extremely balanced (and most times expensive) diet. They need protein, fruit, and vegetables in their diets, and an unbalanced diet can cause health problems such as a very smelly glider, to hind leg paralysis. Unfortunately, there is no commercial sugar glider diet available that meets all of their needs, so the “Sugar Glider” food that you find in most pet stores is more often than not nothing but crap!
To make sure sugar gliders are getting the diet that they need, it’s recommended that they eat a what’s known as a homemade “staple” diet. You can find recipes for these diets online, and my personal favorite, and the one that works best for my family is TPG. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to make a month’s supply, and it can be very easy and inexpensive to prepare!
- They Require a Stimulating Environment!
Sugar gliders can very easily become bored, which leads to depression, so its very important for them to have a lot of mental stimulation and exercise. Normally, I’d tell you that a sugar glider safe wheel is an absolute MUST for keeping gliders, and it is! (My boys are lazy though, so they don’t use their wheel.)
You can also provide them with foraging toys in which you hide food and treats, and they’ll have to find a way to get it out! You can also provide them with eucalyptus branches and leaves, which are something they’d normally get if they were living in the wild, and it provides them with something fun to do. When I’m able to find sugar glider safe eucalyptus, my boys like to rip the leaves off the branches and bring them back to their sleeping pouch to nest in!
- They Require an Exotics Vet.
Your average dog and cat vet cannot provide sugar gliders with the care they need, if they’ll even see them at all. This means if you’re going to be keeping gliders, then you need to have a vet lined up first thing, because like most small “prey” animals they’re good at hiding when there’s something wrong with them until it’s a dire situation, and then you’re scrambling to find someone who’ll see them.
Even then, their vet care can be very expensive. I remember when I got Gideon and Pibble neutered, the bill was over $300 so that’s another thing to keep in mind, because you can’t keep two unneutered males together without the risk of fighting, and you can’t keep an unneutered male in with a female or you’ll risk babies, which could be dangerous for both mom and baby if something were to go wrong.
- They Will NOT Be Your Best Friend Right Away.
I cannot stress this point enough, if you’re looking for something small and cuddly that’s going to be your best friend, then maybe gliders aren’t for you. One of the biggest reasons that sugar gliders are rehomed or turned over to a rescue is because many people just don’t understand how much work and patience goes into bonding with them.
They expect for their new little friend to love them instantly, and the truth is, that’s just not going to happen. Sugar gliders are exotic animals, and even if they’re handled from the time they go OOP (out of pouch) that doesn’t mean they’re going to trust you right away.
Bonding with them is a slow process that can sometimes take a year or more, and there are some gliders that will never “like” you but, they may tolerate you if you’re lucky.
Each sugar glider, just like each rat, cat, or dog, has their own little personality and their own likes and dislikes. So, don’t be surprised if one of your gliders likes you and the other doesn’t, or if one bonds better with a different member of your household.
- They Aren’t Legal Everywhere.
I think this is fair to say for all exotic animals but, sugar gliders aren’t legal everywhere.
The legality of owning sugar gliders varies entirely from state to state in the US, where I live. So, whilst some states might ban them entirely, other states require you to have a permit to own them and other exotic pets which isn’t the case where I live in Illinois but, I fully believe that it should be a requirement. I love exotics, and I’ve been keeping them for about 10-years but, that doesn’t mean they’re for everyone. Not everyone knows the full extent of the hard work and dedication that goes into owning exotic pets, and I feel like it would save a lot of heartache for both pets and owners if there was some kind of class and permit system in place so you know what you’re getting into before you get into it.
Sugar gliders are completely illegal in California, Hawaii, and Alaska at the time of me writing this post. If you’re caught with them, not only do you get a fine but, your beloved pet will be “destroyed” so please, if you have sugar gliders in any of these places, or you’re thinking of getting them in these places just don’t. It isn’t worth their little lives coming to an end because you want to be selfish.
Sugar gliders are illegal in the cities of New York City (NY), Salt Lake City (UT), and St. Paul (MN) but they’re legal in other parts of these states. Again though, if you are caught with them where they’re banned, you’re looking at some pretty steep fines, and chances are they’re going to be destroyed. So, please just don’t.
New Mexico, Utah, and Pennsylvania require that you have a special permit to own sugar gliders and some other exotic pets!
Georgia requires that sugar gliders are purchased from a USDA licensed breeder!
- They Should NOT EVER Interact With Your Other Pets.
EVER! Just don’t.
I know you’ve probably seen cute videos of sugar gliders riding on cats and dogs on Pinterest, Instagram, or even Facebook and thought “I want that too” but you really don’t. The reality is, even if you think that your pet is the best, most well-behaved pet in the whole world, they still pose a huge danger to sugar gliders.
Sugar gliders are small, and they move quickly which might trigger the prey instincts in cats and dogs. They’re also very fragile, so even a playful swat or nibble from your furry friends could pose to be life threatening for them.
On the flipside of that coin, even if your furry friends don’t hurt them, sugar gliders have been known to kill other small animals such as rats, gerbils, birds, and he list goes on. Don’t let those cute online photos fool you because any responsible glider owner will tell you that it just isn’t worth it.
I’ve heard plenty of horror stories from friends with cats, dogs, birds, and you name it who say that it only takes the blink of an eye for something to go wrong.
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So, now into the fun part! Let’s meet my sweet little monsters!
Gideon is four-years-old, almost five-years-old, and he was my first ever sugar glider. So, it’s fair to say that he’s the one whose taught me everything that I know about sugar gliders, keeping them, keeping them happy, and forever giving my friends unrealistic expectations what its like to own sugar gliders! My ex-boyfriend went with me to get Gideon in 2016, and he’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.
Gideon is nothing but a love bug. He doesn’t care what time of day or night it is, if you want to give him treats and snuggle with him, he’s more than happy to wake up and stop doing whatever it is that he’s doing at that time. He’ll run up to the cage doors and chirp at me when he wants to come out, and his favorite toys are his Legend of Zelda toybox with his plastic gemstones. He also loves his Little Tykes treehouse! His favorite foods, aside from whatever the heck I’m eating, are little nibbles of cheese and licks of honey!
He loved my mom almost as much as he loves me, and I have so many pictures and videos of them together! He’s also the father of my other sugar glider, Pibble. Originally, I was told he was fixed but, as it turns out he wasn’t. His mate was Jigsaw, who unfortunately died a couple years ago.
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Pibble, whose real name is Puzzle, came OOP (out of pouch) on December 5th, 2016. Which means that he just recently turned four-years old! The cool thing about that is that he shares a “birthday” with my little brother BJ! I still have all the pictures of the two of them together on that day, and it just makes him that much more special to me.
Unfortunately, Pibble isn’t as lovey-dovey as his daddy, Gideon. If you wake him up when he’s sleeping, no matter what time it is, he’ll hiss and crab, and sometimes if he’s feeling grumpy enough he’ll nibble your fingers. Even so, he’s a good boy and I love him dearly. His favorite toys are pompoms, as well as the Little Tykes treehouse, and his pulley toys. His favorite foods are bananas, cheese, licks of honey, and blueberries!
My mom was the first person that I let hold Pibbly when he was born, and she’s actually the one who named him!
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Honorable mentions include, because gone does not mean forgotten, are Gideon’s mate, Jigsaw. She was a spitfire, who only wanted attention on her own terms. Her favorite things to do were snuggle with Gideon and her babies, eat mealworms, and run on her wheel. Her other two babies, twins, Marionette and Puppet passed away not too long after they’d turned two years old. It’s still a sore spot for me so I don’t really want to talk all that much about it but, I’ll still give you some pictures!
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Stay Safe & Healthy
-Sky
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