Sugar Gliders: Questions

[Jay_Bunny]

My fiance has wanted a sugar glider forever and now that I am starting to read up on them, I'm wanting one myself. We just learned that a man across the street breeds them and has a few for sale. We are actually going to go over and see his gliders in a little while. The one he had on his shoulder when we met him was so cute and was a pudgy little thing.

So I was wondering, does anyone on here keep gliders? If so, what are your experiences with them? What is a good set up? Do they need to be kept at any certain temperatures? Do they need supplements? What fruits and veggies are ok to eat? What are some food no-no's? And is there anything else we should know before getting two (two because they do better in pairs)?

The man has a neutered male and some other gliders available now. (Not to mention he also has a full grown corn snake he is willing to give me. He got rid of all his snakes except this one because he now has babies to take care of. Its a fully grown miami phase.)

So, if anyone has any input please feel free to post. Please know before you post anything negative, that we are doing our research first and would never dive into something like sugar gliders without doing the proper research.

[slither9192]

I don't know if you already saw this but this person obviously keeps them. You might wanna PM this person for info. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=48616

[SarahMB]

I know there are people here who love keeping gliders, but my experience was not much fun. I had a male and 2 females for about a year. They were all given to me, if that says anything. Heh.

They were very noisy at night, the cage would stink an hour after I cleaned it despite using the diet many people said would make them not-stinky. They require a lot of space, time, and fresh-cut food.

I will admit, they are extremely cute and fun to play with, but to me, it just wasn't worth the time and effort involved. To be fair, I did have a 2 year old and a new huge house to take care of. I eventually gave them up to a local breeder/rescue guy who came highly recommended.

Just sharing my experience. Again, I know many people love keeping them, so if it's something you really want to try, I look forward to pics!

[Jay_Bunny]

Well the guy invited my fiance and I over to meet his gang of gliders. They were a bunch of fun. He breeds them and currently has at least one female with babies in the pouch. He and his wife explained the bonding pouch to us and introduced us to a super tame female named Gizmo. She was an adorable white face. But to show us the other side of the spectrum, he showed us a new glider that he had not yet had a chance to handle much and we got to see and hear it 'crab' which is the loud sound they make when angry. They showed us their teeth and explained that bites do hurt if the glider feels the need to give you a good one, and also showed us the little feet.

We were shown a proper set up and got to meet males, neutered males, and females. We talked about diet and how he feeds them a pre-made food that lasts two gliders a month with one batch, along with fruits veggies and baby food.

He offered to talk to a friend of his who breeds about getting us a young intact male, so we are thinking of two males. He showed us a cage he had for sale and for everything he would sell it for $175. He would also throw in a batch of his pre-made food.

I really can't wait to research some more. I told him that my fiance and I would research some more and find out when we would be able to get a pair. Its possible I could get them at the end of the summer. The told us that was fine and when we chose which ones we wanted, they would get the bonding pouches out and use those to get them tamed down until we were able to take them home.

Tomorrow we are going over to look at the ones he is currently selling so its going to be glider fest. I can't wait.

[Jay_Bunny]

Well, we picked them out and they are wonderful. Both are boys, one doesn't even have his head spot yet. Both gliders, a cage, a few accessories, and possibly some food all for $250. Not a bad price. Because the woman stays at home watching kids, we can go over anytime to pick the gliders up. The couple wants us to bond with the gliders as much as possible since the gliders are not living with us yet. We pick them up in the mornings and give them back at night. We keep them in the bonding pouches. Both males get along wonderfully.

Their names are Dojan and Puck. Puck is a little more brown than Dojan and older. He gets into the stuff the most and will definatly be the trouble maker. Dojan is more sweet and laid back. We've gotten attached big time. Leaving them there tonight was not fun. We are learning about what foods are good and what foods are bad. He will be teaching us to make BML soon.

I can't wait till they are home full time. They are so precious. Not easy to take care of, but definatly worth it.

[Aric]

If you got 2 males then you might want to get them neutered, if there not then they will try and "scent" everything in their cage and make it really stinky.

Congrats on the new gliders, they are really cool little critters. Ours are rarely noisy unless they are "arguing" with each other.

[frankykeno]

I don't know anything about sugar gliders but that sounds like a wonderful couple to be breeding them. Very responsible of them to show you both sides of the ownership coin, to encourage this bonding prior to taking them home with you and their specialized diet. With your own research and their support (isn't it handy they are right across the street) it sounds like you and your fiancee will be happy, well educated new glider owners. You know we want pics of course! In particular, I'm very interested to see what this "bonding pouch" is.

[Jay_Bunny]

We just took pics today but my fiance has the camera card. I'll get them up tomorrow. I do have pics of the bonding pouch we are using (with Puck peeking his head out of course ^^) but it would be easier for me to just post a pic now.



That is your average bonding pouch. It has a screen front for air flow and so they can see out if they want to and its soft and dark so they feel comfortable. You wear it with you for as long as you can each day (even taking it to work with you or class). My job won't let me bring animals into the store so I'll have to settle with class in the fall. Technically you only have to wear the bonding bag for a few weeks until the gliders are completely comfortable with you to the point they want contact with you, but the couple across the street take theirs into work and around town with them all the time. The sleep all day so all people would see is a pouch hanging around your neck.

I'm going to attempt to make my first batch of BML (glider food) sometime this month so I can help out the couple with food for our gliders. Its inexpensive but every bit helps.

I'm so glad we got these little guys. Now its almost impossible to think of life without them. You just attach yourself so fast with these little boys. I can't wait to pick them up tomorrow at 9. Too bad I have to hand them over again at 2 before I go to work.

And as for neutering, its not necessary unless I plan on having females in the cage, which I don't. I have no intentions of breeding. The smell doesn't actually bother me. Their poo smells much worse to me. Unless needed, I won't put the little guys through a neutering. Its different if it was with dogs or cats. If I ever get females and still don't plan to breed, both boys will be neutered, but until then, they are fine.

[tigerlily]

Congrats on the sugar gliders. I believe unneutered males will develop a 'bald' spot on their heads. It's acutally some type of oil that matts the hair down, but if they are neutered then the hair will return to normal. Not that it's a big deal, but it is something to be aware of.

[Jay_Bunny]

I am aware of the bald spot. They also get a patch on their chests. Puck already has his head spot. Dojan doesn't yet.