All About Sugar Gliders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!               

                                    By, Diana El-Chaar                                     

 click on the picture for a cool website!!!  

             The first question people usually ask is, "What is a Sugar Glider?" A sugar glider is a peculiar type of animal. People think that it flies, but really it only jumps far and glides in the air. They live up to 8-15 years!!!

  Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are marsupials from Australia or Indonesia. They are tree dwelling, nocturnal creatures often living in groups of 20 to 40. They are soft grey animals with a black stripe running down their back, and a gliding membrane they use much as a flying squirrel does. If high enough, a sugar glider can glide as far as 150 ft. Adult gliders weigh about 120 - 135g and are about 10 - 14 inches long and their tail is about 6-8 inches long. They are the size of a gerbil when mature.

  Their tails are used for balance and steering when gliding, but not much else. Gliders have odd qualities such as opposable fingers and toes and forked genitalia (in both male and female.) They also make a wide range of sounds such as chirping, barking, chattering, crabbing and other odd sounds that are hard to describe. Gliders can live 10 to 15 years if well cared for and they are the perfect pet.

    Sugar gliders are members of the same family as kangaroos, wombats, opossums and Tasmanian devils.

          The sugar glider is a nocturnal animal. Meaning, they sleep during the day and are up at night. In the wild, sugar gliders are playful with their colony, but are protective of intruders. When an intruder is spotted, they will sound off a shrill yapping followed by a sharp shriek if a fight begins.

(Baby Sugar Glider!!!!)

   It is not easy to tame an already mature sugar glider, however it is easy to tame baby sugar gliders, by holding them for several hours a day while they are still very young. An untame glider requires lots of time and patience.  If you wish to have a cuddly glider, be sure to adopt one that has been nicely handled and well socialized. They tend to bond strongly to one person. Usually it's the person who has held them the most and spends the most time with them. While they will check new people out, they always return to the person they have bonded to.

    They are extremely active and very social animals and do not like to live alone. If you would like to own a sugar glider, plan on having more than one. A lonely sugar glider who is sad, will not be happy. They will become depressed and lonely, which can cause them to die. Sugar gliders adore their owners. They need a great deal of interaction and would even enjoy riding around in your pocket all day, or if you wear two shirts, the glider will hang out between your shirts, (the second shirt prevents you from being scratched).

   In the wild, they form colonies with up to seven gliders in one colony. In the colonies they have an order, a leader on down to the bottom of the rank.  They have a fun and friendly personality. Sugar Gliders "glide" by leaping off of something. They spread their membrane of skin, that extends between their front and back legs. They use their long tails to steer, as they glide to over one hundred meters, adjusting the shape of their skin according to which direction they wish to go.

   Sugar gliders do not make great housetraining pets. Their teeth are sharp, and while they do not usually bite, they can if they feel frightened or threatened. Sugar gliders need to be treated with love, respect, and gentleness. They do not respond at all to punishment!!!

  Sugar gliders eat many kinds of food.. It is only recently they have been kept as pets, and needs are somewhat of a mystery. As time goes on people will learn more about the needs of these little creatures. Sugar gliders are omnivorous, meaning they will eat plant material and meat. In the wild they feed from nectar, fruit, insects and even small birds, eggs or rodents. This diet is pretty hard to copy in your care. People feed them a variety of foods trying to mimic their natural diet as best they can. Some people feed insects such as crickets, mealworms, waxworms, moths and spiders. They should be fed high quality food such as commercial cricket food, and dusted with a complete vitamin and mineral supplement.

   Like their name, the sugar glider loves the taste of sugar. They absolutely love the taste of fruit cocktail. The fruit should be fed in small amounts, chopped together so the gliders can not just pick out their favorites. Some mix a recipe called "Leadbeater's Mix Recipe", which is 150 ml Warm water, 150 ml Honey, 1 shelled, boiled egg, 25 grams high protein baby cereal and 1 tsp of a vitamin and mineral mix. Mix in warm water and honey. Blend the egg, then add the water and honey mixture. Blend in the vitamin powder until it is smooth, and then blend in baby cereal until it is smooth. Keep refrigerated until served. While sugar gliders love nuts, nuts shouldn't be fed regularly, as they can cause health problems.

  In captivity, females can have up to three litters a year. In the wild they tend to have one or two litters a year. They often will have twins and sometimes triplets. Female sugar gliders have pouches, their young will stay in the pouch for about the first 70 days. Than for the next month or so, the babies will remain in the nest. After about 3 months, the young gliders will begin to accompany their mothers and fathers.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY:

www.allaboutsugargliders.com

www.funfactsaboutsugargliders.com

www.sugargliders.com

www.sugarshock.homestead.com