by Patrice Philpot
The International Sugar Glider Association (http://www.isga.org ) defines the sugar glider as follows:
The genus Petaurus Breviceps, also known as the Sugar or Honey Glider, is native to New Guinea and Australia. Their size and appearance is like that of a flying squirrel but they are more correctly described as flying opossums. They are marsupials, meaning the female has a pouch where her babies grow after birth. They are also nocturnal and will be most active late at night.
Physical Description
A sugar glider is a small Mammal that has a similar body build as the flying squirrel. They are not, however, a rodent. They are Marsupials, like the Kangaroo. Being a marsupial, their young (joeys) are raised in a pouch on the mother’s tummy.
Gliders are generally 5 to 6 inches long, not including the tail, which is another 5 to 6 inches long. They have a very soft, silky coat, that is generally gray in color with a black stripe running along their back from the nose to the base of the tail. The tail is gray with a black tip. The underside (tummy) is a cream color. Gliders that live in the wild or who are raised in wild type environments are a golden color, due to the staining of sap, fruit juices & urine.
In the wild, gliders live in the treetops. They glide from tree to tree using their gliding membranes called the Patagium. The patagium runs from the wrist on the hand to the wrist on the foot. The glider glides by jumping and stretching out their arms & legs. They use their tails as a rudder, to guide their flight & to change directions. They are expert gliders & can change direction to catch a flying insect then land on their chosen tree.
Gliders have 5 digits on each hand/foot. They have fully opposable thumbs on both hands & feet. Their hand looks very similar to our hand, only their nails are like scythes and are very sharp. Their nails allow them to cling to very smooth surfaces, like the ceiling to your home. You have to be very careful after you trim their nails because they can no longer cling very well.
Their feet are a little different from their hands. Their big toe is a modified toe. It does not have a nail and it is a lot longer & stronger. This makes their feet & back legs their strongest limbs. They anchor themselves primarily with their feet.
Another modification of the feet is with the 2 digits next to the thumb. The two toes have fused into one toe, with 2 nails and is called a Hair Comb. They use this comb to groom themselves & each other.
Adult male gliders have a bald spot on their head & on their chest. This is caused by the development of their scent glands when the males reach sexual maturity. Female gliders have a pouch on their stomach, where you would normally find the belly button (on non-marsupial, since marsupials do not have belly buttons). Male gliders do not have pouches. So the boys go bald & the girls have built in purses.
Natural Habitat
Sugar Gliders live in the Rain Forests of Australia, New Guinea & Borneo, where they make their homes in hollows of trees (mostly acacia and eucalyptus). They eat: tree: gum, sap, fruit, & nuts; Insect honeydew; and insects
Social Behavior
Scent Discrimination:
In the wild gliders live in groups of 5 –12 adults. They consist of both male & female gliders. All of the adults reproduce. Gliders usually have a territory of 7 trees, defending that territory from other glider groups. Gliders are fiercely territorial and will attack gliders that are not from their group. Gliders distinguish their group by scent. Thru marking & sleeping together, they form a group scent and anyone that does not have it will be attacked.
You can use this behavior to your advantage in taming your new glider. Take an old t-shirt & wear it to get it stinky (exercise, wear for a few days…) with your smell. For this, use a t-shirt that you won’t mind loosing as it is the gliders t-shirt from then on. Cut off part of the t-shirt (like an arm, including the arm pit) & place it in their nest. You can take the rest & cut it up into pieces. Place one piece in each of your pouches, so the pouch has your scent. You can also take part of the t-shirt & make a small temporary pouch, either to hang in the cage as their nest, or to use as a pouch. If you use the other arm for the pouch, use the hem for the draw string part (pull a cord thru it using a craft sewing needle, the large kind) and sew up the part that was attached to the rest of the shirt. Just remember that they need to be kept warm & a t-shirt pouch will probably not be warm enough.
Remember, adding new gliders to your group (even a group of one) still requires a little work. To bring another glider in an existing group, you must get them used to each other’s scent. You can do this by switching their nesting pouches (that have their group scent on it). This will get them used to each other’s scent without risking actual violence & physical harm. It also helps to put the two cages close to each other (so they can see & smell each other).
Social Cohesion:
In the wild, gliders bond VERY strongly with their group. GLIDERS NEED SOCIAL INTERACTION. This is especially true for pet gliders. If you have a single glider, you must spend a minimum of 2 hours a day with him. Once your glider is bonded to you, if you neglect him (not spending enough time with him) he can die. I strongly recommend getting two gliders, so when you can’t be with him, he has someone else to play & socialize with. It is perfectly acceptable to put same sex gliders together. It is not the mating they require, but the social interaction
