CARE:

After learning all about Sugar Gliders and deciding whether it will be a boy or girl, you need to take into consideration that his/her home needs to be completed before your new baby arrives.

Cage requirements:

Sugar Gliders are tree-dwelling animals, which means the higher the cage, the more place there will be for them to jump and glide! Wire cages are always the best for a Sugar Glider and a nice size cage will be approximately 130 cm x 70 cm x 45 cm.

Sugar Gliders love toys – always ensure that you have lots of toys for them like tunnels to run through, perches, climbing ropes, exercise wheel etc. A nesting or sleeping pouch will provide your Sugar Glider with a place to curl up and go to sleep during the day and also a place where it can hide and feel safe. In the wild, sugar gliders nest high up in trees, place the nesting pouch fairly high up in the cage. Please contact us to order your new baby's toys.

Your Sugar Glider's cage will need to be cleaned regularly, a plastic bottom lined with washable fleece is a good choice. Sugar gliders will use their scent glands to make their pouches smell like them, so it is a good idea to have several pouches available in order to rotate them for cleaning; otherwise, the pouches can become quite smelly.
Always ensure that you have locks on your cages to prevent dogs, cats, kids or visitors to open the cages!

BONDING:

Bonding is a very important part of your Sugar Glider's routine. The more you bond with your Sugar Glider, the tamer he/she will be. Everybody wants to bond with his/her Sugar Glider in a special way and by handling him/her allot your bond will just grow more and more each day.

When your new baby arrives at home, put your hand in his/her pouch and stroke him/her. Touching him/her allot will make him/her trust you more. He/she might crab, but don't let this put you off – keep on taking him/her out of the cage and hold him/her against your body. Please never pull away from a glider when it tries biting you because he/she will sense fear and he/she will keep on biting.

Gliders bond by scent and it is advisable to put a piece of your old clothes in his/her nest to enable him/her to have your scent with him/her. This way he/she will get used to your smell.
I have found that my best bonding time with my Sugar Gliders are when I feed them meal worms by hand – this is the best and most nutritional snack you can ever give your Sugar Gliders.

GENERAL:

Sugar Gliders (like many other animals) needs a mate and if alone, they will eventually lack companionship while you are fast asleep at night. Depression can lead to a variety of disorders from overeating, to barking the whole night through. I would recommend housing at least 2 Sugar Gliders together. Remember, in the wild Sugar Gliders live in colonies which means that they will get lonely without a companion.

Love your Sugar Glider a lot and build a strong bond with him/her. Give him/her proper care and nutrition and he/she will be your best friend. If you notice any symptom of your Sugar Glider being sick, please take him/her immediately to a vet who specializes in exotic animals.

Please note that in captivity, Sugar Gliders can suffer from calcium deficiencies if not fed an adequate diet. A lack of calcium in the diet causes the body to leach calcium from the bones, with the hind legs first to show noticeable dysfunction. Their diet should be at least 40% insects or other sources of protein, 25% fruit and 25% vegetables.