Pets: Sugar Gliders

Monday, May 23, 2011

Sugar Gliders

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 wary and protective of intruders. When an intruder is spotted, they will sound off a shrill yapping followed by a sharp shriek if a fight arises. 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 extensively handled and well socialized. They tend to bond strongly to one person. Usually 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 deprived of social interaction, will not thrive. 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 called a patagium, 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 curvature of their skin according to which direction they wish to go. Sugar gliders do not make great housetraining candidates. 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 or domination