The In's and Out's of Keeping Sugar Gliders.

[Rocket]

Well it turns out I will be receiving Sugar Gliders in a few weeks so I was hoping that Keepers and breeders would be able to offer their advice and past experiences with these animals. As far as I know, only people in SA, VIC and NT can keep them so that would limit the numbers kept quite significantly.

I have done searches through the old threads here on APS and revealed some helpful information but I need more. Have also looked through Google but it seems that a majority of people keep them inside as 'pocket pets', not avairy animals. The animal(s) I will be receiving are already established in avairies.

Thanks in advance, much appreciated. Pics would also be great
Cheers

 

[hornet]

www.arachnoboards.com its an american invert site but there are a few keepers of sugar gliders on it.

 

[CGSwans]

I don't keep them but from what I understand they are not appropriate animals to share an aviary with birds. They are mostly nocturnal which will disturb roosting birds.

 

[shlanger]

Greetings Rocket, I once worked for that great naturalist David Fleay. He kept and bred all of the gliders at one time or another. He stressed to me that it was important, petaurus { sugar and squirrel gliders} regularly have a slice of orange in their diet.
trust this is helpfull!

 

[Bushfire]

Advice...Dont get bitten they really hurt and have a tendancy to hang on. Oh very funny when it happens to someone else.

 

[Gobo]

i got a young breeding pair only 2 weeks ago but i have handraised one or two in the past.most of the info i found on the web was american sites and some were quite contradictory to others so was hard to know what to believe. the two i have are avairy raised but are quickly becoming used to my night time interractions with them and are quite happy to eat from my hand and being patted. eventually i will most likely want to bring them inside for 'play time' so to speak but if they stress out too much i will most likely wait for them to breed and raise the babies to be used to this.
i give them a variety of fruit which i have decided to puree all together and freeze into ice cube trays so they cannot be picky with what they're given and to this mix i add wombaroo high protein supplement as well as giving them a small amount of fruit museli with occasional mealworms and wombaroo small carnivore mix which they are not so interested in. they really like baby food fruit salad puree but i only offer small amounts as a treat. their avairy is small but sufficient at 4ft x 2ft x roughly 6ft which contains a parrot breeding box, numerous gum branches and thick climbing rope and fresh gum leaves. when startled they make a very unusual scream type noise but this is mainly a bluff they seem reluctant to bite. most times i have held them they have either urinated or defecated but thats something you have to get used to as is with their scent which is not too unbearable, different to a ferret but quite distinct.
i guess thats all i can say about them at this stage but i can answer questions only from my own experience from the past and now the present.
hope this is of some use
matt

 

[shlanger]

when handling them and they start going......grrrrr.....grrrr...grrr...grrrr., they gonna bite you imediately!

 

[Rocket]

Thanks Gobo & Shlanger! No, they won't be kept with Birds.

Gobo, would it be possible for you to post some photos of your Gliders? They truely are one of the cutest animals on earth in my opinion.

 

[Rocket]

BUMP. Nobody else can help out with info or photos they have?

 

[sigridshurte]

dont keep sugar gliders ...it so rong ... unless you can provide fresh fruit and a whole cage of fresh flowers each day YOU ARE BEING CRULE !!!

 

[sigridshurte]

and if they are used to being in a aviary keep him there ! they need the space to run around and they should be kept with at least 3 others to be happy (only one can be male, or they will fight ) i am so against keeping them but your probly going to get one anyway ! and if they are in an aviary you should get a little light to attract the bugs because they love them and it is part of a diet to keep them healthy AND THEY ARE NOT POCKET PETS ! THAT IS THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER HERED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chrisreptile]

and if they are used to being in a aviary keep him there ! they need the space to run around and they should be kept with at least 3 others to be happy (only one can be male, or they will fight ) i am so against keeping them but your probly going to get one anyway ! and if they are in an aviary you should get a little light to attract the bugs because they love them and it is part of a diet to keep them healthy AND THEY ARE NOT POCKET PETS ! THAT IS THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER HERED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am more than certain that shawn is capable of looking after these creatures.

 

[sigridshurte]

i hope so becouse half the people who care for them are clueless and treat them very poorly ....... and if he listens to half the internet sites that call them 'indoor pocket pets" he isnt going to get very far!

 

[Gobo]

i dont think they should be kept strictly as pocket pets either but i dont see the harm in bringing them inside when they are at a suitable stage to have a bit more interraction as they are quite curious and inquisitive animals that, when i sit in the aviary will come up to me to see whats going on. and this has been the case with another i have had in the past. although they are not domesticated they are captive bred so i think it is fair to give them that level of interraction. i think the unfortunate side of the internet is that most of the site are from the USA and they seem to have a tendancy of commecialising many exotic animals therefore in australia its hard to get a more realistic approach of keepers advice and experience with them.

 

[sigridshurte]

thats very true .... i complety agree with you. they are very curious and inquisitive little things and they need lots of attention. i used to care for them with WILVOS and raise the abandoned young i love them to death but in the end i had to let them all go back to the wild ( im in QLD so ya cant have them as pets )

 

[Gobo]

okay i just took some dodgy pics of them with a not so great camera so this will have to do until i get a better one.

 

[Rocket]

Sigridshurte: I understand 100% on where you are coming from but I don't see any problem with keeping any type of animal in captivity as long as wild numbers can be kept very stable (which they are when in comes to Gliders). As long as animals can be kept in decent sized enclosures and kept in optimum conditions resembling natural habitat, I don't see any problem what-so-ever. Especially if the animals thrive and even breed in captivity. Your happy to keep Reptiles etc, obviously Gliders and reptiles are very different but the morals and ethics are exactly the same.

Thanks again Gobo. Much appreciated.

 

[Rocket]

Just thought I'd post a pic of the little (2 year old) Girl I will be receiving.

 

[teddybear]

Hi Rocket

You are soooo lucky I wish we could have them in Brisbane cause they are sooooo cute!!!!!

 

[Luke1]

i wish i could have em in NSW....if we can i really would consider getting them. just 1 question:
sugar gliders are small right and the greater gliders are the big ones?

Luke