Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello I'm a college student in Arizona and living with my boyfriend in a small house. We were interested in taking on the responcibility of owning an exotic pet such as a sugar glider but are not sure if it's right for us.
Do they smell? Do they need alot of play time? Expenses? Life span? Friendliness? Lots of care and resoncibility? IF anyone can answer any of these questions i would be most appreciative. Thank you! ~Meredith

Smell? Sugar Gliders are one of the LEAST smelliest animals I have ever owned!
Diet is very important! they need FRESH food EVERY NIGHT.
I have 4 adults and one baby, and a few nursing moms, so if you want to count thier babies? Anyhow, I pay $10.00 a month for my gliders diet. If you do things right you can give them a very good diet and not go broke. Its all about getting things that will last you for awhile. Like the vegis. You can geta big bag of frozen vegis. and they will last a very long time.
You can get a big can of mixed fruit, or a bag of frozen mixed fruit. Again, lasting you a awhile.
A box of Gerber Rice Cereal. Lasts a long time.
A bottle of fruit juice. Lasts a long time.
And a few things of other baby foods is what I use. Like the meat sticks which they LOVE. And only need to be fed to a single glider once a week. So that would last a good while. Mine go fast because my gliders need the extra protien for thier pregnant and nursing bodies...and I have more gliders.
I also use baby food mixed vegis. Like they love it when i mix in vegitable stew (baby food) in with thier vegis.
It is alot of work at first. But once you get the hang of thingsg its not so bad. I get all my food prepared in about 5 minutes each night.
As far as playtime, care, responsability, and friendliness....YES they take alot of THAT!!! If you want to have a friendly glider you need to spend alot of time with it! When you first get a glider (always get a baby) you need to have a pouch for it, or if it will, you can put it in your blouse or a sports bra ( ladies only ) and you wil need to carry it around with you all day long every day. Putting it back into its cage only at night to eat and for you to sleep. This should go on for at least 2 weeks in my opinion. Anyone else have a good estimate? Then after you have bonded, you will need to take the glider out daily to continue your bond and keep it happy. Most likely at that point it will jump right down your shirt and snuggle in.
If you do not spend the proper amount of time with your glider it will A: not be friendly, and be no fun for anyone. And B: if its your only glider, it will get depressed and die.
They are alot of responsability. But they are well worth it as any happy glider owner can tell you!
Heres a pic of my new baby boy (ready to go to a new home now)
and the diet I feed all my gliders. Mind you, you wouldnt need to feed yours this quantity each night. As I have 5 to feed right now.

You're wise to be asking this question before you get a glider.

The reality is that relatively few gliders end up living out their lives in the same home and with the same owners. While it's difficult to gauge, my guess is that most end up in 3-4 or more homes, and many end up as rescues (we're currently doing a long-term survey at www.sugargliders.org to see if we can track how many homes gliders end up having, and how often they are given up).

That's the reality. There are very few homes that I think are really right for glider ownership. Students cannot usually provide the kind of long-term commitment that gliders need. Life is too unsettled for most students. Work, social life, graduation, new jobs, new roommates, changes in living situation -- all of these can mean the relationship with your gliders suffer.

They are wonderful pets, but only if you have the mindset that when you take on gliders, you're making a lifestyle choice, and consider that YOUR life will have to adapt to THEIR needs for many years (healthy gliders can live a decade or longer) -- and not vice versa.

Here are some things you'll need to adapt to:
a) nightime hours and daily out of cage play time
b) bonding time, if you want the most of the relationship with your glider, that happens during the day
c) living quarters large enough for a large, usually not very attractive cage
d) changes in the way you live -- for instance, your toilet seat must always, always be closed
e) commitment to providing food every evening - involves chopping fruits and vegetables and fussing over them
f) commitment to sometimes expensive veterinary care -- while I wouldn't call their care fragile, it is exacting and problems do arise.

Here is an article that may help you:

http://www.sugargliders.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=39

You may also want to visit:

www.sugarglider.net
www.sugargliders.org
www.usgn.org
www.worldwidesugarglidernetwork.com
www.sugarglider.com

These sites may give you more opinions and advice.

Good luck to you in your search for the right pet.

So true.
I got all but one of my gliders from people that were mistreating them and didnt want them anymore.
My male I got from a pretty good couple as a baby. They have had thier gliders for a good number of years now, and were giving them a great diet, had a great encloser, and handled them as much as possible. So I was happy with him.
but then I recieved a male and 3 females from another couiple that had been feeding them catfood and every now and again some sweet potatoe. The male had lost his....male buldge...he got it cought in some loose string in thier cage and aparaently they were cought up long enough that the blood flow got cut off and they literally fell off. The females and the male were all very skiddish and affraid of me. All but one still are. They never handled them, and I have no clue what kind of cage they were being housed in. My mother in law told me about them and asked if I would take them, and I told her to get them from her ASAP!!
I see them in the paper all the time here. Not just the babies, but whole famillies of gliders that people dont want or have time for anymore.
I say, if you are going to get ANY pet at all, you had better be in it for the long haul. No matter how much work they are. If you absolutely CANNOT do it anymore (things can happen we do not expect) then always find a good home. But plan for a lifetime comitment. Moving these guys around is so stressful, and they bond to thier peoples (the ones who treat them right) and dont want to have anything to do with anyone else.
So sad to see so many ebing thrown out.

I agree.
I had 8 and just picked up 2 more from another person who can't care for them because they don't have time anymore.
Well...guess what...I'm a full-time teacher (5th graders)and mom.
I do sugar glider rescues and help out w/ other animals as well.
I may lack a little sleep...but I would NEVER neglect an animal.
(Sorry...I'll get off of my "soapbox."
Have a blessed day.

I have a sugar glider. i got her a month or 2 ago, boy is she grumpy! She never wants to be taken out of her pouch! I feel bad because i know she needs attention, but she doesn't like me or something! i don't want to neglect her, and i don't want to come across as a threat to her either. perhaps you have some advice for me?
~puka

Well, no matter wether the glider was held by its previous owner or not, it is going to be grumpy and not like you. They bond to specific people. They can be bonded directly to you. But not want anything to do with anyone else.
So how do YOU become the one it bonds with then???

#1: ALOT OF NOISE!!! It is going to fuss and growl and throw a huge noisy fit about it. But you need to just deal with it and know that in a few weeks you will be the last person it will ever make this noise at again!

#2: Take it out and hold it EVERY day. Not just for a few minutes. I mean for HOURS. All day long if you can.
How do you hold it that long?
Either stick it in your shirt directly, or make a pouch (or order a bonding pouch online) with a string attached so you can hang it around your neck, put it in the pouch, and tuck it into your shirt.
I put mine directly into my shirt. I wear a sports bra and they curl up right in the middle

#3: You may get bit, a few times. Or it may just look ferocious and hold its deadly looking claws up at you (I think this is so cute) but you need to show it this doesnt get it anywhere and your not affraid.
After about a week of daily bonding in the pouch or in your shirt. Start sticking your finger in periodically to pet and touch the glider.
Again, it may throw a fit about this. But dont let it scare you.
This hass to be done.
After about another week, you will be able to pick your glider up and cradle it in your hand. And within another week, you will be best of friends!
This little monster you once had will be totally transformed into the sweetest little creature on earth to you.

Dont worry about stressing it out. It DOES NEED that attention. It's just not used to you, your smell, your voice, or anything.
You need to take that step and show it.
Following the steps I gave you is very non-stressful and works easilly for the both of you.

GOOD LUCK!! And enjoy your little furball of love!
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Zoooooooooooooooocrazy lady

thanks zoolady! i'm going to do exactly what you've told me!
in fact, i'm going to start right now! (well except for the sports bra thing

Mahalo!!(thank you)
puka

>>thanks zoolady! i'm going to do exactly what you've told me!
>>in fact, i'm going to start right now! (well except for the sports bra thing
>>
>>Mahalo!!(thank you)
>>puka

LOL! Well, have fun. And let me know in a few weeks how things are between you two.
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Zoooooooooooooooocrazy lady

Puka,
Are you from Hawaii?
-Drew

Do they smell?
A full grown adult male sugarglider can stink up a room overnight. If you have a male for a pet, I suggest you have him neutered.

Do they need a lot of play time?
I thik they need a lot of attention everyday. I would say an hour but what usually happens is the owner will either put them in a bonding pouch all day or they will put them in their cage and then get them back out then put them back and take them back out and so on.

Expenses?
You will probably spend about $125-$150 for the sugarglider. If you buy your baby glider from a breeder in the same state you can go and pick it up. If you buy it out of state and can't pick it up, you may spend $100-$200 for shipping, so find a breeder in your state! You probbay will spend $15-$20 a month for food.

Life span?
They live 10-15 healthy years.

Friendliness?
If you play with them every day and retain a strong bond, than they will be your best friend and of coarse be very friendly. I have never been bitten by my gliders to the point where I was bleeding.

Lots of care and resonsibility?
It is a lot of time in the beginning but you get used to it. It is like having a dog, you just get used to taking care of it.

-Drew

Drew,
I dont know where you got the idea that a MALE sugar glider can stink up a room over night. Or that Neutering them will stop anything. This is UNTRUE. Sugar gliders are teh LEAST smelliest of exotics I have ever seen. And I have plenty. A MALE OR FEMALE CAN stink. To me they smell like Garlic. But this is not a sex thing. This is something they will do when you hold them and they are scared. The only SMELL they would produce by themselves, would happen with time, as they urinate inside thier pouches. Therefor Pouches need to be cleaned or replaced from time to time. Built up Urine CAN stink. And best not to put htem in a cage where they are directly on thier bedding. A metal bar bottom over a slide out tray seems to works best with them. That keeps them from stepping in thier potty and getting it everywher including on themsleves. And keeps things cleaner in general. Neutering a male will not stop any kind of smell they can omit though. Thier Urine still smells, and they still pee in the pouch. And they can still produce teh Garlic smell when scared. And females can do the same. I have 7 Gliders. Have raised them for 8 years now. And they make my room smell...delightful. Not at all smelly animals.

As for Attention....An hour is no where near sufficient amount of time each day. Especially when you first get one. It will NEVER bond to you with only an hour of holding each day. Never.
It needs to be handled ALL day EVERY day. For at LEAST the first 2 weeks. Until it has bonded to you. Keep it in a pouch or in your shirt. Only to put it up at night to eat, excercise, and for you to sleep. Once bonded, you will still need to have it out at least MOST the day. Because you will then be its familly. Without you, it will get depressed and die.

Expenses... Again...15-20 a month is ridiculous for just one Glider. As I only spend 10 dollars a month on mine, and they are quite spoiled extra rotten on food! lol
But, you CAN end up spending that much if you don plan it right!
Its all a matter of how you buy your food.
For instance, if you went out constantly buying fresh vegis and fresh fruits all the time, then you could EASILLY spend the 15-25 dollars a month if not more!
BUT...if you go out and buy a bg bag of FROZEN mixed vegis, and a big bag of FROZEN mixed fruit.......thawing out only what you need each night.... with only one glider as a pet... NOT spoiling it as badly as I do mine.. you could get the cost down to ....10 dollars every 2 to 3 months!
I also give mine a mixture of Baby food Gerber rice cereal and fruit juice mixture. This is VERY good for them. But even with that, a large box of the cereal only costs about 4 dollars...and would last for one glider for a few months at least. And a container of ..lets say APlle Juice...only costs a few dollars,..and again, would last for one glider for a few months.
As one glider, will not eat very much at all each night with all these food items. So not much of any of them are needed each night.

Lifespan, as long as you care for them right, give them all the attention, and good diet, Drew is right about that. 10-15 years.

Everything else Drew said is correct. They are hard to start up. Take alot of time and patience. But once they are bonded, they make the best friend in the world. Bond to you like you are the only thing in this world that matters to them. And you get very used to the nightly feedings as well.
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Zoooooooooooooooocrazy lady