Mar 06 2009
Should The Exotic Sugar Glider Be Kept as a Domestic Pet?
Should The Exotic Sugar Glider Be Kept as a Domestic Pet?
-The Exotic Sugar Glider - Petarurus Briviceps -
- The Perfect Pet that fits in Your Palm -
These tiny pets are highly in demand at the moment. But should we be encouraging the breeders in the supply and demand of the Exotic Sugar Glider? Delicate and extremely demanding I worry that these creatures are doomed to a very ugly fate. In the short term they are highly desirable. But in reality they need a huge amount of caring for.
Another short lived trend I feel and the future of the Sugar Glider as a domestic pet, seems doomed to failure. -
- The Latest Must Have Accessory -
Celebrities are queuing up for these ‘must have’ pets, and many are seen sporting a pair of these nuzzled into their necks in pouches, whilst out shopping. Paris Hilton had one, but in certain states of the USA these creatures are considered ‘Exotic pets’, and she had to ditch her latest ‘fashion accessory’ fast, for a more suitable designer handbag.
‘Everyone’ who is ‘anyone’ is after one of these divine and beautiful creatures. However, they do need very careful and sensitive owners, as these babies are so tiny that they fit into the palm of your hand. They will give you absolute loyalty and devotion if treated right. All they ask in return is to love and be loved, and by loved, I mean lots of it. These creatures will not thrive without constant attention and loving, and can die of depression and loneliness if they are at all neglected. The normal life span for the Sugar Glider is around 10-15 years, so you are in for the long haul, and with the right handling and attention to diet and nurture, these creatures will make an excellent and loyal companion.
- What is a Sugar Glider -
The Sugar Glider is the most beautiful and unusual pet to be seen in quite a while. It’s actually a small possum with the added bonus that it can fly! Well, glide actually, and it has the power to launch itself and glide for a good 200 feet. Quite a sight to be seen bombing around the house and a very novel domestic pet indeed. A great talking point with yours neighbours and visitors also.
The sugar Glider (petarurus briviceps), is taking the world by storm as the new ‘Must have’ domestic pet. But what on earth is a Sugar Glider you might ask?
- The Incredibly Noisy Sugar Glider -
- The Animals Come In, Two by Two -
Be warned, and aware, that you must buy the Sugar Glider in pairs. They would simply not thrive without a companion, and be terribly lonely and sad, and this will set you back £300 as the Gliders are £150 each. ‘The Sugar Gliders measure 16cm to 21cm (6.3ins to 7.5ins) in length, with a tail almost as long as the body and almost as thick as a human thumb, and they weigh between 90g and 150g (3oz to 5.3oz)’.
The Sugar Glider is actually a marsupial, a species of small flying possum which is native to Australia and New Guinea. In appearance, the Sugar Glider is adorable. They have large appealing brown eyes and are a fluffy silver grey in colouring, with a white furry belly. They have a black stripe which runs from the top of their head to the tip of their tails. Their ‘wings’, for want of a better word, is actually a stretchy membrane called a Patagium which spans straight across their backs to their wrists and ankles, which they then extend into a kite for launching themselves into a glide, much like a flying squirrel with their legs and arms extended, using their tail, which is as long as their body, as a rudder.
In the wild, this action is used for flying between trees. The Sugar Gliders live in colonies of between 6-10 gliders in their natural habitat and their daily routine would be spent searching for food.
-The Bonding Process -
When you first purchase your Sugar Glider you must immediately begin the ‘bonding process, much like you would do with a baby. You can purchase a glider pouch, or make your own, which you will place the glider in and nuzzle it into your neck for long periods. The glider will get used to your scent and it will form a strong, lasting bond with you. The bonding process can take up to three months and in this time they will be happy to sit on you shoulder, or remain in the pouch, as you go about your daily routine. They love to curl up in their owner’s hair or nuzzle into the warmth of their necks and shoulders.
The Sugar Glider is a nocturnal creature which some feel make it an ideal pet. Most people are at work during the day and feel that they can devote more time to the glider after 6′o’clock when the working day ends. These Gliders do ‘bark’ a lot and it will usually occur in the dead of night. So positioning of their cage is worth a good deal of thought. It certainly wouldn’t be suitable in your bedroom, as they would keep you awake all night.
- The Glide –
The actual glide can be up to 200 feet so be ready to duck if you see the sugar glider heading straight at you. Before they commence ‘the glide’ you will notice the creature swaying from side to side. Don’t worry; it is just getting its bearings before it takes off. Their temperament is lively and inquisitive and they are also highly intelligent. Their normal behaviour includes climbing up the curtains, cheeping excitedly and general nosiness and noisiness. They also love their ‘playtime’ with their owners and like nothing better than a good game of ‘Hide and Seek’. They also love climbing, hence the curtain activity and swinging. So it may be a good idea to put some form of net up which will be great fun to watch as they scoot up the netting.
- The Sugar Glider Diet -
Breeders across the Country are a little concerned that people would not know what they are letting themselves in for when purchasing a Sugar Glider. These creatures are very needy and do need lots of love and attention and very careful consideration to diet. The Sugar Glider has a very sweet tooth, hence its name, and it feeds on fruit, vegetables and ‘leadbeaters’, which is a mixture of baby cereal, honey, warm water, nutria bars, vitamin supplements and boiled eggs. It is essential that Gliders get a 75 per cent fruit and 25 per cent protein diet. Not adhering to this could be fatal. Also keep their diet low in fat as this is extremely important. A great site that recommends correct diet for the Sugar Glider is: http://www.ameyzoo.co.uk
Your Sugar gliders will need a large cage much like an aviary, and in this there needs to be lots of places to hide. You can fill the cage with tubes boxes and such like, so that the glider can hide and sleep in comfort and seclusion during the day. A nesting box is ideal and this should be placed well away from sunlight. These creatures are very sensitive to sunlight so be aware of this when placing their cage. By night they will want to glide so that they can exercise and explore their territory.
When taking on a creature such as the sugar glider, be aware that this is a wild animal and cannot be contained within the cage 24 hours a day. They need their freedom and they need to receive the love they crave from their owners. Without constant attention, the Sugar Glider can become severely depressed, and can often die from sheer loneliness! They need to be nurtured and given lots of constant TLC.
photo: BNPS
- The Sugar Glider Vocals -
These creatures are absolutely lovely, and very cute, but they are also very vocal. The noises that you will hear from your Sugar Gliders are of a loud barking and chirping nature. The chirping is when they are happy or excited and the barking is for attention it is thought, much like a baby when it cries.They also omit a mechanical whirring noise much like a blender, and this is to warn you off, and occurs usually when they are feeding, or when they feel threatened. This sound is referred to as ‘crabbing’. They also ‘purr’ and sing’ and hiss! They remind me of a Furby for their sounds. So all in all, these creatures do seem very entertaining indeed.
- Please Think Carefully -
So, if you are contemplating buying a pair of Sugar Gliders please do your research and think carefully. There is already strong feeling that these pets will soon outgrow their novelty value and become a trend which will have a short life, and thousands of these poor creatures will be given up and left at the wayside as they are simply too much trouble and high maintenence.
The Sugar Glider bonds for life and giving up on him could quite possibly result in their severe depression and ultimately their death. This is after all a wild animal, and in Australia where they originate from, Sugar Gliders are forbidden to be kept as household pets.
So this cute little marsupial, in the female case, with its Joey pouch, needs careful thought and consideration before you embark into a 10-15 year relationship with it. Like all exotic pets, I’m not so sure at all that we should be taking these creatures from their natural habitat, and placing them in the confines of a domestic home. - Only time will tell.
A Sugar Glider is for Life - Not just for Christmas! and certainly not just a whim of fancy.-
Christianna Garrett-Martin
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It’s wrong to keep animals like these as pets; something that’s evidenced in the fact that they’re forbidden to be kept as pets in their native country of Australia. They should be kept in the wild in their groups of six-ten, they obviously feel comfortable in larger groups, and it’s wrong to keep them from their natural environment, housing them in much smaller groups that they feel comfortable in.
They obviously need a lot of time, care, and attention if they’re to be kept as pets; the sort of which very few people can realistically provide. They certainly look very cute, and in the hands of the right people I’m sure they’d make brilliant pets; too many of these that are sold are going to get neglected though, and it’s therefore just not right to allow them to be kept as pets.
This is another absolutely brilliant article from you here; another where your passion most definitely shines through. You can tell that you really care about this subject, and your article is packed full of rich, interesting content. You’re such a talented writer and it always makes me so proud to read your work.
I will agree the article is well written, however, it does little in being objectional. Emphasis is put on how these tiny creatures require so much attention and care. Their diet is so complex. Their future is doomed if kept domestically. The only saving point is in saying that in the hands of the right owners, Sugar Gliders would make brilliant pets.
What of every other animal? Is it do be assumed a dog doesn’t need a lot of attention? That no other pet kept domestically needs no special diet?
I’ve care for several types of animals in my lifetime. I have yet to keep a pet that doesn’t have special needs of some sort. Even certain types of fish require special food as typical fish flakes aren’t good enough for a diet. Keeping a fish tank correctly requires ensuring the chemical balance of the water, the right termperature, and even attention, I’ve seen a fish die of depression. If one owns a reptile, equal care is expected, not just diet, but temperature and humidity.
There are good owners and there are bad owners, period. The pet is not the problem. Before taking on the responsibility of another life, a person needs to do research, understand what it takes, not just for Sugar Gliders, but for any animal, exotic or otherwise.
Getting a pet is taking responsibility for the life of another. Just because you didn’t give birth to it, doesn’t make you less responsible for it. It also doesn’t make their life any less meaningful and important.
Im suppose to get a male and female from my teacher(because she has 20) and I think this will be a great pet for me!!!
I was disappointed to hear that a man at the mall near my house had a temporary kiosk selling these little animals. I found this out when my impulsive friend showed up at my door with one. I convinced her to get a second, which she has, but I’d prefer if she hadn’t bought the second one from that same source. Selling any kind of pet in the mall is a bad idea. While some people who buy animals at pet stores have done sufficient research (although sufficient research of pet stores that sell puppies will let on that this is a very shady practice) most of these animals are sold to impulsive people, like my friend, who have no idea about the pet they just bought. I’ve encouraged her to research, but these creatures are such a new trend in the pet world that little is known on how to properly care for them and there is contradictory information in virtually every source. I have convinced her to make an appointment with an exotics specialist, in the hopes that he can help her separate fact from fiction and provide her animals with the best care. I find it suspect that this company “pocket pets” can show up at the mall for two weeks to sell animals to impulse buyers. Every purchase in this case is an impulse purchase, as there are no pet stores in the mall and no one generally goes to this mall searching for a pet. When researched on the internet, this company is generally regarded as ‘the best around’ in regards to sugar gliders, but I think selling animals to impulse buyers actually shows very little regard for the well being of the animal itself. Also, when my friend went back to him to voice her concerns about neutering and getting a second sugar glider, the guy assured her that her first was already neutered. I find this highly suspect, as he made no mention of this ‘fact’ at the time she initially purchased the animal. Clearly, many of these animals they sell must end up victims of the capitalist pet holocaust currently taking place in the industrialized world. People have to start regarding living things as something more than can be bought and sold, because it’s ultimately the animals who pay for our mistakes. My friend promised me she’d do the best she could to keep her little impulse purchases happy, but how many people who bought animals from this man are going to give them up in a few weeks?
Yeah, there is someone locally trying to get rid of a couple of them via Craigslist. The bonding thing is worrisome simply because if she’s had them for awhile and they’ve bonded with her, someone is liable to have trouble “re-bonding” them. At least she bought two of them!
A few years ago, a company rented a space at a local home show and was selling the Sugar Glider’s. The show received many complaints about it, and there has been nobody selling any sort of pet there again, which I think is a good thing.
All pets require care, love and attention or you’ll end up with a problem - bad behavior, health issues, etc.