Before You Buy: A Simple Guide to Sugar Glider Care

Did you know that pets can make us happier and healthier? If you want to adopt a sugar glider, we can help.

In this guide, we’ll go over sugar glider care and how to keep them healthy.

Want to learn more? Keep reading.

Sugar Gliders Are Social Animals

Adult sugar gliders are social animals, and in the natural habitat, live with up to 15 other sugar gliders.

If you want to get a sugar glider, consider adopting a pair. Sugar gliders tend to bond with a group and do well with other animals and children in a family.

A sugar glider will tend to pick a favorite person out of the family. The favorite tends to be the person that handles them the most.

What Do Sugar Gliders Eat?

Provide a diet that’s 75 percent fruits and vegetables and the remaining protein. Sugar gliders prefer sweeter veggies and fruits. Add a few treats to their diet.

You can feed them avocados, bananas, berries, cantaloupe, apples, and cherries. Give them mangoes, oranges, papaya, grapefruit, and grapes.

Make sure you don’t ever give them a peach pit because these are toxic. If you have leftover pineapple slices or pears, give them to your sugar glider.

Feed your sugar glider lean cuts of chicken and turkey. Make sure the meat doesn’t have added sauce or spice. You could also provide them with yogurt, cottage cheese, or even hard-boiled eggs.

For treats, consider giving them earthworms, mealworms, or crickets. Live insects are higher in fat, so don’t give them too many.

Don’t give them the insects you find from outside. These insects could have gotten contaminated with pesticides.

Sugar gliders can be picky eaters. Your pet might not get all the nutrients they need. Add supplements to their diet like a calcium supplement or reptile multivitamin.

Provide constant fresh water to your sugar glider. The sugar gliders get water intake from their food.

Some sugar glider owners will feed their pets once at night and once at night.

You’ll get to know your sugar glider and see their preference. If they are hungry again in the morning or night, give them a small amount of food.

What About Their Habitat?

You’ll want to choose a sugar glider cage that’s tall. Provide them with plenty of space to climb. Get a cage that has metal bars or wire mesh. You don’t want your tiny glider to slip through.

Keep their cage in a spot that’s not too busy or loud during the day. This way, your sugar glider will get a good sleep.

Don’t place them below a spot with direct sunlight. Yet, make sure they are in a room that will lighten and darken. Try to keep the cage between 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sugar gliders like to eat their food up high. Consider getting a food dish that will stick to the side of your cage.

The sugar glider will need a spot to nest and sleep during the day. You can get a wooden birdhouse or a cloth pouch. Place bedding at the base of the cage to absorb droppings and urine.

Buy commercial bedding from the pet store or use shredded paper or wood shavings. Whatever you pick up needs to be non-toxic.

Pick up an Exercise Wheel

Sugar gliders like toys. Give your pet ladders, chew toys, and bells. Add branches so your pet can climb on them. Replace the branches often if they get soiled.

A popular toy is the exercise wheel. Don’t pick up a hamster wheel from your local pet shop because they are too small.

The center axle is actually dangerous for the sugar glider. Your sugar glider’s tail could get wrapped up in the center axle.

Look for an exercise wheel that has gotten designed for sugar gliders, so the sugar glider can run and leap. Use a cage attachment so you can mount the wheel higher in the cage.

Common Health Issues

You might think a pet like a sugar glider doesn’t need to go to the vet for checkups. Yet, there are tons of medical issues that a sugar glider can face.

Your sugar glider needs a calcium-rich diet. Otherwise, they will show signs of lameness or paralysis. If you worry your sugar glider isn’t getting enough calcium, add calcium supplements.

To avoid constipation or diarrhea, make sure the sugar glider has enough roughage. Otherwise, you’ll see hard dry stools or a distended stomach.

If your sugar glider eats too many citrus fruits or feels stressed, they will have diarrhea. A sugar glider could become dehydrated and die.

Watch out for common injuries like torn claws, broken bones, and open wounds. Look out for parasites. A sugar glider can get parasites like fleas, mites, hookworm, lice, and more.

Ask your vet for treatment options if you think your sugar glider has a parasite.

Stress from a dirty cage, poor diet, boredom, or loneliness can be fatal for your sugar glider. Watch out for excessive eating or sleeping, or a loss of appetite. Learn more about how to get rid of sugar glider odors.