Sugar Glider Care Guide

Welcome to our sugar glider care guide.  We strive to educate people before they get gliders so that their gliders can be healthy and happy.  Below are important things to know before you bring sugar gliders home.

Not Solitary Animals

• Sugar gliders are not lone animals.  In the wild they live in colonies.  They sleep together in hollows, groom each other, play together, and help raise each other’s young.  In captivity, they are no different.  
• Lone sugar gliders will very frequently overgroom themselves, sometimes to the point of self-mutilation.  They have unnatural sleep/wake patterns and often sleep in unusual places.  They may have erratic behavior such as running around in circles.  They often become depressed and lethargic.  They may over eat, or not eat enough. 
• Because of this, we sell our gliders in pairs or groups and we will not sell single sugar gliders unless you already have one at home. 

Diet

• Sugar gliders require a fresh food diet, referred to as a staple diet.  Most of the health issues that sugar gliders have are due to poor diet.  It is not enough to add fruit or vegetables to kibble, or occasionally add in protein.  An approved sugar glider diet recipe needs to be followed.
• There are currently no commercial or pellet diets that meet all of a sugar glider’s dietary needs. Any diet from Exotic Nutrition is NOT healthy.  This includes their Instant HPW diet.
• Here are 3 staple diets that we recommend.  (* HSG is a good diet for breeders due to the protein content, but it is a bit more complicated than some of the diets as it requires more supplements.) Please click the links to read the diets and choose the one that sounds like it would work for you:  (There are other staple diets. If you wish to use a staple diet not listed, please message us to discuss.)
  • TPG (The Pet Glider Diet) 
  • OHPW/GOHPW (Original High Protein Wombaroo Diet)
  • HSG (Highland Sugar Glider Diet)
• We also recommend giving your gliders a small amount of kibble to be in their cage at all times.  This can help with dental health and give them something to eat should they wake during the day. Give about 1 tsp per cage daily.  TPG has a kibble as well as Happy Glider.  You can also use a high quality cat kibble such as Acana.
• Treats can also be fed in moderation, especially while bonding.  White baking chips (no cocoa), fruit and mealworms are usually favorites.
• You can find a link here to a YouTube video where I prepare a batch of TPG staple diet: https://youtu.be/5Zpa7wLLa38

Cages

• Sugar gliders need relatively large cages to jump and play–roughly 36″h x 30″w x 20″d minimum. Exotic Nutrition has many great sugar glider cages.  A brisbane or madagascar is sufficient for 2-3 gliders, while a congo or borneo can be used for larger colonies.  See their cages here.
• The Midwest Double Critter Nation is also a great cage if you remove the dividers in between the levels.  It can be found here.
• If shopping for a cage elsewhere, keep in mind that cage bars should be no more than 1/2 inch apart.  If your bar spacing is farther apart, your gliders will escape. 
• Some people opt to make their own cages.  If doing so, we recommend that you find specifications online to make sure your materials and set up are safe for your sugar gliders.

Wheel

• Exercise wheels are an absolute must for sugar gliders.  They are very active and need a way to burn off energy.
• The ONLY safe wheels that are approved are the Freerunner Wheel and the Raptor Wheel.  You can purchase a safe wheel here:
  • Freerunner Wheel
  • Raptor Wheel
• The Freerunner wheel is now available on Amazon as well, but please make sure you are getting an authentic one.
• Exotic Nutrition wheels or most wheels off Amazon are not safe!

Bedding and Fleece Cage Sets

• Fleece is a popular fabric for their sleeping pouches and cage sets as it does not fray and their nails do not get stuck in it as easily.
• Many items online, designated for sugar gliders are not actually safe. 
• Etsy is a good place to get pouches and cage sets. 
• Your sugar glider adoption from Colorado Sugar Gliders will come with a fleece sleeping pouch. We recommend ordering other fleece cage items for your gliders.
• Here are some additional pouches:
  • The Pet Glider Superstore
  • Sugar Rock Boutique on Etsy

Food and Water Dishes

• We recommend having two water sources in your sugar glider’s cage.  Water bottles, silos or dishes work.
• Purified water is recommended as a lot of tap water has impurities that can be harmful to your sugar gliders.
• One bowl is sufficient for food unless your gliders have food aggression.  An additional bowl can be used for kibble if used.

Toys

Sugar gliders are very active and inquisitive, so if you are looking for other toy items besides a wheel and fleece, here are some things to consider.

• • Avoid toys made with rope as their nails can get caught
  • Also, many toys marketed for sugar gliders are not safe.  We do not recommend any toys made by Exotic Nutrition. You can find safe toy items at The Pet Glider Superstore, Etsy, or in many sugar glider facebook groups.
  • Here are some youtube videos with toy ideas:
  • DIY Toys
  • Dollar Store Toys

 Veterinary Care

• Sugar gliders do not require any vaccinations.  
• You should still have an exotic vet that you can take your sugar gliders to for check-ups and in case of injury and illness. Many vets do not see exotics, so make sure and ask specifically if they treat sugar gliders.
• Sugar gliders like to hide their illnesses and injuries.  It is a natural prey animal instinct.  Because of this, once you notice an issue, it is imperative that you can get them into a vet right away.  Since these issues are often noticed at night, finding an exotic vet that has an emergency hotline or emergency hours is important.

Breeding Info

• If not intending to breed, you should always have male gliders neutered.  When adopting a male glider from Colorado Sugar Gliders as a pet-only, we will have him neutered with our vet as part of his cost before he goes home to you.
• Female sugar gliders cannot be spayed due to their complicated reproductive systems.  Female gliders should never be housed with intact males if you are not intending to breed and if you don’t have lineage on your gliders. (Breeding should only be done with lineaged sugar gliders, purchased with breeding rights from a reputable sugar glider breeder.)

Cleaning

• You can use packing paper or puppy potty pads or fleece in the drop trays below their cage to help absorb waste.  
• Make sure to use animal safe cleaners like F-10 Veterinary Cleaner or Odoban to clean your cage bars and wheel.
• Avoid cleaning the entire cage all at once as this encourages the gliders to overmark the space to make it smell like them.  I recommend rotating cleaning.  For example, replace or clean toys one day, replace fleece a few days later, and clean cage bars and wheel a few days after that. The primary fleece sleeping pouch should be replaced at least once a week.
• Air purifiers are helpful in lessening smell of sugar gliders.

Misc. Care Items

• Sugar gliders require temperatures between 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit.  Heat rocks and heat lamps are not a safe option for gliders, but a space heater with thermostat can be used in their room if too cold. Under 65 degrees is dangerous for sugar gliders.
• Sugar gliders’ nails grow quickly and will need trimmed once a month to ensure that their nails don’t get too long and their toes don’t get stuck in their pouch or other items.  Angled human fingernail clippers work well for gliders as well.
• Here is a video of clipping sugar gliders’ nails: https://youtu.be/L0xL0nvcMYk
• Some vets will also clip sugar gliders’ nails for a fee.
• Other items that are helpful when adopting a sugar glider are zippered bonding pouches and pop-up tents.  The pop-up tent is used for bonding with the sugar gliders in a safe space where the gliders cannot escape.  It also keeps the gliders in close proximity to you, so they are encouraged to interact with you.  We use a zip-up mosquito net bed tent from Amazon like this one: Bonding Tent
• Zippered bonding pouches can be found here:
  • The Pet Glider Superstore
  • Custom pouches from Hopes Happy Homestead
• For more information on bonding, click here: https://coloradosugargliders.com/education/how-to-bond-with-a-glider