Thursday, July 30, 2009

Sugar Gliders?

Has anyone every owned one? I have been doing some research on them. Can anyone tell me some pro's and con's for this pet. Thanks.
Answers:
I've had 5 and down to 2 now. I rehomed 3 girls because even after quitting my second job, I still just didn't have enough time for all of them.

As it's been said, they are VERY high maintenace pets. By this I mean they need alot of attention and out of cage playtime (I use a tent so they don't get into things in the house, good for bonding with them too), they have a very strict diet (I feed BML, a blend of baby food, yogurt, juice, baby cereal, wheat germ, honey, and vitamins along with a specific list of fruits and veggies) and need a large cage in order to live a decent captive life. The only time they should stink is if they're on an inappropriate diet or if you have an intact male. The boys can be neutered to prevent their scent, and also to prevent breeding. Another con is not many vets are glider-knowledgable and may give outdated advice or not treat them at all. I live 3 hours away from the nearest vet I trust...

One last con to mention - the first thing you see in a glider is its adorable sweet face, and hear about how sweet and loving and bonded they can be towards their humans. The keyword here is :CAN: be - not all gliders are the same and some bond within days, others months, and even years. Some, never come to trust humans. It all boils down to the gliders personality, and the effort their humans put into it. It takes ALOT of patience because it can be a slow process.

Now for the pro's: They're increadibly cute! A fantastic conversation starter :) - if you get one that is bonding to you, like mine are now, they love to be with you all the time while they sleep in the day. Mine actually sleep in my bra while I work around the house. They are as rewarding as any other animal - the feeling you get when one runs to you at the sound of a loud noise is just priceless!

For your sake and theirs, do research on them for at least 3 months before you dive in. It's hard not to just go for it, but you'll be thankful for all the knowledge if the time comes. A great place to start your search is http://www.sugarglider.net - it's a forum of glider owners, researchers, and owners-to-be where we ask and answer questions and just talk gliders. Its where I've learned almost all I know about them.

I hope this helps, and feel free to PM me through Y! Answers - I'll be happy to answer more specific questions too :)
Owed them
Cons-they stink bad
Pros-can't think of any
My vet teacher said way to much maintanace i wouldn't recommend one and they need a big space
Go to www.marsupialsociety.org There's good info on them there. I just gave away a pair recently because they kept breeding and I got sick of finding new homes for the offspring. Mine didn't stink. They weren't noisey. And they weren't particularly difficult to care for. But, because they are nocturnal, I didn't see much of them. Not all that exciting to own in my opinion.

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