Drawbacks to Sugar Gliders

With the good there is always the not so great aspects of things. Before I went over the basics of having a Sugar Glider as a pet, but like I mentioned before… Sugar Gliders take a lot of work and devotion, just like having a newborn baby, except you have that baby for about 12 to 15 years. Keep that in mind! If your not quite ready for that type of commitment, you may want to look at other types of small pets like rabbits or hamsters. Typically in most aspects they are low maintenance and Sugar Gliders definitely are not.

Diet

Sugar Gliders have a very specific diet and do not eat pellets like a good amount of small mammals. They are exotic animals and require an exotic diet. Although a large portion of their diet consists of fruits and vegetables, they need protein as well. At least 50% of their diet consists of protein, which means bugs such as meal worms, grubs and crickets. If you are squeamish around bugs, a Sugar Glider is probably not for you.

Housing

I read an article online that said Sugar Gliders are a great pet for apartments, now I suppose this could be true, as long as you have room in your apartment for a cage this size. They require a large cage, this isn’t an option. In the wild they glide from tree tops and they need the ability to do this in captivity. A typical cage that is considered “healthy” is no less than an aviary.

 

Smell

Similar to a ferret or skunk, Sugar Gliders have glands on their bodies that emit scent and to mark, although the smell is not as strong. They will also urinate inside and outside their cage constantly to mark their territory. After a couple days, any cage will need to be cleaned or it will become a messy situation.

Verbalizations

Sugar Gliders are very noisy. Unlike a puppy which you can sometimes coax into being quiet by letting them sleep next to your bed, Sugar Gliders are nocturnal and do not stop barking at night. They make various barking and hissing sounds, clank around in the cage and play on their exercise wheel constantly. If you plan on keeping the cage in your room, or even next to your room, think again. This is where the whole apartment thing comes into play again, I don’t really think neighbors will appreciate it, and unless you have a large apartment, you will hear it all night long. Watch this quick video clip to get an idea!

There are a lot more drawbacks that I will be going over in my next post. My last couple posts have just seemed overbearingly long, so I am going to break this one up a bit!