Petaurus Breviceps - Sugar Glider

## Description

**Conservation Status : Least Concern**
Domain : Eukarya
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Diprotodontia
Family : Petauridae
Genus : Petaurus
Species : Petaurus Breviceps

Sugar Glider (*Petaurus Breviceps*) is an omnivorous species of gliding possums. Sugar Gliders are nocturnal marsupials. Sugar Gliders are quite common in the pet trade as well as the black market. Sugar Gliders are communal animals, they love to be around people and other Sugar Gliders, seeing as how in the wild they live in colonies inside tree hollows. In the wild Sugar Gliders spend their whole life in the trees and rarely come down. Sugar Gliders nest in holes in the trees. They can be found in Northern and Eastern Australia, Tasmania, Papua New Guinea and several associated isles, the Bismarck Archipelago, Louisiade Archipelago, certain isles of Indonesia, and Halmahera Islands of the North Moluccas. They are most commonly found in Eucalyptus forests. Sugar Gliders live 4-5 years in the wild and 9-12 years in captivity. They grow up to 5 - 12 inches (their tail making up 6-9 inches of them) and males weigh between 4 to 6 ounces while the females weigh between 3 to 5 ounces.

## Diet

Sugar Gliders are nocturnal, therefore you won't find them during the day. They are also seasonally adapted omnivores with a wide variety of foods in their diet. They are very opportunistic feeders and can be carnivorous (eating small lizards, and small birds), and eat many other foods when available, such as nectar, acacia seeds, bird eggs, pollen, fungi and native fruits.

Being omnivorous, if keeping a Sugar Glider in captivity, you can feed them anything that would be healthy for a human e.g. steak, vegetables, fruits, etc. This does not mean that you can just feed them anything that you want all the time, they still need a certain diet to be healthy, and those human foods should only be fed as treats if at all. It is not uncommon for Sugar Gliders in captivity to suffer from calcium deficiencies if not fed a correct diet. Not enough calcium in their diet makes the body leach it from their bones and the first signs of this will be the hind legs sometimes known as hind leg paralysis (HLP). Their diet should be 75% insects or other kinds of protein such as insect pellets, and 25% fruits and vegetables. The most common and easiest way to do this is to buy insect pellets online or from a pet store nearby. Then you can cut up some vegetables and fruits for another 25%. Pay attention to see if your Sugar Glider does not eat all the food you put out for them, or if they're getting too fat, then you can start to give them less, or vice-versa. Foods that you should stay away from include: foods with refined sugars like canned fruits and candy, any beverage besides un-chlorinated water, wild insects around the house, any dairy products because all Sugar Gliders are lactose intolerant, any raw meats (they have to be cooked if you want to give it as a treat), all fruits and vegetables should be cleaned thoroughly, avoid avocado, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, leeks, garlic, onions, peas and turnips as they can be toxic. Also, the water you clean their food with and give to them should be non-tap water because chlorinated water is bad for them. They should always have clean water available and should be fed once every night, roughly 1 hour after they wake up (7:00).

## Conservation

Sugar Gliders are not considered endangered, it's conservation rank is actually "Least Concern". Even though there hasbeen deforestation in Australia for the past 200 years, Sugar Gliders are very adaptable. They are capable of living in patches of remnant bush.

## As a Pet

Sugar Gliders are fairly common in the pet trade and can be very well bonded to you. But, Sugar Gliders are also exotic animals and are often illegal imports, so make sure you get your Sugar Glider from a trusted source, not a chain pet store, a breeder is better. Before you find a Sugar Glider though, check your state or city laws to check if you are allowed to own these creatures. Some places don't allow them, for example: they are illegal in Alaska and California and also some places in Australia, and you need a special permit in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. As with all animals, if you are going to get one, realize that you are taking care of a life, and you can't let it die. Sugar Gliders are social animals, so If you wanted to get only one then it has a high chance that it will become depressed. Also, Sugar Gliders require at least 30 minutes of monitored play time outside of their cage daily. Sugar Gliders are small and delicate, so be very gentle with them. A good enough cage for 2 sugar gliders would be 24 inches deep, 24 inches wide, and 36 inches tall, but bigger is always better. Baby Sugar Gliders require a heat pad, but when they grow up you can switch to a pouch, which you should have at least 2 of. You should also have an assortment of toys in their cage such as ropes and lots of climbable toys.

## Appearance

Sugar Gliders look like squirrels and have a partially prehensile tail meaning they can't grab onto stuff firmly, but they can support themselves a bit while climbing. The males grow to be larger than the females and have spots known as "bald spots" (the spots look like bald spots but it's just their scent glands matting down their fur) on their forehead, neck and base of tail. A Sugar Gliders' fur is greyish with a white/yellow belly, and they have a black stripe running down their back (unless they are bred in captivity to not have the stripe). The flap of skin they have between their legs that they use to glide is called a patagium, and it stretches from wrists to ankles. Sugar Gliders can glide up to 45 meters and they use their tails to steer themselves in the air. Female Sugar Gliders have a pouch on their stomach that they use to carry their baby Sugar Gliders known as "Joeys".