So I haven't gotten sugar gliders yet but I'm going to get them this year. There's one thing I can't decide though, I either want two females or a breeding pair. The main thing is I'm afraid of rejected joeys and cannobolism. One never had sugar gliders before and I've heard you shouldn't get a breeding pair right away. So which option do you guys think is better?

It would be best to get either two females, two neutered males or a neutered male and a female as your first gliders. Give yourself a year to get very comfortable handling your pet gliders.

They are wonderful pets - but not for everyone. See how sugar gliders really fit into your life. Make sure you are very comfortable handling them, trimming nails, preparing their food, cleaning the cage etc.

You need to think ahead to make sure sugar gliders will be a good fit for you not just at the present time - but for up to the next 15 years.

The amount of time you can devote to your gliders each evening may change with your circumstances - if you are in school now - life will change when you graduate and get a full time job. If you are working now - a new job or an increase in responsibilities might cut into your glider play time. If you do not own your own home - moving to another apartment or home can be complicated by limitations on the pets you can have in a new apartment - or the pet deposit might be costly.

If you take vacations - you will need a sitter to care for your gliders while you are away if you cannot take your gliders and all their equipment and food with you.

Before you commit to the car of a breeding pair - be sure you are completely comfortable with pet gliders first. If you choose to breed later - be sure that should a joey be rejected that you are prepared to care for and feed the joey every few hours around the clock for about 6 weeks. Not everyone can devote that amount of time to care for a tiny pet 24/7 if necessary.

Keep in mind that intact male gliders can be pretty smelly creatures. If odors bother you, breeding gliders may not be a good choice.

Thanks, I've done a research for a few years on these guys so I know that I have to be committed and I'm graduating high school this year but I'm not worried about getting a job because I'm "special needs" with physical disabilities but as far as taking sugar gliders I think I could handle it. I was going to get 1 this past summer but because they are nocturnal it would make it hard with school. I'm going to be doing online college after high school so I would be home most of the time and surprisingly with all my weird problems I do better towards night time which is good since they are noctneral. I've even bought a book so I have quick access for info on them I may need in the future. I will definitely wait for breeding I only thought about it because I've always loved little animals and taking care of them.

Hello! Don't get a breeding pair right away. But DO get a pair - don't just get one, they become lonely and depressed, even to the point of self harm. Having joeys is an amazing thing. It's just... indescribable. We have had two litters, and now all our males are neutered because six is enough. For our first, they had a boy and a girl and the little girl died. The boy was being rejected, but the mom left the little girl out all alone in the cage and she died of hypothermia. With our help, the little boy lived. We are almost 100% sure that one died because there was no dad in the picture. He had shown signs of aggression towards the mom and so we separated him, not knowing she was pregnant. He ended up trying to attack the baby too, so maybe it was good, but the lack of a dad meant that mom could not take care of them on her own. Sad ending, but... it happens. I would consider death to be a normal part of breeding because so many things can do wrong. For our second litter, they had two boys, dad in the picture. He got neutered while she was pregnant, and did very well with them. They raised them together with no issues and now those four are a family. The little boy from the first litter could not be reunited with his dad, so we bought a girl cagemate for him after neutering him. (He is "special" due to being rejected and underfed as a joey, he had a deformation on his head and mild aggression issues and is not very smart. He wouldn't have been a good dad.) It was very sad that we lost the little girl, but raising joeys has been the most rewarding thing in my life. They're smaller than you're pinky when you first see them outside of mom, and you watch them grow and get to handle them a lot and it's just amazing. We would never sell any of the joeys. Ripping them from their parents is pretty awful. If you breed gliders, I recommend you have one or two litters then neuter the male, because there are already too many breeders out there. Many people who get gliders do not stick with them or care for them properly; they are a handful. But they're just amazing. I love them so much. You should get used to gliders and make sure you love them first, I recommend a couple of rescues.

Well you see I was thinking of breeding because I do love little baby animals but also because northern Nevada literally has no breeders that I could find and I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a normal job due to medical problems so I thought it would be a nice idea. I would keep the joeys if I had more money though! And I was thinking of getting 2 females to start with but I don't know if I should get classics or maybe something different. It's just a hard decision for me to make

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I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a normal job due to medical problems so I thought it would be a nice idea. I would keep the joeys if I had more money though!

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If you are thinking of breeding gliders as a way of earning money - think again.

One pair of gliders chosen for their lineage will probably cost you upwards of $600.

A pair of gliders will produce 4 - maybe 6 joeys in a year's time AT MOST. Chances are they will produce no more than 4 joeys.

With the start up costs of the breeding pair, cage, wheel, toys and the on-going cost of food - which could be a total of $1200 - $1500 depending on the cost of the gliders - it would take several years just to recover your start up COST by selling your joeys. Each pair of gliders would require all the same equipment so the same start up cost applies to each pair of breeding gliders.

There is not a lot of profit in breeding just a few pairs of gliders.

Another vote for starting with a pet only pair. Once you have the experience of owning gliders and learning their mannerisms/behaviours/needs you'll be more prepared for breeding, if you choose to do so. It's best that mom/dad are bonded to you so that they won't have issues with you handling their babies. Gliders are really in tune to their owners, and if you're stressed, they'll be stressed. Ideally you want to be comfortable and know your gliders well before branching off into breeding. It's a completely different experience than pet only gliders, very rewarding yes, but also very nervewracking too.

If you are certain you want to breed, I'd recommend getting a pair of gliders, a lineaged girl and a neutered male. Then once your girl grows up and is over 1 year old you can buy a lineaged intact male Joey and intro him to your pair, to make a reverse trio. The neutered male will help raise the joeys too.

If you really don't want to wait for joeys, then I would suggest starting with an older proven breeding pair. You'd have a lower chance of rejected joeys than with a first time mom. But you probably won't have as tight of a bond with an established breeding pair as you would with a pair you raised and bonded with young. There's trade offs to everything. Good luck with your decision!

I do know it wouldn't make money but it seems like it would make enough to stay even with the cost of the joeys and everything which is why I wouldn't mind doing it, but I wouldn't worry about it for a few years anywaus either way thank you for the info

I opted to buy a pair of platinum sisters with excellent lineage with the idea that I could decide whether or not I wanted to breed them at another date. You have a couple years (if buying the females young enough) to make any decisions on acquiring a male, seeing if he fits into the colony and then try breeding.

In my personal case, I had standards in the past and wanted different coloration mostly for my own pleasure...other than the idea that they had desirable lineage. I had the ability to purchase them as pets regardless of deciding to breed them. As it is...I have decided that I most likely will never breed the sisters. I have my reasons...but, some might think it was an incredible waste. Again...it's my decision and I still have time to reconsider as they are 2.5 years old at this time. I then added a neutered mosaic male for a lovely trio that I enjoy very much.

This might be something for you to consider since as you say, gliders are rare in your area. In order to find a truly quality pair (of sisters) to start out with as pets you will pay a pretty penny and will likely need to have them shipped. That is a daunting thought, but I've had three gliders shipped (from a highly reputable breeder that I trusted) without a hitch.

A concern that I have is that you may not have a good vet in your area that has true experience with gliders. This is something I always recommend to those who are still in the 'planning' stage. Find your vet options first as general vets do not treat exotics, especially gliders.

So, just my 2 cents worth...find a healthy, well bred pair of female cage mates to enjoy as pets...then decide later on (as others also suggested) if you wish to go forward with breeding them.

I was planning on getting 2 females anyways probably moasic because they are my favorite, I'm worried about shipping but I know I probably will have to. Do you have any websites you trust? I was thinking about thepetglider.com or it might be petglider.com but I'm not sure, there's only one vet in Reno who specialize in exotics including sugar gliders called "all creatures" they seem to be a good vet as far as I know.

Thepetglider is where my current three have come from. This is breeder Priscilla Price. She and her team are very trustworthy. You can call them and they will talk to you at length about any questions you may have. If you see some on their site that you like they will tell you more about their personalities and histories. Their shipping is extremely professional. They have been doing this a long time. I highly recommend them. They have well bred healthy gliders...and at varying price ranges depending on coloration and/or breeding potential...pet only prices, retiree prices. Lots of great options.

The overall health of your gliders stems from how well they were bred and then falls onto how well you take care of them. None of this trio has had so much as a sniffle.