I just got two adult female sugar gliders yesterday and was wondering if I need to periodically put a bowl with some water in their cage so that they can bathe? I have owned a sugar glider before but only for a few months and had to give her away because my husband was in the military. I know the basics about their diet and excercise but any other info would be helpful. Thanks!

sugargliders produce a saliva similiar to cats that actually cleans them. They wouldn't use the water for that purpose and if the bowl is to big they can drown seeing as they do not know how to swim and certainly don't like to (try)swim.

thank you for the info. I also was told by the previous owner that if the gliders don't have exposure to sunlight then their hips will fuse together??? I have never heard of this before and don't know if he was blowing up smoke or if it's true.?¿?

Wow I have never heard that before either and I dont know if that is true or not because they are nocturnal. I wouldnt think they would like the sunlight but maybe you could leave a curtain open during the day and let some sunlight in if so?? Yeah definatly dont try to clean your sugar glider, let them clean themselves. They could catch a cold and die if you get them all wet.

I've never heard that either. I am very curious though. I hope someone knows the answer to that.

They are talking about Hind Leg Paralysis, which is a disease caused by lack of calcium. Since gliders are nocturnal, they do not get their calcium from the sun. They get calcium from their food and supplements (if needed.

you know i guess the whole "catch a cold and get sick" could be very true but i have heard of people letting their gliders sit on their shoulders in the shower... im assuming gliders are exposed to rain in the wild right? hmmm no idea... one of my gliders jumped in a sink i had just filled with water and kinda swam to the side but couldn't get out.. as soon as i pulled out the hair dryer and blew warm air on him he curled up in a ball and just layed there.. kinda cute but i have never heard of anyone giving thier fur butts a bath...

Actually I do give my gliders baths. I fill the tub up just alittle and rinse them off. If I don't do that they get really stinky

do they like it?

I seriously put hardly enough in for them to even notice so they just do their own thing while I wash them up. I mean, they would probably hate it if I put a good amount of water in there.

I saw a ferret product tonight at the pet store that you place in their water and it helps take away their scent. Not sure if this would be so great for the gliders but maybe somebody knows a bit about this.

Thanks to everyone for their help!

Ya i've seen the same thing it said it was for ferrets or small animals like hamsters gerbals rabbits etc. I'm sure it would be ok for gliders too.

what if the glider is really stinky and stuff? could you like dampen a sponge and wipe the suggie with it then take a rag an dry teh suggie?

I do that. just a wet towel and pet him with it. I'm scared to use soap though, thinking he would run off with it still on and then lick it and get sick. But i may try the small amount of water in the tub. Charlee, what kind of stuffdo you do when you bathe them?

I would be careful putting them in any amount of water. Your glider should be grooming themselves, and if they are not, then perhaps there is something wrong. Letting them sit on your shoulder in the shower is just a horrible idea, in my opinion. Doing so creates the risk that they could inhale small amounts of water/moisture and end up with pneumonia.

The only time I clean my glider is if she gets into something. I had an occasion when I gave her a dab of honey as a treat and she ended up with it on every square inch of her body. I took a wet a wash cloth with warm water and squeezed it out until there was no water left dripping from it and then gently wiped her off with it. As soon as she was clean I wrapped her in a warm towel and pet her with the towel until she was completely dry. The longer they stay wet the more likely they are to become cold and then get sick. Even after she is dry, I move her into my bra so that she has my body warmth just in case.

But again, your glider should be cleaning themselves, so bathing them isn't really necessary unless they get into something they shouldn't have on them.

Using ferret products on gliders really isnt advisable. Since they do clean themselves like cats, there is the worry they would ingest some of the product. They are so tiny it wouldnt take much to make them ill. I know it says it is ok for small animal use, but remember, gliders arent your typical small animal.

As far at bathing goes, they really should be keeping themselves clean. If they arent grooming themselves and each other, there is a problem and they need to see a vet.

I admit that I did the same thing with running about an inch or two of warm water in the bathtub and put them in. I clipped their nails and that particular day, they were NOT cooperative and had a poo and pee fest. And I mean fur SOAKED in urine or I would never have considered bathing them. They were nervous being in the water as it was a first experience for them.

My gliders do groom themselvs. And me. There is absolutly nothing wrong with them, they've all went to the vet a week ago and they are great. But they are still stinky little guys. I've been giving mine a bath for a long time and have never had any problems. I do use a small amount of johnsons baby soap. Not on their head, just their bodies. I don't fill the water up enough for anything to happen. After they get out I wrap them up in a towel for just a second and then put them in my shirt. They love it. This really helps with their smell, I don't care how much they groom themselvs they are still smelly. Also, if you are considering giving your gliders baths, PLEASE note that I hardly use any bath water. I just do it in the bath because they like to play in the bathtub. The water hardly covers their feet.

well i don't really have an opinion about bathing gliders since i don't have mine yet. boo. (NEXT WEEK I'M GETTING THEM!) However, you should know that you're gliders (or you) cannot catch a cold or pneumonia from being in the shower. leaving them wet and shivering will obviously make them more susceptable to sickness (which i doubt anyone would do), but they have to have contact with a cold virus to get it. as for pneumonia, aspiration pneumonia is indeed caused by inhaling moisture but it has to be germy moisture like pool water, phlem or vomit (the usual suspects). unless you have germy shower water, hehe. i really was just itching to post something and since i can't give glider advice yet it'll have to be germ advice.

Don't put them in water if you can find another way to clean them. All gliders have an odor - its the nature of the beast. They love the way they smell and like to perfume everything with their scent. They more you clean, the more they are going to scent mark. If you give their cage a good cleaning once a week, change the newspapers or fleece in the drop pan a couple of times a week and change their sleeping pouches and anything else fleece at least once a week, the smell should be minimal.

I definately do all of those things. I usually don't bathe them unless they get poop and pee on their tails (which happens). Once a month or so. It's never on a 'schedule'. Just if they get messy, and I put them in the tub because they like it..otherwise I'd just damp them with a moist cloth. Thats why I was trying to tell everyone (new to suggies) that I didn't give them a real bath as in fill the tub up and what not. And Rita, I went through exactly what you were talking about when I first got them. I cleaned their cage every night and couldnt understand why it smelled so bad. Now I clean it once a week.

What do you guys think about the dust baths... like the ones used for chinchillas? My boyfriend suggested we try that (since they can get pretty smelly), but I've never read anything about bathing them. I haven't let them take a dust bath since I don't know if this would be okay for them.

Any info or suggestions?

This thread really upset me for some reason. Probably because if you want to have a pet that won't smell you don't need to have any pets and you definitely don't need a glider.

hah, i have a ferret and my cage of two gliders smells way worse than he does and I put more effort into keeping the gliders clean.
if you don't want your gliders to smell then neuter your males and clean out empty food bowls often and don't overclean their cage.

Charlee, your gliders sound like they were taken from their parents too soon if they can't properly clean their own tails and you may have a different case than most people but gliders will keep themselves clean. I've given three different gliders a bath 1 was because he was in a collar and the other two got into stuff but:
It really stressed them out, I got clawed and bitten
And it didn't even help them not smell. They were all my males and the "male" smell didn't go away, it just got worse after that.

Try giving a glider a bath, I dare you, they will probably not like it. You'll probably get bitten and scratched so hard you'll never do it again, even from your most bonded gliders.

Using soap too often can dry out their delicate skin too.

Well you do have a point Ahsaehr, all animals smell to an extent and gliders bath them selves. But at the same time, I do not blame people for wanting to reduce the smells a little bit. I personally do not bath or wash my gliders since there really isn't a need.

Not to be rude in anyway but honestly you shouldn't buy an animal and try to change it's natural smell or even lessen it. It's one thing to keep their cage, toys, and pouches etc. clean but another to bathe your glider just b/c you don't like their smell. If you don't like the smell and can't deal with it than you shouldn't own one. Just my opinion.

sooo, after this thread i'm wondering do they really smell that bad or what? i am getting 2 girls and, assuming i clean the cage and dont let stinky rotten fruit sit in their bowls, are they not gonna stink? or do you not notice after you've had them a while because you love them? i had a dog that my mom said smelled bad but i loved how she smelled because i love her so much. im not thinking of bathing my gliders, just curious. i barely even bathed my dog because she would choke herself trying to get away and look at me with those sad accusing eyes.

They do have an odor that we get used to. But it should be a faint odor. Un-neutered males smell worse, from what I understand (I only have females)

Rheasha is right about giving the gliders a bath. It was not a pleasant experience for me or the gliders. I have had them over two years and that is the one and only time I have bathed them. I dont intend to do it again unless something similar happens. Not sure why getting their nails clipped that day upset all of them, but it certainly did.

A big huge NO to the chinchilla dust baths. Chinchilla's in the wild naturally bathe in dust - gliders do not. Dust can get into their little noses and lungs. Im not certain what the dust bath is made of, but its not made for gliders.

When I just had girls, I barely noticed a smell at all. Add a few unneutered boys in the mix and HOLY..... LOL It's already better after getting just one neutered. They have a very distinct skunky smell when they're marking. I don't smell it all the time, but some days, I can tell he's been doing more marking than others. I also only clean the cage once a week. None of them go to the bathroom in the pouches or the nest box so I really very rarely change those and they smell the least somehow. If I change the newspaper on the bottom of the cage every other day, it's amazing what a difference that makes too. Now that I'm changing that more often, it isn't as bad at all.

ok, thanks! thats what i thought (that girls dont really smell that much) but i just wanted to prepare myself in case i was getting stinky animals. i mean, im sure i will love them no matter what. its just a matter of whether or not i should have company over, lol.

Understandable Sahra. My suggies are in the guest bedroom. I just use pure ayre deoderizer when I have guests sleeping over and use it once or twice a week to feshen up the room a bit every week.

Ha, I have to say I'm pretty shocked that some people are angry about wanting to adapt the smell of a glider. I'm pretty sure we all use deodorant (and praise the lord for that, because I'm pretty sure my boyfriend's natural musk would knock us all over).

I give my ferrets baths and odor control in their water. We all bathe our dogs from time to time. Helping an animal cut down on its smelliness is just another way to integrate them into our own world. If we REALLY wanted to let them be, none of us would own one--they'd all be free.

While my gliders' smells certainly don't bother me that much, I definitely was interested in knowing if anyone had found any methods to combat a little odor from time to time. So, I guess I'm just surprised to read a few unhappy comments. Personally, I found this whole thread really enjoyable and enlightening--no way to destink them! :)