Yesterday, my husband & I adopted a sugar glider from my boss' son. He's a full-time student & also works a minimum of 20 hours a week. After realizing he wasn't giving his pet the time and care he needs, asked me if I would like to have him. I talked it over with my husband & we agreed.

We did some research & were quite excited to hear that the Glider in question had everything he needed: a pouch, his cage, everything. That said, imagine our surprise when we went to pick him up that his cage was the size that would be perfect for a gerbil. I was not told of any special diet---to either give or avoid, and that he was actually fond of popcorn. His tail looks awfully thin, though his fur is quite soft. I was told he gets baths, which from our understanding, is a no-no.

We immediately drove to PetSmart to get him a bigger cage. However, we're in GA and there isn't a great deal to choose from as it seems about 50% of ppl here have never heard of a sugar glider (myself included, until about a year ago when I first heard my boss' son recently adopted this sugar glider). We had to settle for a parrot cage because even the "specialist" at their store tried to sway us into getting a small ferret cage. At its tallest, however, the parrot cage is only 34", 2" shy of the minimum requirement--but it's the best we can do for now. We got him a proper wheel. (The other one was made of mesh.) We also got him a few extra perches designed to look like branches, a velvet tube for him to sit in, a and a ferret hammock that's pouch-like. (We still let him keep his original pouch, despite how slapdash it looks. It's shaped like a sock. I wasn't sure if too many new changes would upset him.) Tonight, he's going on the BML diet. (We actually went out and bought a blender just for this purpose. We didn't previously own one.)

This little guy has stolen our hearts! At the same time, I'm so sad for him that his last year has been so shabby. His new cage is set up in our bedroom. He didn't make a lot of noise, other than just move around, maybe playing on his new "noiseless" wheel. He's "crabbed" us out a few times when we thought he was awake in his pouch & offered him a mealworm, or when we had to move him from his old cage to his new one, but that's it. (We wanted him near us so if he was hungry or lonely, or whatnot, we could be there for him.)

So, this being day #2, I thought it would be a good move to join this group & chat on this forum to get advice & share stories, etc. That being said, I have a few questions.

1. He's a year old or older. Can he still be neutered? I wish to eventually (after he's neutered, if he can be) get him a female cage-mate.

2. How often do they have bowel movements. So far, his cage is far too clean for my liking. He urinates, yes, but aside from just a little poop when we brought him home, I haven't seen any fecal evidence. I don't want to worry. (Our next mission is to find him a good vet in our area, who is experienced with sugar gliders & not just "small animals".

3. How often should I change out his water bottle? He doesn't seem to drink a lot of water. Should I change it out on a daily basis?

Welcome to the forum and Congrats on your new baby!

Yes, he can be neutered. I think that would be a good move. Many say a neutered male is just like a female,....less aggressive & less odor.

Mine mainly only poo upon waking,...it's only 3-4 tiny turds (for lack of a better word, sorry) They do most of their pee-ing upon waking also but sometimes they can really let loose and open the flood gates!

I change out my water bottle every other day at the minimum.

I would suggest checking out the resources tab as well as checking out some threads on diets. You'll want to put him on a good diet.

You can also do a thread search on cages. I know there are recent threads about this topic because I am also in search of a new cage. People posted pics which can give you an idea of what may suit your needs and many told where they purchased them. It can be expensive so you will definately want to do some research. I know many get them from ebay.

Hope that helps for a start.

Welcome and grats on your new baby!! I would say his bowel movements will increase once he is on a better diet.

~Michelle~

We put him on the BML diet tonight. He seems to love it! (And pooped himself stupid. Now I feel a little silly I worried to begin with. Heh. New moms, huh? What can you do? :D) He seems a bit thin to me and his tail is looking better. I suspect he wasn't getting enough protein with his previous owner.

As for cages, I have been eye-balling the Exel Extra Large Tower that is listed here. Came across this website spoiledrottensuggies.com/product-collection-gallery and will probably use this as inspiration for Batman. He'll need his Gotham City, right?

Thanks for the warm welcome & help! Thank God for the Internet & a forum full of knowledgeable people. I think he'll be happy with us. We're certainly going to do everything we can!

u can get pretty large cages on ebay

asmerella - before responding to posts, check the date of the original question

This question was posted and answered over a year ago.