I have been looking into getting a sugar glider for awhile now and have just put down a deposit on 2 males that will be ready to go in about 6 weeks. I live alone in an apartment and it does get kind of lonely and I love social pets. However my girlfriend lives about 3.5 hours away from me and I go see her about twice a month and was wondering how well they would do with this frequent drive?

I got to college 1.5 hours away from my fiancé and got a glider for the same reason you are. I drive to him about 3 times a month and my baby does great. Just be sure to bring everything they need (food, water bottle, toys, treats, cage, etc). I forgot one or two things the first month or so I had Gizmo. However, I do recommend getting a small travel cage and placing your sleeping babies in their pouch and in the cage. Last thing you want is a wreck and your suggies be hurt or killed. Females like myself who keep their suggies in their bra run a huge risk of glider death because of the airbags. As long as they have a similar environment at your girlfriends house they'll be fine! Maybe a little extra barking for a few visits.

Congrats on the new cridders

Mine travel pretty well, But keep in mind, no 2 are the same. Being prepared is the best way to make traveling for gliders less stressful. One duffle bag of stuff for you for a weekend won't be the case anymore lol. It's like packing for 2 small toddlers!!

Here's a few things to consider to make it easier. Gliders travel pretty well in a bonding pouch during the day. So if you drive there and back during the day it's not so bad. However, if you'r drive time is at night they are NOT happy confined in a pouch!! You will need a travel cage for your vehicle.

Ex; We left to come home from Tampa around 7pm for an hour they were fine in the pouch, once it got dark we had to pull over and put them in the cage. The cage has the seat belt wrapped around it and buckled. Wake up time is also feeding time so we made sure we had food handy for them in a cooler.


If we are going to be anywhere longer than a day or two we bring their regular cage. Small cages for too long can stress them out, especially when they are used to bigger cages. If this is going to be a regular trip for them ( twice a month ) Consider getting a second cage to leave at your girlfriends.

Having things that are theirs and smell like "home" like toys, fleece, pouches etc also helps relieve their stress when traveling. You can also borrow your girlfriends tshirt to put on top of their cage at home. It will get them familiar with her scent before they even meet her.


Small cages are fine in the car but they do need lots of space in their cage. It's much easier to have a second cage rather than loading and unloading possibly causing damage to their normal cage.

Bring toys, and enough staple food for your stay, can always pick up fruits n vegs once your there.

If the girlfriend has pets make sure the gliders have a safe room that her pet/pets don't have access to.

Make sure you have a safe wheel! one that can be easily removed from one cage to put in the other. We have a large wheel for the cage and a small wheel for the travel cage. And they do use it in the car lol

Last but not in any way least, find a vet experienced with gliders in the are your girlfriend lives in case of emergencies.



Your new cridders are both male, you will seriously want to consider having them both neutered! These are very territorial animals and as they mature they will become aggressive with each other and possibly fight for "top glider".

Intact males also smell!! a very strong pungent smell! They will mark everything insight including YOU. Once they have been neutered the scent gland dries up and they don't smell nearly as bad. Hormone levels also reduce so there is less posturing for the dominant position (lessens aggressiveness and fighting )


I'm sure I have forgotten something as I haven't had coffee yet lol but anyway good luck to ya and the new babies

Same as above, gus does well with the travel, it doesn't seem to bother him.

I have a friend who travels hers as well and said shes great with travel.

As long as they have you and their cage, they seem to be fine :)

Thanks for the info! Leela both males are going to be neutered so no worries there. As far as the vet issue, she lives in the only bigger city that would have a vet to deal with them, so incase of emergencies in any case I will have to be driving to her area.

awesome!! sounds like your very well prepared!!

I am trying to be! I saw a post about diets and would like to know if you could point me in the right direction on which one is best to follow. I am a bodybuilder so I always have chicken, fruit, veggies, and yogurt on hand just unsure of the exact plan. I want to make sure I have everything prepared when they arrive.

Candy is better at explaining diets than I am so I'l leave the complicated stuff for her.

I will say I prefer fresh staples rather than powdered mixes. So I use a modified leadbeaters diet or if they get bored with that, The pet glider fresh diet http://www.thepetglider.com/glider-care-info/nutrition-system#Recipe The video at the bottom of the page shows you how to prepare a batch. Both have ingredients I can find at the grocery store,1 has a lot of honey the other has a lot of applesauce in it.

Really it comes down to you and your gliders personal choice. It can be the best diet in the world but it does no good if the critters don't eat it. Leela wouldn't eat the leadbeaters until we brought Simon home. Now she follows his lead and will eat it but she still prefers the glider fresh diet.

Also look up toxic foods for gliders, print out a copy to have on hand. I love finding new fruits n vegies for them to try. But if I'm in doubt on if they can have it I "search" that fruit or veg on here to see if it's safe. Most often they Can have it but even then somethings are in moderation.

Welcome to the forum and to glider parenthood.

Diets are an often discussed topic. There is no 'best' glider diet but there are several widely used diets that have maintained healthy gliders for many years.

Most glider diets have a nectar like staple that provides the protein, vitamins and calcium gliders require. This staple is fed with a wide variety of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables each night. Most staple recipes make enough in one batch to feed 2 gliders for about a month. My own GliderKids Staple recipes make a larger batch, because I am feeding 12 gliders, so the batch will feed 2 gliders about 2 months.

Most staples are frozen in ice cube trays for easy storage and serving.

I have links on my web page to a number of the widely used feeding plans for you to look over. My GliderKids feeding plan is one of the options.

http://www.gliderkids-diet.com/Staple-Recipes.html

Look over the various feeding plans and feel free to ask questions if you need more information to help you decide on one plan to follow.

As far as traveling and glider diets go - you might want to make a batch in both locations if you go back and forth frequently rather than trying to transport the staple. Another option would be to make a batch at home just before you leave and take enough for the time you will be there with you. Keep the liquid on ice during the trip and then freeze it in ice cube trays when you get there. Most staples could be stored in the refrigerator for two, maybe 3 days but I would freeze right away if you plan to use it over more time than that.