Okay so back in January a family friend/coworker offered me her suger gliders as she didn't have time for them anymore and wanted them to be taken care of. Of course I said yes! I immediately started researching and watching videos but I still had no idea what I was getting into. She gave me six unfixed sugar gliders, two females and four males.

I absolutely adore them!

I just feel a little over whelmed and am hoping for tips and tricks.

Pete: Three years old, has never crabbed at me but is super shy. He can be a bit silly sometimes and is over all the sweetest(We call him sweetie petie) is a little on the pudgy side.

Suga: Not sure how old he is. Feisty and sweet. He likes snacks and being able to run around.

Nibbles: A year old(Cleo's twin) is skittish. His sister took a bite out of his ear when they were little.

Racer: A rescue, not sure how old. Super quick, he doesn't like to be messed with.

Abbie: A rescue, not sure how old. We nicknamed her crabby Abbie as she didn't like people at all and would constantly crab anytime anyone got near the cage. Now she only crabs when she is disturbed.

Cleo: A year old(Nibbles twin.) constantly hides and is super shy but gentle. Will occasionally take a treat from me.

I bought a bonding pouch but as it zips up, they don't like it and wouldn't get in it willingly for awhile but lately two of my boys(Suga and Pete) have become more open and willing to get in it. I use it to take them with me to the store. I make frequent trips to our local pet store/groomer as I am trying to get them used to the groomer so we can get their nails cut(Since I am too scared to do it myself) They like going places. I can easily keep them on me even going to the grocery store and they don't make a sound.

I bought a small two person tent and I set it up in my living room. I put a thin sheet on the floor(So messes are easier to clean up) and several of their toys and snacks in there with me and them. At first they wouldn't even come out of their pouch except for Pete. Now they all climb all over me, but suga just likes to lay on my leg and eat snacks.

I have tried using easter eggs for foraging but I don't think they know how to forage. Any tips on ways to teach them?

I have little cat balls with bells in them, pompoms, baby keys,baby ring clips, a coconut hut, a bridge and four pouches in their cage.

Any toy tips?

How often should I clean the cage? I try to clean it every three-four days.
I use newspaper under the bars of their cage since its easier to clean up and unscented baby wipes to wipe the bars down.

Their urine has a really strong odor, is that normal?

I have noticed pete(Not sure if the rest are doing it as well) is latching into the bars and peeing outside of the cage. Is there a way to stop him? Is it normal?


I have a bag of sugar glider food that my friend gave me but they don't like it and wont eat it. Do I need to get calcium powerder? What is HPW and is it needed? I give them honey as a treat, does it need to be 100% organic? What are good meats to feed them? They like tuna and Vienna sausages(She has fed them these for three years)
I feed them superworms and freezedried meal worms that I get from my local petstore.

Can someone recommend a good online store to get sugar glider items from? Our pet store only sells three bags of sugar glider foods and that is it. No toys, no pouches, no treats, not anything related to sugar gliders. I have got the pouches I have from amazon and they are not the best quality(They have easily chewed holes in them)

Any tips about bonding? I constantly put my hands in the cage and under their pouches. I take the pouch they are sleeping in out and sit it in my lap for awhile, sometimes feeding them treats and just listening to them chitter. Suga is the only one who willingly gets on my hand and only when he wants(like if I just finished prepping their food and have the smell on me.)

Sorry it is long, just want as much info and help I can get. Thanks so much!

Forgot to ask, what are things I need to look out for health wise?
I'd rather hear straight from sugar glider owners then google.

What kind of illnesses are they prone to get? Symptoms?

I found a vet that handles sugar gliders but its $45 per sugar glider so I will be taking one or two a week. I was thinking about getting a separate cage(probably a small one) to separate the ones who have gone to the vet because sometimes I can't tell Cleo and Abby apart or Nibbles and Racer and don't want to end up taking the same sugar glider twice, and accidently leave one out and something end up being wrong with him/her. Is this a good idea? I'll keep the cages close together.

I also want to get my sugar gliders fixed but I think one of my females may be pregnant. The females are hiding more and the males are pretty protective of one of them but I can't tell which one it is when they both are hiding.

If she is pregnant should I be doing anything differently? Feeding differently? Handling differently?

Is it a good idea to get them fixed? Which ones would be best to fix first, male or female?

I would say first, GET THE MALES FIXED. you do nothing with females.
your going to have LOTS of babies and are the ones you have related?? are they mom and dad already, one a daughter? I don't know to much about babies, we have ONLY neutered males. BUT the setup of four unaltered males and babies could be bad.

I would actually think about putting females in separate cage until males are fixed, check around for price I have heard $80 per fix, and up to $240 per fix.

Pick a diet

Ohpw(also trademarked as critterlove)
BML

two popular ones, more available. pick one, we stay with ONE diet for all our gliders.


I feel these are the first 2 big steps you must take soon.

Our experienced sugar glider vet charged $45, the less experienced place charged $100 to visit. Then when I took in our 5 new ones, they charged $45 for the VISIT only, NOT each glider.

i haven't had coffee yet so please ignore typos lol

there's a lot of info about to be hurled at you I'll start with answering your questions.

1 foraging. Easter eggs are great, and if you put live meal worms in there, and NOT close the egg all the way, leave a little gap so they can get their nails in there they will learn to get them open. Sometimes you can close them a little cockeyed so its not closed at all on one side... once they figure out and smell the meal worms are in there they will open it then you can start closing the egg normally but leaving a little gap before it snaps together.

2 toys. if your coconut hut has rope and a ladder/bridge remove the rope it hangs from and the bridge. Replace the hanging rope with fleece and they don't need a bridge they climb and jump just fine and don't need them. The bridge is made from a wood that CAN but not always cause skin irritation.

other toys, reset toys pom pom pits, pulley toys, plastic bracelets, ping pong balls, feathers (no feathers found outside or from pet birds)

3 cleaning. The more you clean, the more they are going to mark the cage and stink it up again. However, with 6 in one cage depending on the size you may need to clean more often. Usually most people clean cages once a week, clean drop trays more often as needed. I don't clean cages even that often but do clean drop trays as needed. Its up to you and what works best for you and your gliders.

4 urine odor. Yes, partially from the boys being intact and probably from their diet. And it's normal for them to pee down the bars.

5 Food/Diet.

" have a bag of sugar glider food that my friend gave me but they don't like it and wont eat it. Do I need to get calcium powerder? What is HPW and is it needed? I give them honey as a treat, does it need to be 100% organic? What are good meats to feed them? They like tuna and Vienna sausages(She has fed them these for three years)
I feed them superworms and freezedried meal worms that I get from my local petstore."

Personally I'd trow out the bag of sugar glider food and get them on a widely used balanced diet. I will address this in a minute.

* Calcium powder and do you need it. Yes they need calcium in their diet, which is why they need to be on a balanced widely used diet, the diets we use have calcium in them or the recipe. We DON'T just sprinkle calcium on food to much can be just as bad as not enough. In the diets we use, it is a measured amount, distributed evenly through the entire batch of food.

So you may or may not need calcium powder depending on what diet you choose. Some diets have calcium already in them. And some diets are recipes that you have to add the ingredients yourself.

HPW is one of the widely used diets. Hpw diets can be confusing because there are so many of them and multiple formulas for it. The Exotic Nutrition brand sucks. Personally I recommend the Critter Love Brand Hpw's https://www.critterlove.com/diet-info.html So with Critter Love hpw, you make the staple and freeze it, and you make one of the salads to feed with it and freeze it.

Another diet to consider is Bml. http://www.bmldiet.com/index.html This one, you do need calcium powder.

Both are good diets.

I'd stop giving Tuna and sausages. Tuna is known to have high levels of mercury and sausages are super high in salt and fat.

I'm going to hit two birds with one stone here and suggest other proteins and a TEMPORARY diet plan for you to use until you decide on a normal diet for them. This is NOT a long term diet menu but can be fed until you get them on a more nutritionally balanced diet.


Proteins. Boiled or baked chicken, boiled or baked turkey, boiled or scrambled eggs, yogurt.

**chicken and turkey can be, legs,wings,necks,breast, even ground.... what ever you have or want to get, bones are fine.

**yogurt, no non fat, no artificial sweeteners

** when cooking for gliders do not use butter, oil,or any seasonings.

Fruits. Apple, blueberries, cherries pitted, melons, grapes

veg. frozen or fresh Peas, carrots, corn, green beans, mixed veg no onions. NO CANNED FRUIT,VEG OR MEAT

Ok menu for a week........


Pick one protein, one fruit, and one veg a night, and they get one tablespoon of each category PER glider. So you will need 6 tablespoons of each on one plate, or 3 tablespoons of each on 2 plates.

a weeks menu should look like this...

MON - boiled chicken, green beans, melon
T - yogurt, peas, grapes
W - boiled eggs, corn, watermellon
T - Boiled chicken, mixed veg, cherries
F - Scrambled eggs, Corn, blueberries
S - yogurt, carrots, honeydooo
S - boiled chicken, mixed veg, cantaloupe


you can use that and rotate it as needed until you find what staple diet you want to use.


The best place to find glider vendors is on facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/956786344360103/ This is group is purely for vendor posts. Anything from joeys, pouches, cage sets, toys, treats you name it.

my fav cage set vendor is Denise she makes cage sets,
bonding bags, sometimes toys....she will work with you on what pieces you want or need and you can get a whole set or individual pieces. Shes super easy to work with and her skills are amazing.

https://www.facebook.com/lovelysugarstitches/

6 Bonding. your doing all the right things already. Bonding bag time and tent time are the two most used methods. no matter what you do it's going to take time, especially with a colony of 6. There are some videos on bonding as well I'll try to post some after coffee

You got great info and advice from both BK and Leela. I'd just like to add my take on cage cleaning.

Cage cleaning is an individual thing, as like mentioned by Leela. Many have different routines, and I've tried various routines both with having two and then a trio. I've settled on daily drop pan cleaning, and spot cleaning/waste removal. Being every morning I brush off all surfaces that have food or potty waste as I remove food dishes and clean drop tray. This helps with stink factor and reduces attraction of fruit flies or crawly pests. The cage is then cleaned at various levels weekly.

Alternating weeks
A: Wipe down spot or areas with vinegar water solution and sponge, sleep pouch changed out, regular drop pan/waste removal.

B: Total wipe down and change accessories.

Every now and then (4-8 weeks) during total wipe down week, I'll go over with a steam clean using hand held steamer. I would love to take the cage outdoors at least twice a year for a good hose down and scrub, but I've never had a living configuration where the cage is easily moved outside.

Forgot to ask, what are things I need to look out for health wise?
I'd rather hear straight from sugar glider owners then google.

What kind of illnesses are they prone to get? Symptoms?

I found a vet that handles sugar gliders but its $45 per sugar glider so I will be taking one or two a week. I was thinking about getting a separate cage(probably a small one) to separate the ones who have gone to the vet because sometimes I can't tell Cleo and Abby apart or Nibbles and Racer and don't want to end up taking the same sugar glider twice, and accidently leave one out and something end up being wrong with him/her. Is this a good idea? I'll keep the cages close together.

I also want to get my sugar gliders fixed but I think one of my females may be pregnant. The females are hiding more and the males are pretty protective of one of them but I can't tell which one it is when they both are hiding.

If she is pregnant should I be doing anything differently? Feeding differently? Handling differently?

Is it a good idea to get them fixed? Which ones would be best to fix first, male or female?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok coffee in hand now

health wise.... Their fur should be clean, soft, and not discolored. Their eyes should be bright and clear. Their nose should be dry, pink and purple. Their bellies should be fairly white to yellowish.

1 what kind of illnesses are they prone to.
Parasites
malnutrition
bacterial infections
yeast infections
hlp- hind leg paralysis
dental issues, abscesses
dehydration- isn't an illness on it's own, usually its a symptom of something else.
genetic issues
cancer
impaction/intestinal blockage
genitalia amputations

That's ^^^ just off the top of my head so the list is not limited to just those.

Injuries -
broken tails
neck wounds
broken toes
burned feet
broken leg

Symptoms vary but things to look for. Dehydration, lethargic, found in the wheel or bottom of the cage instead of in sleep pouch, hissing when peeing or pooping, one glider being singled out and bullied or a glider singling themselves out keeping away from the others. Significant weight loss, fur not healthy and clean or discolored and wet looking. Swelling of the face or eye, cloudiness in eyes. broken skin, open wounds on neck, shoulder , tail

45 isn't bad for an exam fecals will probably extra anywhere from 20-45 per glider unless the vet is cool and will do them all for the cost of one. Some vets will some won't. I would definately ask since some are rescues. I would also ask for a discount on the neuters since you have 4 to do the vet may cut you a deal.


The males DEF NEED neutered or you will be over run with gliders in no time and will have more to neuter later if you wait (any male offspring they produce will need neutered)

You won't just be getting over run with gliders you would be increasing the possibility of inbreeding and allowing rescues to breed. Up until now this was the previous owners choice, it's not one the glider community condones.

If you think 6 are overwhelming now, you will be buried if you allow them to breed. That is not meant as a judgement or harsh, it's just a fact.

They may not have bred much in the past at their previous home, but once you get them on a sound diet that can change quickly. Then your lookin at more neuters, more cages, or over crowded cage and a whole lot of stress.

By your posts I realize you are trying to improve their lives so please don't think I'm assuming this is what you want for them, i don't think that at all. But it is a common issue we see in the glider community. It's a very sad thing to see a large colony of inbred gliders get put up for rehome simply because the owner couldn't afford neuters or flat out wanted to allow them to breed then things got out of hand and the owner overwhelmed.



In the very least separate the females until the males are all neutered, even if one has joeys in pouch the other female will help her. IF the joey/s are male the need to be separated from the moms no later than 3 to 4 months old, or neutered prier to that to stay with mom.

***Females do not get fixed, they have a very complex reproductive system and fixing them is very invasive and only done if medically necessary, even then it is debated on very heavily by the vet and owner.***

IF one or both of the females have joeys in pouch getting them on a staple diet is huge, and you should feed a extra portion of the staple and fruits and veg while they are in pouch and once they come out that way if mom needs more food she has it and when she weens the joey/s their portion is already on the plate. Other than that you don't need to do anything different, handle them the same as you would if they didn't have babies in pouch.

keeping 2 cages fairly close is fine, but no closer than 12 inches to prevent tail injuries. you can also pouch swap regularly if you want them all back together after neutering. It will make the reintroduction easier.

At the vets....... I have 10 gliders I rarely only bring one glider to the vet whether they are healthy or not. I make an appoint for one, and bring all the gliders in that cage to the appointment. MOST often, the vet will at least weigh them all and collect poo samples from each glider even though i only made the appointment for one. So i get charged for one glider, but have multiple looked at. Most vets will let you get away with this becauseeeeee if you need to medicate one glider in the cage, you might need to medicate all of them. The next time I take them I put the appointment in a different gliders name until i have them all on the books. The vet can't give meds on the phone to a glider if it isn't on their books.

Since you can't differentiate them yet and they likely haven't been to a vet in a while I would bring them all, and tell the vet you'd like a baseline weight and if you can swing it fecals done. This way the vet is getting more info on their new patients and you are getting them all seen and all the gliders are getting fecal tested, Considering you will hopefully be having min of 4 neuters done, the vet should cut you some slack and accomadate you on this.

Thank you everyone for all this information! I am so glad I found this forum! I was at a bit of a loss with all the different things google was throwing at me which often contradicted itself.

I will be getting a cage Friday with my paycheck to separate the females from the males.
Just curious, this wont make them depressed or stressed? Separating them from the males?

Currently I feed them a mix of different things;
Collard greens, carrots, fresh green beans, kale and spinach.
Peach, mango, red apple, blueberries, and dried cranberries.
Boiled egg, scrambled eggs, Vienna sausage, tuna, baked chicken, or whatever meat we had for dinner which is usually chicken or pork.

When I called the vet they said $45 for each sugar glider, but I will definitely take all of them and see what we can work out.
When I called them and asked about fixing them, they told me it would be best to fix the females, should I try to find a different vet? Everyone on here is telling me it is NOT okay to fix females, and if the vet doesn't know that then maybe I need a new one? Any opinions?

Cleo and Nibbles were born when my friend had them, the mother died. I heard they had another baby that died while still pink. I don't want anything to happen to any of them so I plan on getting the males fixed ASAP.

Are females usually this skittish or is it just mine?

Also mine wont drink out of a water bottle, they only drink out of a bowl. She gave me two bowls that clip into the cage but within the second week, the clips broke and now the bowls have to sit on the floor and I'm worried they are going to the bathroom in the bowls but I can't find any replacements, any sites or stores I should check out?

yeh def find a different vet. we might can help Where are you located? city n state

no it shouldn't stress them to bad you are not isolating one, you are pulling a pair resulting in a quad and pair.
providing the males all get along and the females get along it won't be a big issue to separate by gender.

gliders are all individuals and will bond differently than each other. The separation by gender may help with bonding as well. Instead of bonding with 6 all at the same time your only bonding with 2 and 4 so you can get more individualized bonding in.

skip the sausage, tuna and pork. sausage high in sodium tuna high mercury and fat pork high in fat and sodium. Stick with lean lower fat proteins.

I don't feed a lot of greens like kale, spinach they are high in oxalates.

they'd probably love water silos then it's the best of both water bottle and bowl. It hangs like a water bottle but has a trough instead of ball and tube.

i prefer these myself they are super easy to clean and are bigger than most silos, I have 2 on each cage one high one low.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pet-Bird-Automatic-Water-Fountain-Bottle-Feeder-Waterer-Portable-Drink-Container/323156966328?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D50998%26meid%3D469ca2b3356840ae858717c1d51b4fd1%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D282891987345%26itm%3D323156966328&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

I found this site because I was looking for vets that handled sugar gliders near me because the vet that I take my other animals to(Three dogs and a cat) don't handle them. There are three near me, one being am animal hospital. I can't really drive far right now as I do not have a very dependable car but I don't want to put it off. I called the vet again, and was very blunt. I asked them flat out how much experience they had with sugar gliders and her response was that they had a seen a couple sugar gliders before but not lately(As in not in a few months.) Should I wait until I can get to a different vet or at least take them to this one for a check up? I just want to make sure everything is okay even if I don't get them fixed yet.

I am trying to find another cage(Wont be able to get it until Friday but I still want to know price range.) Would a birds cage be best? I've looked at so many cages but they all have bars that are too wide, my suggies would just slip through! I found a small birds cage that is in my current budget, but they wouldn't be able to move and climb in it as much as my tall cage. It would only be temporary but I don't like the idea of them not being able to play and explore. Would being in a smaller cage depress them or stress them? I am trying to make it as painless of a transition as possible.

When I do separate them, I plan on moving each fixed male into the cage with the females but if I left them with the other males would there be any issues? No fighting or dominating?

I have checked both diet plans but I am so loss on which one to get! And how big a bag I would need for six gliders + a pregnant female.

Which silo size would ya'll recommend?

I did so much research but it all contradicted itself and now I am so unsure! I just want to make sure they are healthy and happy.
any and all information/tips/tricks/recommendations/ect are MORE than welcome!

Also the current cage I have for them is tall but old, any sites where I can get a new(er) one for a reasonable price? I am already gonna end up spending over $600 in vet fees so anything cheap but good quality is very much appreciated! I have checked amazon and Walmart but neither are very cheap. Any sites/stores that sell sugar glider items/toys/treats/cages/pouches/ect?
I found a website called
sugarglidersRus.com but I don't know if its reliable, anyone heard of it or use it?

I have a list of glider vets across the country, and glider owner contacts all over the country that's why I asked your city and state.

Cages, I don't know what your budget is or if the new one is going to be a temp cage or a new cage for the colony?

This site has great cages, but the food and snacks are crap.
http://www.exoticnutrition.com/Departments/Sugar-Glider-Products/Sugar-Glider-Cages-and-Parts/Cages.aspx

The Brisbane cage, I have 5 in one and they are comfortable One more would probably be ok but then you may have
joeys coming too which could be 1-3 more gliders (usually 2 tho) You could get two of them and stack them or attach them
side by side.

Madagascar has more height n more room I think it'd be better for the amount of gliders you have orrrrrrr
a DCN cage.


https://www.google.com/shopping/product/14017245232545416767?lsf=seller:8064,store:277407385961983544&prds=oid:12473693132114868791&q=petsmart+critter+nation&hl=en&ei=oM-8WqXELsG-tQXlw6XgDw&lsft=utm_source:google,utm_term:5209800,utm_medium:cpc,utm_content:GSC+-+Medium+-+Specialty+-+Small+Pet+%7C+*Catch+All,utm_campaign:GSC+-+Medium+-+Specialty+-+Small+Pet,gclid:Cj0KCQjwnfLVBRCxARIsAPvl82HjO2fGSqK8hbizjYu6jb195C_xSiMqIfCclWVYRfjrlFekggQzeUsaArofEALw_wcB&utm_medium=cpc

Critter Love calculator 1 pound of CL Plus powder would last 7 gliders 1month 1week, that is JUST the staple part you still need to make a salad. The CL complete - 1 pound would last 7
gliders 27 days. The difference is the CLPlus you have to add things to it, the CL complete you just add water.



For Bml you'd make probably 3 batches at a time to feed 7 gliders for a month, it may last a little longer ( i know you have 6 gliders i added one for extra portion for mom)

The silo i have is a medium it's good size

I put links to a vendor group for toys and such in a previous post

I checked out that lady on Facebook and we are working together to get some stuff for the cage! She is super sweet and willing to work with my weird wants lol! (A poke ball bonding pouch)

I live in Athens GA madison county.

Going to order a silo friday. Was hoping to find a cage no more than $150 but it doesn't seem possible huh lol
I think I may try to make one? It seems pretty cool. What kind of mesh should I use?

Will be ordering their food tomorrow as well!

What kind of treats should I use? I currently give them superworms, freeze dried meal worms, baby cereal, baby yogurt drops, banana baby food and mango baby food.

Typed from phone sorry.

Denise is amazing and my bestie lol

umm right off the top of my head Fur Pets Sake 404-248-8977
that is my other friend Shirleys vet in Atlana.

Shirley is a long time breeder and rescuer in the Atlana area
she has a facebook group with other Ga owners who may give you a recommendation
for a vet closer to you.

The group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/372362309480023/
Denise, the sewing vendor is also an admin of Furever Gliders i'm sure she would make a post in
there for you if you don't want to yourself. Denise may be slow to reply for the next few days she
just picked up her Grandson for a visit.

Cages and wheels you kind of have to look at like an investment. You can buy a car for 200 bucks
and drive it for a few weeks, or spend a little more for one that will last longer. Same with glider gear a cheap cage
might last a year, a good cage will last several years.


We blew way more money than we needed to when we first started if we had bought a good cage and wheel
it would have probably saved us about a grand lol. We went through several cages and wheels before we got it
figured out.

Treats.. well everyone has opinions about treats lol Personally I'd quite with the baby food and snacks.
Gliders have 40 teeth packed in their mouths and are very capable of eating food food. Bml has chicken baby food in it
and personally that's the only time I think it should be fed.

Fruit n veg baby food has a lot of preservatives in it and many are pureed. We don't suggest feeding pureed food
to gliders it forces them to ingest insoluble fibers that they would normal spit out if it were given to them
as a fresh or frozen food. This can cause intestinal issues and blockages for gliders.

Most people feed: white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, yogurt chips, mealies, fresh fruit or veg, eggs

Avoid nuts and seeds. Despite having 40 teeth, the teeth are not designed to eat nuts and seeds. The teeth
were designed for compression so nuts and seeds don't get broken down enough cause the same intestinal issues as
insoluble fiber.

Personally I'm trying to cut back on giving mine so much sugar my boyfriend gives treats before he leaves for work,
then I give treats later on in the day when I get moving. So I'm getting dried fish things for a treat no sugar no preservatives



.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/306847682760623/

The Ga Fla sugarglider group, can ask for vet referrals in there as well