Hello,
My 4 year old male sugar glider is excessively sneezing while eating. Is that an upper respiratory infection?

Is there mucus/liquid coming from his nose/eyes? Can you hear any popping sounds when he breathes? Is he sniffling? Lethargic? Is it only when he eats? (And what is he eating) sorry for all of the questions, I bbn just want to be able to help you figure out what's going on.

There is no visible mucus but when he eats wet food he gets very sneezy and I can feel the moisture spray from his sneezing. It’s like he has too much fluid in his throat and is trying to clear it. He will keep sneezing until a minute after he’s done eating. He is eating and drinking normally and has not lost weight. I have switched to giving him only dry food in the meantime as he doesn’t seem to be sneezing while eating the dry food.

Hmm. #129300; Was the food cold? Sometimes my gliders will sneeze if they get cold food on their noses. Did you give him any new food lately?

No new food. And the food isn’t cold as I usually let it sit for about 30 minutes before they eat it. The only 2 things that have changed is the fact that the weather dropped and I got them a new cage cover. Just upgraded from my old ratty sheet. However the weather here just dropped from 80s-70s everyday to 40s at night. Could that have bothered him if I had the windows open to cool the apartment down a bit? I don’t leave them open at night, just for a bit in the evening while they’re still sleeping. If it is a respiratory infection what could I do to avoid it next time? I have a vet appointment scheduled.

It could be. When my gliders had a respiratory infection, the vet said that the cold air from open windows could have been a cause. That and stress because I had just moved them across state. Maybe he was stressed out about the new cage cover. I don't know.
Just keep them warm enough and don't let any drafts near them. Limit stress. That's the advice that I got from my vet.
Maybe this is a more...strange explanation but is it possible that he could be allergic to the new cover? Not sure why that would make him sneeze only when he ate but it's a thought. A wonderful book I read recently was Eliminate Your Pet's Allergies
by Devi Nambudripad. Pets have so many allergies that do not make themselves known in the traditional ways.
Let me know what the vet says!

Good suggestion! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! He’s doing much better today so that makes me happy. No sneezing at all!

That is WONDERFUL! Merry Christmas!