Handout Templates
The following is a list of templates that one can use to create handouts and fliers. These can be handed out to people at various events such as at fairs, home and garden shows, flea markets, or other such events that draw large crowds of families. Other distribution options include leaving the fliers on windshields, at vet offices, laundromats or anywhere a bulletin board can be found.
Template 1
- Virtually all the sugar gliders sold at flea markets, fairs or home shows come from glider mills, which are just like puppy mills.
- Animal mills are breeding grounds for infections, parasites and communicable diseases.
- A sugar glider that is old enough to be taken from its mother will have a bushy tail and be highly active
- Sugar gliders are high maintenance pets that require specialized diets, large cages, and a lot of time.
- Sugar gliders need veterinary care. We recommend wellness exams twice a year.
- Small animals such as sugar gliders do not "play well" with dogs, cats or other animals.
- Sugar gliders don't make good pets for children. Gliders can live up to 15 years and most children will lose interest before then.
For more information contact:
Template 2
| Animal Comparison |
| | Sugar Gliders | Hamster | Dog |
| Active during Day? | No | No | Yes |
| Active during Night? | Yes | Yes | sometimes! |
| Special diet? | Yes | Yes | Dog food |
| Longevity | 10+ years | 2 to 3 years | 10 to 13 years |
| Cleanliness | Poo and pee everywhere, even on you, | sorta messy, but not as bad as sugar gliders | Outside in the grass |
| Bite | Normally they use their teeth to pry bark off of trees, skin is much softer than bark | Yes, can bite | Generally, no |
| Loudness | Can be very loud at night, has a high pitched 'bark' | Quiet | Dogs do bark, but personality can depend on the breed |
Template 3
Say “No” to Mill Breeders
There are hundreds of sugar gliders that need loving homes. Rescue before supporting a mill breeding operation.
Yes, Gliders are awesome pets, but they are a lot of work and a lot of responsibility. Don’t think they are the ‘perfect’ pet, they aren’t.
1) Sugar gliders CAN NOT be fed a captive/pelleted diet-they require fresh fruits, veggies, and protein. They are omnivorous sap suckers in the wild and necropsies performed after a sugar glider's death can and has determined liver disease caused by years of pelleted and poor diet.
2) Sugar gliders still have wild instincts, they can bite, do produce an odor, and can be loud if they want to be. Though they usually won’t, a glider can easily use their razor sharp teeth or pinlike nails to hurt someone.
3) Sugar gliders should not be with other animals. They are not rodents. Yes, a cat will normally chase after anything that moves and is smaller then them, so yes your dog or cat could easily eat a glider. And yes sugar gliders eat birds in the wild. Birds can become restless and hurt themselves if housed in the same room with gliders.
4) Sugar gliders SHOULD NOT be housed alone. They are colony animals and should be housed with at least one other glider. They can easily become depressed, self-mutilate or die without companionship.
5) Sugar gliders ARE NOT a pet you can just leave in a cage. They are highly social, intelligent creatures who love to interact and play with you, mainly at night. They are not fish and do not survive well just sitting in a cage to look pretty.
Please do your research before getting a sugar glider. They may be very cute, but are a long-term commitment. They can live over ten years and require time and attention; are you willing to provide them with both?
Check out these cool website to learn more about gliders and remember to support rescues. These gliders are looking for a loving home!
www.millbreederproject.com
www.sugarglider.com
www.glidercentral.net
Template 4
So you say you want one of those super cute, cuddly, little sugar gliders you saw in the mall?
Who wouldn’t want a pet that requires almost no attention, doesn’t smell, doesn’t make noise, doesn’t bite, is great for kids, as well as, family pets and requires very little cleaning or feeding, doesn't require a vet and can eat a packaged diet? Sounds like a perfect pet to me!
Oh wait, that’s right, they aren’t……sorry to say it but you’ve been lied to.
Myth: They require only a specially formulated pelleted diet.
Fact: They require a daily fresh made diet of protein, fruits and veggies carefully balancing out calcium to phosphorous ratios. It is a fact that most packaged diets are primarily fillers and not nutrition. Sugar gliders also get a majority of their hydration from fresh fruits and vegetables.
Myth: They don’t smell and you can potty train them.
Fact: Gliders do produce a musk (unneutered males are the strongest) and do rely on scent marking out their territory. This is typical of nocturnal mammals. They also poo and pee whenever and wherever they chose, and use urine to mark just about anything they want to claim as theirs.
Myth: They don’t bite.
Fact: They are sap suckers and groomers. It is their nature to strip bark off of trees to get to the sap inside. They have special teeth for this and razor sharp molars because they consume both plants and animals in the wild.
Myth: They will get along with your dogs, cats and birds.
Fact: Just because they don’t smell like rodents doesn’t mean they don’t look like them. Cats and dogs are hunters by nature and can easily kill your sugar glider without a second thought. Gliders eat small birds in the wild and can attack your parakeets. Gliders are hunted by large birds in the wild and being in the same room with a large parrot can cause deadly stress to them. Do not let your sugar gliders near other animals.
Myth: They are great for young children and the elderly.
Fact: Sugar gliders are a newly domesticated animal with very wild insticts. They are tiny, fast and skittish, require extensive time and have sharp teeth and claws. They should not be given to a small child without supervision.
Myth: Heat rocks are good.
Fact: Heat rocks are for reptiles. They are not for endothermic animals such as mammals. Not only can your glider chew through the electrical wire, but they can scald their skin and fur on it. These rocks are not reliable and are risky at best at regulating temperature. To keep gliders warm (65-75 degrees is desirable) put a small heater in the room (that they do not have access to), provide fleece blankets and a heavy duty pouch. Better yet, get them a buddy! They are colony animals and will snuggle together for warmth. Sugar gliders, if old enough to be separated from mom and dad, can regulate their own body temperatures.
Myth: You only need one.
Fact: They are colony animals. A single glider can become depressed, self-mutilate and cause infection that can lead to death. They can become lethargic, stop eating and simply die of loneliness. Having two gliders is not much harder than having one and your glider will thank you!
Myth: They only need a small cage.
Fact: Sugar gliders glide. That being the point, the taller the cage the better. You can make your own cage and deck it out with all sorts of toys and pouches! Most importantly get a wodent or stealth wheel-one made for sugar gliders where their tails can not get caught!
Myth: They only require a bit of attention and wake up when you get home.
Fact: They are nocturnal and wake up when the sun goes down or later and play all night. They sleep during the day. Sugar gliders are social animals and love company! You should have them out on you during the day whenever possible (while they are sleeping) and play with them in a glider proof room or tent when they wake up!
Say NO to mill breeding operations. Support local rescues-there are far to many abandoned gliders out there. And most importantly-do your research!
Notes 1 ^ See ASPCA Hamster Care at http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/small-pet-care/hamster-care.html
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