Play
Gliders are very social animals, and they need lots of play time. Here are some various tips, suggestions, and items that glider owners use.
Wheels
Exercise wheels are lots of fun for gliders, its also good exercise for them as well. Most people suggest getting a Wodent Wheel instead of a regular hamster wheel for safety reasons. Gliders can spend hours running around on the wheel. It can be even more fun when there is more than one glider running on it, they'll play a game of leap frog. Its one of those that you just got to see to believe.
[STEALTH Stealth Wheels] are also highly recommended by the glider community. They are a little more expensive than the Wodent Wheel - but considered a much safer, better quality product. The Stealth Wheel was designed and is manufactured by suggie owners who wanted a better product for their suggie babies. It has been time tested for quality with various suggie owners. You can read about and purchase a Stealth Wheel at http://www.atticworx.com
Other popular wheels include the Raptor wheel http://mygliderwheelsandmore.com and the Custom Choice Cruiser http://customchoicecruiser.all4gliders.com. These along with the Stealth wheel are deemed to be much safer for your gliders than a Wodent wheel, and they don't hold the smell like the Wodents do either. Make sure if you do purchase a Wodent, that it has the PVC guard around the middle bar, otherwise tails can get caught around it as the middle bar doesn't move with the wheel.
Tents
A tent is another good thing to have. Its not a toy, but it allows you to play with your glider without having to worry about it running off and getting in trouble. Tents are really good tools to help you bond with your glider because there are no distractions in the tent. Popular choices include the Genji (can be found on Amazon or eBay) and Sansbug http://www.sansbug.com tent. These are "pop tents" that fold up into small circles to be stashed away when not in use!
Ropes and feathers are fun as well. Gliders like climbing on things, so having a few braided fleece ropes in their cage converts it to a mini jungle gym. Peacock feathers are good for supervised playing as well, they can be found in any craft store. Please note that regular rope (like the kind found on many bird toys) is unsafe for gliders, as they can get caught in the threads. So be sure to use fleece when making ropes for your suggies!
TOYS
As mentioned above, Sugar Gliders love to play and nothing excites them more than to be able to explore a new toy. Here are some examples of toys that are safe and fun for them:
Barrel Full of Monkeys - which can be purchased at stores like Walmart, Target or KMart and can be found in the game section. Just string the monkeys together and hang from the top of the cage. Sugar Gliders will climb them and tear down the chain. You will find monkeys thrown all over the cage and floor! You can also incorporate the monkeys into fleecy braids or plastic chains. Sugar Gliders love to play in the barrels, too. Eggful of Bunnies are available at Walmart & Michaels at Easter time and are basically the same - only bunnies instead of monkeys! And they are cheaper!
Toddler Toys Usually anything safe for a toddler will be ok for a sugar glider to play with. Examples are Fischer Price Noah's Ark, Fischer Price Barns, Fischer Price Tree House, Baby Links, Rattles, etc. Of course, you can purchase these new - but I would suggest going to yard sales, flea markets and thrift stores. They offer a wealth of suggie toys at prices that cant be beat!
No Sew Items There are several patterns for toys (and pouches) that are no sew for those of us who are sewing challenged. The majority of these are made from fleece and are so simple, they can be made in an hour or less. Check these sites for patterns:
http://www.suzsugargliders.com/nosewaccessories.htm
http://www.sugarglider.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=185064
Here are some sites where you can get fleece, plastic chains and other items to make your own toys:
http://www.rockportroost.com/partschainplastic.html
http://www.fleecelady.com/search.php?search=sale&x=25&y=12
http://www.cabirdnerds.com
Suggie Bay is a fantastic place to purchase handmade toys, garage sale toys and branches, etc. (they also have many other suggie related items)
http://suggiebay.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl?Lang=English
Check out the Sugarglider.com suggested products page which links to some favorite items from the community and also has a convenient search box at the top to find any other Ebay items.
Search for Play on all of Sugarglider.com.
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