# Sugar gliders, are they really this bad?



## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Hello 
Me and Luke are looking into sugar gliders and we came across this video, on youtube it has mixed reviews so we were wanted the opinions of the forum too So for any of you who keep sugar gliders or know somebody who does, it the information given in this video correct
Thanks 
-Chels
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mlwzf_bqVI


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## lisadew24 (Jul 31, 2010)

I can't get the video to work but I have kept sugar gliders and they lovely but hard work I had to make my fruit & veg mixes weekly and freeze it and you have to make sure its 2:1( that's calcium to phosphorus ratio) the males have a fruity musky smell to them even when neutered, they splatter food l, urine and faeces on floor and walls, not a lot of vets have treated them so it hard to get a vet when their sick, they can bark like a small dog in the middle of the night what I love. You need a cage 4ft x 2ft x 2ft minimum. But even tho they are hard work when my cats go I would have more because I love them you bond with them like dogs or people.there is two glider forums that's worth you looking at
http://www.sugar-glider.co.uk/smf/index.php
http://z13.invisionfree.com/sugargliderforum/index.php?act=idx


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Can't get the link to work either! :sad:


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Thank you  We aren't going to get any soon but it's nice to hear the opinions and experiences of others 
-Chels


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Oh go on to youtube and search 'sugar gliders' and choose the video that says the drawbacks of owning sugar gliders or something along those lines it is a video by expert village. 
-chels


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## lisadew24 (Jul 31, 2010)

Just seen the vid and I think what she says is spot on but her cage was too small and she didn't say really that much about not having them on their own as they self mutilate


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## Lushmush (Apr 26, 2013)

Hello - New Sugar Glider owner here, I've owned my pair of girls; Ember and Esmée for 4 weeks now and I have researched about Sugar Gliders for years before finally committing.

Are they hard work? Yes.
Do they take up time? Yes.
Are they messy? Yes.
Do they smell? Yes.
Are they noisy? Yes.

I love my two girls to bits but they don't like me yet... I spend 4-5 hours with them every day/night and I still get crabbed at daily by them, they won't come to me and I certainly can't put my hand in their pouch without getting bitten or struck at. Some days I feel like I've moved a step forward with regards to bonding with them and then the next day it is like I've gone two steps back which can be dis-heartening but you've just got to stick with it.Looking back now I think I would of gone for well handled and socialized young adults or adults rather than two young joeys who have never been handled.​I clean the bottom of my girls vivarium every couple of days because they are messy and flick food over the floor of the viv and the walls but it is easy enough to keep clean by just wiping it every other day with zoo shield or F10.I'd never keep mine in a cage if I'm honest, I wouldn't be able to cope with the pee, poop and food all over my walls and floor, so a well ventilated vivarium is great plus with a vivarium it is less draughty for the little guys.​When they are out playing they will pee and poop anywhere and everywhere but it is easy enough to clean up.

There is a distinct smell around their vivarium, I can't really describe it, I don't find it a horrible smell but I don't find it a nice smell either, it is bearable though, lol.

For the first couple of nights my girls did bark, it sounds very much like a little dog barking and it is cute but it doesn't seem so cute at 2 or 3am in the morning when you need to sleep! lol. I found putting a dim LED light near the viv kept them quite and for the past couple of weeks they haven't barked, so the last few nights I have stopped using the dim LED light.

Like I said earlier I adore my girls and I love them to bits, so wouldn't change them for the world!!

Sugar Gliders might be hard work but they are 110% worth all of the effort, I'm saying that and I haven't even bonded with my little ladies yet and to be honest I would happily keep them as they are, they are such special and unique little animals and I feel so lucky to be able to keep them but I am still hoping they will bond with me with time, love, patience and lots of bribes, lol but I can see how they aren't for everyone because it is a long-term commitment to make.

My little darlings :flrt:​ 




































​


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Adorable! Just wondering do any keepers own a rented house? Me and Luke will not be owning a house anytime soon and will just be renting but I'd imagine that may be a problem with all the mess
-Chels


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## lisadew24 (Jul 31, 2010)

I am a council tenant , you can wrap an old sheet round the cage and just take off and wash


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## Cazzy4 (Aug 16, 2012)

Most rented places will allow things kept in tanks/vivs as they're classed more as 'decorations' than pets to landlords, and some do allow caged pets, but as suggies are so messy I can't see many landlords going with it tbh, but if they were kept in a viv I couldn't see there being a problem keeping them in a rented place. : victory:


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Thanks 
They are so gorgeous quite rewarding eventually as well I imagine
-Chels


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## UrolithicTitan (Sep 12, 2010)

One thing that I learnt from my researchinto sugar gliders, and many other exotics, is to take ny American care sheets you read with a pinch of salt. Do not take this as me being racist, it is just a trend that I have noticed.


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

American care does vary quite a bit just look at some of their youtube reptile room videos
-Chels


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Honestly? I think that video is excellent! I think it's much better to explain to people why they SHOULDN'T buy a pet than why they should.

There will always be spontaneous buyers, who put no thought into what pet they are going to get, they just buy cos it looks cute and I bet Sugar gliders do fall into this category, cos let's face it they look delightful.

However, there are also many people who decide they're going to get a particular pet. They may read up on what that pet needs, but they also need to know what the drawbacks are of keeping that pet.

I wish this information was readily available for every animal to be honest.


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## elmthesofties (Aug 24, 2012)

Agreed with feorag.
Explaining why a pet might not be suitable for someone isn't "complaining" as one of the comments said. After all, the perfect pet for you won't be without it's drawbacks. It's simply a question of whether or not you can deal with them.


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## lisadew24 (Jul 31, 2010)

all pets time consuming if looked after properly just sugar gliders are a little more and you just have to do more research especially their diet as you can't go into a pet shop or supermarket and its already done for you you have to weigh out their fruits and veg and make sure it matches the ratios also you have to buy special supplements that can only bought in certain online stores


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## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Yeah I agree.I was just wondering as there were a lot of dislikes so I was wondering if it was exaggerated or something 
-Chels


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## lisadew24 (Jul 31, 2010)

They do bite when i got mine the male use to bite my toes, hair and fingers but after a while he stopped and you could hold him the female who was older i personally think she was rigbys mum, she was very scared and crabbed alot and would bite if you tried picking her up she was fine if she jumped on me. I didn't get mine from a breeder I got from a friend and she got from a pet shop please don't get from there. Mine didn't have a good diet when I got them as their fur was brown they shouldn't have brown fur it should be chinchilla grey.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Personally I don't think exaggerating the negatives of owning any pet is a good idea, then no-one can say they weren't warned if they have a particular problem that has been stressed as being a negative. 

Even something as simple as the fact that they scatter wee and poo everywhere might not be something a houseproud person has even considered, expecting that in a cage they will do their business in that cage.

The way that I see it any animal, if not handled right and from a young age, will very likely bite so suggies aren't any different.

Fancy Rats have been domesticated by us for years, but badly bred and badly handled they can give a worse bite than a suggie.

So the way I see it is, always buy from a good breeder who has spent the time handling and socialising their babies and be sensible with handling when you get it home and it should be OK.


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## Jaina_Organasolo (Jan 7, 2012)

Hi,

I've been researching Sugar Gliders for a while now after deciding they are just the sweetest thing :flrt:

From what I can tell, nothing in that video is exagerrated or wrong, sounds like a clear, honest view of what they are really like.

Owning an exotic is nowhere near the same as owning a domesticated pet, and you have to expect that. I'm happy to put the time in, and I think they will make a great pet for me and my other half - He loves the Chinchilla but he's a very independant little thing that doesn't like to be carried around. He loves the APD but we don't really handle them at all (for their own health really) so to have an exotic with work that will bond to you will be great.

But all the downside is mess (the APD are similar on a small scale), wee and poop (don't really mind that at all) and a lot more time put in with them. It takes time to win them over. 

As for getting bitten...well that's par for the course really.

I wouldn't risk having a pet in rented accomadation, especially one that can potentially live so long. Unless you have your right to a pet written into the contract, even a landlord who says it's ok could change their mind and then you either have to relocate or give up your pet. I own my own home so no-one except my Fiance can vito anything I want to keep - and with a bit of work he usually agrees. lol. 

I did get the APD as a halfway step to owning Suggies though. They have a more specialist diet but are less time intensive as we pretty much leave them to it and just enjoy watching them on a night.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

feorag said:


> Personally I don't think exaggerating the negatives of owning any pet is a good idea, then no-one can say they weren't warned if they have a particular problem that has been stressed as being a negative. .


Sorry, totally cocked that one up! :roll:

Should have read "I think exaggerating" and the 'don't' shouldn't have been in. Duh!!! :roll:


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## tdbexotics (Oct 31, 2009)

with regards to the mess I have mine in a 6ft tall buy 3x3 avairy indoors and have a funky shower curtain on the wall behind and beside it wipe clean and looks bit like a feature wall I suppose....it took me nearly 6 months to get mine anywhere near handling but mine were rescues


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