Considerations When Purchasing Your Sugar Glider

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So you’ve decided to invest in a sugar glider!

Some questions you might have are:

1. Does my home state allow me to legally own sugar gliders as a pet?

2. Where can I purchase a sugar glider?

3. Should I buy from a breeder, or look into adoption?

4. What should I look for in a glider?

5. How much should I expect to spend?

6. How many should I buy?

7. Should I get a joey, or an adult glider?

8. Should I get a male or female?

9. What kind of preparations should I make before buying my glider?

All great questions! Here are some helpful answers to those questions.

1. Yes! Unless you live in Georgia, where you cannot own a glider as a pet, it is perfectly legal to own sugar gliders as pets. Some states are more strict than others about licensing requirements (check with your state’s fish, wildlife and game office for complete information), but it is legal. State Restrictions on Gliders

2. You might check your local paper for breeders who have placed ads, or visit your local pet store and inquire about nearby breeders and/or adoption facilities. You can order gliders via air-mail, but this is incredibly stressful for the glider, so it’s better to find a local source if possible.

3. It’s really up to you. Many adoption places will have gliders that have seen better days (owner abandonment, illegally bred, malnourished), but if you’re not up for glider rehabilitation, or are a first-time owner, you can also find well-rounded gliders whose owners simply couldn’t keep them for one reason or another. You’re more likely to find older (i.e., no joeys) gliders when looking at adoption as well. The up side of this is that the glider is already acquainted with human touch, and there isn’t as much agitated noise-making. The down side is that you don’t get to appreciate the cute glider baby stage. If you’re looking to eventually breed gliders, many adoption places neuter gliders, so be sure to ask about that.

4. General features to look for are clear eyes, full coat of fur (bald patches can indicate o.c.d. grooming behavior), straight hind legs (oddly crooked legs can mean calcium deficiency is a problem), and an overall alert glider. A dull glider who doesn’t move too much, or sits with half-closed eyes probably has health issues of some kind. If you’re buying a joey, ask about its age! It should be at least two months o.o.p. (out of pouch). Be sure that its tail and coat are already fluffed out and doesn’t look slicked onto their skin. A joey whose coat has not fully come in is not old enough to survive without its mother (unless you’re up for late night bottle feedings and around the clock vigilance). If the breeder says the joey is two months o.o.p. but it doesn’t look developed enough, pass it by! These little guys are cute, but not quite old enough to be on their own.

5. You can expect to spend anywhere from $100 upwards for a single glider. If you buy from a pet shop, I have seen gliders for as much as $300 (this was in an Alabama pet shop in 1999). If you buy from a breeder the general going rate is $200 a glider. Sometimes breeders will offer a discount if you buy more than one, and oftentimes they sell pairs of gliders for a set price, so ask the breeder about that. Chances are adoption agencies will have slightly cheaper prices, and the glider might already be neutered for you, but if you’re not sure you can handle a rehab glider, or just want to “start from scratch” with a young ’un, it might be worth it to pay a little extra.

6. Gliders are social! Remember, they live in moderate size colonies in the wild. They love company; in fact, they’re quite lonely without it. It’s not going to kill a glider if you only get one, but be sure to spend plenty of time with it if that’s what you want. You can carry your glider around in a hip pouch, or make some kind of pouch for it and place it on your body while you’re running your daily errands, or even while you’re at work if you a have a job that doesn’t require too much physical activity. Two gliders might be a little more out of your pocket at the start, but gliders are not expensive to raise and care for, and you don’t need to have an exponentially larger cage for each extra glider you acquire. Two gliders is a happy medium. They can keep each other company while you work or do what you need during the day, and you will still be able to get enough bonding time in with both of them. Any more than two, and it’s sometimes hard to find enough one-on-one time with each glider to get to know it well.

Social hour! Gliders love to cozy up together.

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7. This is another one of those personal choices. You might worry about an older glider not bonding as well with you. Adult gliders are wonderful though! If they have come from a secure and loving home, you won’t have any problems bonding with them. Who can resist babies though? It seems babies of any species are just too adorable to pass up, and gliders are no exception. Joeys tend to be a little more nippy and cranky at first (some more than others), because they aren’t already used to human contact, but spend enough time with them and they’ll end up just as amiable as their parents.

8. Male or female? You always hear of the male or female of certain species being more prone to aggression than the other. I’ve heard both for gliders, but I find the females to be sweeter. A stereotypical view, but it’s held true for me in my glider experience. Of course there can always be exceptions. Unless they have serious abuse issues, gliders are never really “aggressive.” The more high-strung ones will make more noises at you, and nip more at first, but with gentle loving care and plenty of one-on-one time, this problem is easily solved. Unneutered males do mark their territory, and have a musky odor, so be aware of that when thinking of what sex you want. If you’re buying more than one glider, keep in mind that if you have a male and female, they will breed, so if you’re not prepared to deal with babies, either buy two of the same sex or have the male neutered.

9. You’ve decided how many gliders you want, what sex, and where to buy them! Now what? Well, your glider will need somewhere to stay when it arrives at its new home. You should have either bought a cage already, or you can make your own. This is a fun and rewarding experience, and not overly difficult. If you’re interested in making your own cage, read Caroline MacPherson’s book, Sugar Gliders: A Complete Owner’s Manual. You should also have glider-friendly food on hand, which I will be discussing in my next installment of caring for gliders. A few toys for the cage are nice (gliders love to play!), such as hanging ladders, or large pieces of wood which the gliders can scamper around on. A hammock or pouch where they can sleep at night (or day as the case would be) is a necessity.

That’s the basics of choosing your new glider friend! Have fun, and be on the lookout for the next article, which will discuss glider diet.

To read the article Intro to Gliders, click here.