Never keep a single sugar glider. Kept alone they self-mutilate, over-groom and decline. Two is the minimum, and a small colony is better.
Colony living
In the wild gliders live in family groups. Pairs bond strongly and grieve when separated. Neuter males before mixing unless you are deliberately breeding, and introduce new gliders slowly through a divided cage over one to two weeks — sudden introductions can turn violent.
Diet and the calcium ratio
Gliders need roughly twice as much calcium as phosphorus in their food. Their favourite items — mealworms, corn, banana, cooked meat — are all heavily phosphorus-loaded. When phosphorus outweighs calcium the body pulls calcium out of the bones, which is metabolic bone disease: hind-leg weakness, dragging, trembling, fractures and paralysis.
- Build around a staple: a nectar or commercial glider diet, not fruit alone.
- Roughly half fruit and vegetables, with calcium-rich greens leading.
- Gut-load or dust insects — plain mealworms are one of the worst offenders.
- No chocolate, caffeine, onion, garlic or anything sugar-free with xylitol.
Housing
Height beats floor space — a minimum of about 36 inches tall, bar spacing no wider than half an inch, with pouches, branches, and a solid or large-diameter wheel with no central axle, which tails get caught on. Gliders are nocturnal: expect noise at night and keep the cage out of a bedroom if you sleep lightly.
Signs to see a vet about
- Hind-leg weakness, dragging or trembling
- Self-barbering — bald patches on the chest, tail or belly
- Not eating, or weight loss across a few days
- A joey out of pouch far earlier or later than expected
Find an exotics vet before you need one. Many small-animal practices do not see gliders.
Track it in the Ark
Set up your colony, record who is bonded with who and joey out-of-pouch dates, and run tonight's food through the calcium calculator.
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