What is a sugar glider?

The animal is called a sugar glider

Sugar Glider Eat SilkWorm

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Sugar gliders are small marsupials, about the size of a squirrel, that live in the forests of Australia and New Guinea. They are very social animals, usually found in small groups or family units of up to seven adults and their young. Sugar gliders are mostly active at night and rarely come down to the ground, preferring to stay in the trees for safety and food.

The most noticeable feature of a sugar glider is a thin membrane called the patagium that stretches between their wrists and ankles. This allows them to glide from tree to tree like a parachute. These "winged gliders" can glide for distances about the length of a football field!

They are skilled gliders thanks to their wide field of vision. They can judge distances and control their glide by moving their heads before taking off. In the air, they steer by adjusting their arms and hands, changing the pressure on their "wings," and using their long, flat, bushy tails as rudders.

Although they enjoy eating forest treats like acacia gum, eucalyptus sap, and flower nectar, sugar gliders are actually omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. However, their diet has a dark side: they sometimes invade the nests of the endangered swift parrot in Tasmania, posing a serious threat to the bird's survival.

Due to their small size, large eyes, and unique gliding ability, sugar gliders are popular as pets. But even though they are cute, wild animals often do not make good pets. They need a lot of space and care to thrive and can live for many years. In California, it is illegal to keep a sugar glider as a pet.

Sugar Glider Classic Grey

LIGHT LIKE A FEATHER

A sugar glider weighs 3 to 5 ounces (85 to 141 grams), about as much as a baseball, and sports short, gray fur, not unlike that of a koala. The belly fur is creamy white. It has dark rings around its big, black eyes, and a charcoal stripe running down the center of its face to its pink nose.

Sugar Glider Flying

Its rudder-like tail is nearly as long as its 6-inch body and is somewhat prehensile, and is used to carry leaves to its cozy nest. The tail cannot support the sugar glider's body weight. In a healthy sugar glider, the tail is often 1.5 times as long as its body. The sugar glider has five digits on each foot, including a handy opposable toe on its hind feet that allows it a firm grip on branches or a tree trunk. They use their limbs, tail, and torso to control their “flight,” and gracefully land with all four feet splayed to grab the tree.

HABITAT AND DIET

Nice Nest: Sugar gliders live in open forests and wooded areas. Since they stay in trees, they can easily find food, shelter, and protection. During the day, they rest in comfy nests made of leaves inside tree holes. They can cover an area of more than two acres in the forest, marking and defending their territory using secretions from their glands and urine.

At Night: Sugar gliders are active at night. They sleep during the day and wake up around dusk to find food using their leap-glide-grab technique. To save energy in very cold weather or when food is hard to find, sugar gliders can enter a state called torpor, where they rest for up to 16 hours a day.

Tart and Sweet: Sugar gliders eat a variety of foods depending on the season. They have a preference for sweet tree gums, sap, and nectar, but they also eat small birds and reptiles. Their habit of eating the chicks of the endangered swift parrot in Tasmania has contributed to the parrot’s endangered status.

FAMILY LIFE

This nocturnal and very social animal communicates using scents. Females have special glands in their pouch and urogenital area, while males have glands on their forehead, chest, and urogenital area. Each animal has a unique smell that helps others identify them. The dominant male also uses his forehead and chest glands to mark his group members with saliva, making it easy to tell who belongs to the same colony.

Sugar Glider

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10 Types of Adorable Sugar Gliders to Keep at Home

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