Glider Needs

Sugar gliders are amazing animals, that are easy to care for, when you know the proper way to do so. First of all, they are nocturnal, so they won’t be up & around during the day like most of us are. Secondly, when they are awake, they are very active and need a lot of exercise. This can be handled by providing them with a wheel to run in and some supervised out of cage time. Gliders also have very specific dietary needs. Be sure to use an approved diet to meet these needs. Below are some of the criteria to best meet your sugar gliders needs.

Must Haves:

Cage/ Reptarium

Diet ingredients

Pouches

Wheel

Water bottle

Bridges, vines, hammocks

Toys

Food dish

*Emergency kit

Vet

Housing: cage should be at least 3’x2’x2’-taller the better with mostly horizontal 1/2” spaced bars. Wire should be epoxy, pvc, or powder coated - NEVER use galvanized wire! Reptariums are also a great choice.

Bedding: Never use pine or cedar shavings, kitty or corn cob litter-SAFE bedding options include fleece, puppy pads, carefresh, paper towel or newspaper, as long as it is out of reach.

Diet: This is one of the most important & debated topics in glider care. There are several approved diets. One of which is HPW that has been posted on this site. Make sure you pick a diet you can live with and are able to obtain all ingredients needed. Other diet choices are available in the helpful links. Water must be provided at all times, as well.

Accessories: Gliders need a fleece pouch to sleep in, a wheel to run in and numerous hammocks, bridges and toys for enrichment. There are many ways to provide these things.

You can even make them yourself! Check our glider goodies page and the helpful links for suggestions or feel free to contact me for more ideas.

Some things that are NOT SAFE include:

jingle bells cardboard rolls

catnip toys hamster wheels

tennis balls string or frayed rope

t-shirts or socks fake fur or terry cloth material

beanie filled toys soft plastic or wind spinners

metal chain small beads (swallowing hazard)

Extras:

Pop up type tent-great for supervised play time

Fleece for cage sets, toys, cage covers & liners

Suggie gym-also good for supervised play time