Sugar Glider
Photo Courtesy of Sharon Vanderlip |
Cage Accessories
Place two or more water bottles in a sugar glider’s cage, as well as one or more food bowls.
Equip a sugar glider’s cage with various levels of branches, perches and toys. Nest boxes or pouches, as well as multiple food and water dispensers, should be located high in the cage.
Because wooden nest boxes retain urine odor and warp with repeated cleaning, plastic boxes are best. Provide more than one nest box and sleeping pouch, even if you only have one sugar glider.
Wash sleeping pouches and inspect them regularly for loose threads or open seams, which can be dangerous to a sugar glider. Use unscented laundry detergent for washing, and avoid using dryer sheets.
Toys
Hanging toys designed for small birds and parrots can be fun for sugar gliders. Sugar gliders also enjoy using solid-floored exercise wheels.
Sugar gliders love natural branches. If you choose to gather branches from outside, they must be sterilized by baking or boiling them to eliminate parasites. Elm, apple, aspen, cottonwood and willow branches make the best perches for sugar gliders. Don’t use branches form coniferous trees such as pine, cedar, fir or redwood because these produce sticky resins. You can also buy packaged branches sold for use by small birds.
Ideal Bedding
The best bedding for sugar gliders is recycled paper bedding or aspen pellets, sold in pet supply stores. Do not use cedar or nonkiln-dried pine shavings, cat litter or any bedding containing chloroform.