As with any animal that we may keep as a pet, Sugar Gliders have their own personalities, characteristics, likes, dislikes, and needs. In order to be a good owner of a pet we need to consider if we like their personalities and characteristics, and can meet their likes, dislikes, and needs.
Sugar Gliders are very personable animals with the ability to be totally bonded to their owner and to be very loyal to that owner. This however, adds a level of responsibility to the owner to provide enough social time with the glider to meet its needs, causing deep bonding and continued bonding.
The following is a few points to determine if a Sugar Glider is the right pet for you or whomever you may be buying it for.
1. Sugar Gliders can be the most loveable and wonderful companion you have ever experienced. You cannot overstate the deep love and bonding people feel for their Sugar Glider once it is fully bonded to them. I receive unsolicited calls weekly from various customers that have bought gliders from me just to tell me what a wonderful difference their buddy has made in their life and the life of the family. Sugar Gliders, properly bonded, become a definite member of the family. While they usually have a primary bond with one person, the rest of the family and usually the other pets are their colony, and they will like everyone who treats them well.
2. However, Sugar Gliders are not for everyone. By this I do not mean that there is a special age group that is wrong for them. Usually 5 year old children, if well coordinated, responsible, and gentle, are old enough to care for and be bonded to a glider. All age groups from there up can certainly have them with great success. I love to see two groups get Sugar Gliders. One is elderly people, and people who are confined to a wheel chair. The companionship that develops between a well bonded glider and a shut-in can be phenomenal. Once well bonded, they will not leave or run from a person, and they require very little work in the way of maintenance. And they will love you when no one else seems to.
But, if you want a caged pet that is to be observed and not interacted with, you should not buy a Sugar Glider. If you don’t want to carry it with you when possible, and interact with it as often as possible, then a glider is not for you. If having a cute little furry animal that loves you, sleeping in your pocket while working on the computer, or shopping, or driving, or golfing, etc. doesn’t appeal to you, then a glider is not for you.
3. The third thing to consider is the age of the glider you should buy. DO NOT buy an older Sugar Glider if you want it to be a great pet. Sugar Gliders are the most bondable between 7 weeks out of the pouch (OOP) and about 12 weeks OOP. With rare exceptions I do not sell 13 week and older gliders as pet quality. Most of the ones that are not sold by then will be paired up with a mate and we let them become breeders. Rest easy, they all get a great life and seem to be very happy in our breeding facility. They also get to live out their natural life. We do not cull them once they get too old to breed. We believe they have every right to continue their life and we have the responsibility to care for them through old age. However, if you do want to consider adopting an older Sugar Glider, it can be a very noble thing to do. Please read the info in our article “Rescuing an Older Sugar Glider” before doing so.
4. Next you need to decide if you are going to get one or two. Some websites say that if you buy one Sugar Glider that you will wind up buying three. Their reasoning is that they are so social that one will die of loneliness but you will be so in love with them that you then will buy two like you should have done in the first place. We don’t agree totally with this theory. We know many single gliders that are very happy, but they all have one thing in common, they have an owner that spends a great deal of time with it. They are usually carried around during housework, taken to the office, taken outdoors with the owner, go shopping with the owner, and in general spend most of their day time with the owner.
We always try to get our customers to buy two gliders because no matter how much time they get to spend with their owners they are always happier to have a companion. Gliders are colony animals and a second glider in the cage is an extension of the colony which includes the family and the other pets in the house. Remember, their most active time is at night while you are asleep and they need a companion in the cage to play with and to give them comfort. The good thing is that they do not bond to each other at the expense of the bonded person.
The only way we will sell only one is if it is face to face so that it doesn’t have to be shipped. We will ship two or more gliders, by air ($210.00 shipping cost) because they always do fine, but we think it is too traumatic for a single baby glider to be shipped.
5. Next, do you want a boy or a girl, or if you are getting two, should it be a boy and a girl, or two boys, or two girls? First, if you are going to get only one, then either is a good choice. The only difference in quality that we have found is that the girls can take a little longer to trust you than most males. There are many exceptions to this rule, so I wouldn’t let that stop me from getting a girl. If you plan to get one now and another one later, and you want them to be a boy & a girl, then get the girl first, so that she will be the older animal when they finally are together and breed.
Then browse through our pictures and animal information and pricing. If you want to get your gliders we would be very happy to be your source. Every person that buys babies from Tropical Attitude Pets gets direct contact with the owner, Steve Larkin. Not only through email but you will get his cell phone and you will be able to call him whenever you have an issue or a problem.