Differences Between Flying Squirrels and Sugar Gliders

The sugar glider and the flying squirrel may appear have a lot in common at first glance due to their similar appearances. If you look a little deeper, these two mammals are very different. Even their scientific classifications are different. From the countries they inhabit to the sounds they make when communicating, these two animals are more unlike than they are alike.

  1. Reproductive Differences

    • One of the largest differences between the sugar glider and the flying squirrel is that they give birth very differently. The female flying squirrel bears its young like most mammals by carrying the young in a placenta within its body. The female sugar glider is not a placental mammal. Instead it carries babies in a pouch like other marsupials. Just like a kangaroo or an opossum, the female sugar glider's young develop within the pouch where they will remain until they are 3 to 4 months old. Another key difference is that the female sugar glider will only have one or two kits in each litter, while the flying squirrel may have up to six kits in each litter.

    Physical Differences

    • When you take a closer look at the similarities of the flying squirrel and the sugar glider, it is easy to tell that they aren't that similar. Both animals have large dark eyes that help them to see in the dark, but a close comparison will show that the sugar glider's eyes are larger and bulge out quite a bit more than the eyes of a flying squirrel. The tail of a sugar glider is usually about 2 inches longer than the tail of a flying squirrel. The toes and claws of the sugar glider are also much more pointed than the flying squirrel. While coloring is very similar on both of these mammals, a sugar glider has a black stripe down the center of its back from the head down to the tip of the tail. You can also see that the flying squirrel is slightly smaller than the sugar glider. A sugar glider averages 10 to 12 inches in length while the flying squirrel only reaches lengths of 8 to 10 inches.

    Habitat and Origin Differences

    • In the wild, sugar gliders inhabit Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. The flying squirrel is native to North America. The only sugar gliders you will see in North America are kept as pets and were bred in captivity. Sugar gliders get their name from their preference to eat sweet foods. A wild sugar glider eats sap from eucalyptus and acacia trees, as well as flowers and flower nectar and sometimes insects. The flying squirrel does not have a sweet tooth and prefers the seeds and nuts of hardwood trees, berries, fruit, and sometimes insects, bird eggs or the nestlings of birds.

    Other Differences

    • Both the sugar glider and the flying squirrel are very social animals and communicate with a series of sounds. The flying squirrel has a high-pitch squeak used for calling the young and can also bark in a lower tone to convey danger and let others know it is agitated. The sugar glider also barks in an even lower tone to communicate with others but hisses when he is not happy. It is doubtful you will ever be able to feel the fur of both of these animals, as flying squirrels are not easily captured or tamed, but if you could, you would notice that the fur of both the flying squirrel and the sugar glider are soft, but the fur of a sugar glider is more dense and almost feels like down.