Baby Sugar Glider Information

Baby sugar gliders come into the world no bigger than the size of a bee. Much like a baby kangaroo, a baby sugar glider's first journey outside the womb leads him to his mother's protective pouch for further nourishment and development. Known as pocket pets, the tiny nocturnal marsupials originated in Indonesia and countries south of the equator including Australia and Papua New Guinea.

  1. Creation

    • Baby sugar gliders often have three parents. The Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital notes that each parent is usually seven months to one year of age. Pairing one male and two female adult sugar gliders together ensures successful breeding. After a 16-day gestation period the trio welcomes two baby sugar gliders into the family.

    Growth Stages

    • A baby sugar glider spends the first three months of life in his mother's pouch, according to veterinarian Lorraine A. Corriveau of the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. After birth the hairless baby climbs up the mother's fur in search of her pouch. The baby then tucks himself into the pouch to feed from the mother's nipple for up to three months. Then, in the next few months the baby's eyes open and weaning begins.

      After emerging from the mother's pouch, a baby sugar glider will stay in the family nest until fully weaned from a diet of mother's milk. Both female and male sugar gliders help with rearing the young.

    Diet

    • Domestically raised baby sugar gliders are fed a soft food mash rich in fresh pureed fruits, vegetables and proteins. Eventually the baby will transition to solid foods including crickets, dry dog food kibbles and whole chunks of fruit. In the wild, baby sugar gliders wean on the sugary sap of eucalyptus trees and eat insects, spiders and larvae found clinging to trees.

    Features

    • At birth sugar gliders have more teeth than animals fully developed in their mother's womb, Animal World online explains. The teeth combined with a naturally low 89 degree Fahrenheit body temperature helps the baby migrate and adjust to the mother's warm pouch.

    Housing

    • Baby sugar gliders kept domestically require a caged environment for safety. House the baby and parents in a cage at least 20 inches tall by 20 inches deep with a length of 30 inches. As the baby begins to leave the nest he will climb, requiring an enclosure with more height than width. Cover the bottom of the cage with small animal bedding to absorb his droppings. Avoid choosing cedar shavings, or other wood shavings containing aromatic oils for that purpose. They may cause an upper respiratory infection in sugar gliders. Recycled paper or dried wood pulp-based beddings are oil-free.