Sugar Glider
Encyclopedia
The sugar glider is a small gliding possum originating from the marsupial family.
The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia
(as well as being introduced to Tasmania
, Australia) and is also native to New Guinea
and the Bismarck Archipelago
.
s during the day and are active at night. At night, they hunt for insects and small vertebrates and feed on the sweet sap
of certain species of eucalyptus
, acacia
and gum trees. The sugar glider is named for its preference for nectarous foods and its ability to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel
.
When suitable habitat
s are present, sugar gliders can be seen 1 per 1,000 square meters provided that there are tree hollows available for shelter. They live in groups of up to eight adults, plus the current season's young, all sharing a nest and defending their territory, an example of helping at the nest
. A dominant adult male will mark his territory and members of the group with saliva and a scent produced by separate glands on the forehead and chest. Intruders who lack the appropriate scent marking are expelled violently.
. The males are larger than the females, and their length from the nose to the tip of the tail is about 24 to 30 cm (12–13 inches, the body itself is approx. 5–6 inches). A sugar glider has a thick, soft fur
coat that is usually blue-grey; some have been known to be yellow, tan, or albino. A black stripe is seen from its nose to midway of its back. Its belly, throat, and chest is a cream color.
It has five digits on each foot, each having a claw, except for the opposable toe on the hindfeet. Also on the hindfeet, the second and third digits are partially syndactylous (fused) together to form a grooming comb. Its most striking feature is the patagium
, or membrane, that extends from the fifth finger to the first toe. When legs are stretched out, this membrane allows it to glide distances of 50–150 meters. This gliding is regulated by changing the curvature of the membrane or moving the legs and tail.
Another feature are the scent glands, located on the frontal (forehead), sternal (chest), and paracloacal (cloaca). These are used for marking purposes, mainly for the males. The frontal is easily seen on adult males as a bald spot. The male also has a bifurcated (two shafts) penis. The female has a marsupium
(pouch) in the middle of her abdomen to carry offspring.
. In the winter season or drought, there is a decrease in food supply, which is a challenge for this marsupial
because of the energy cost for the maintenance of its metabolism, locomotion, and thermoregulation. With energetic constraints, the sugar glider will enter into daily torpor
for 2–23 hours while in rest phase. However, before entering torpor, a sugar glider will reduce activity and body temperature normality in order to lower energy expenditure and avoid torpor.
Torpor, which is seen as an emergency measure, allows the animal to save energy by allowing its body temperature to fall to a minimum of 10.4 °C to 19.6 °C. When the food is scarce, as in winter, heat production is lowered in order to reduce energy expenditure. With low energy and heat production, it is important for the sugar glider to peak its body mass by fat content in autumn (May/June) in order to survive the following cold season. In the wild, sugar gliders enter into daily torpor more often than sugar gliders in captivity.
deficiencies if it is not fed an adequate diet. Calcium to phosphorus
ratios should be 2:1 to prevent hypocalcemia, sometimes known as hind leg paralysis (HLP).
In the wild, gliders live off gum and sap (typically from the eucalyptus
), acacia trees, nectar and pollen, manna and honeydew and a wide variety of insects and arachnids. A captive glider's diet should be 50% insects (gut-loaded) or other sources of protein, 25% fruit and 25% vegetables.
Some of the more recognized diets are BML, HPW, various calcium rich diets and LBM. These diets are proper protein supplements for captive sugar gliders.
A sugar glider female has one (19%) or two (81%) joeys a litter. The gestation period is 15 to 17 days, after which the baby sugar glider (0.2 g) will crawl into a mother's pouch for further development. It is virtually unnoticeable that the female is pregnant until after the joey has climbed into her pouch and begins to grow, forming bumps in her pouch. Once in the pouch, the joey will attach itself to its mother's nipple, where it will stay for about 60 to 70 days. The joey gradually spills out of the pouch until it falls out completely. The mother can get pregnant while her joeys are still ip (in pouch) and hold the pregnancy until the pouch is available. Their eyes will remain closed for another 12–14 days, and they are virtually furless at first. During this time, they will begin to mature by growing fur and increasing gradually in size. It is about two months for the offspring to be completely weaned off of the mother, and at four months, they are on their own.
. Despite the massive loss of natural habitat in Australia over the last 200 years, it is adaptable and capable of living in surprisingly small patches of remnant bush, particularly if it does not have to cross large expanses of clear-felled land to reach them. Several close relatives, however, are endangered, particularly Leadbeater's Possum
and the Mahogany Glider
. The sugar glider is protected by law in South Australia, where it is illegal to keep them without a permit or to capture or sell them without a license (which is usually only issued for research).
Around the world, the sugar glider is a popular domestic pet, but is one of the most commonly traded wild animals in the illegal pet trade, where animals are plucked directly from their natural habitats. In Australia, sugar gliders can be kept in Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory but not Western Australia, New South Wales, ACT or Tasmania.
Sugar gliders are most popular as pets in the United States, where they are bred in large numbers. Most states and cities allow sugar gliders as pets, with some exceptions including California
, Hawaii
, Alaska
, Pennsylvania
and Massachusetts
.
Whether sugar gliders make good pets is a subject of mild controversy, with many myths and exaggerations made on both sides.
of P. breviceps:
The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(as well as being introduced to Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia) and is also native to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and the Bismarck Archipelago
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
.
Habitat
Sugar gliders can be found all throughout the northern and eastern parts of mainland Australia, as well as the surrounding islands of Tasmania, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. They can be found in any forest where there is food supply but are commonly found in forests with eucalyptus trees. They are nocturnal, meaning they sleep in their nestNest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
s during the day and are active at night. At night, they hunt for insects and small vertebrates and feed on the sweet sap
Sap
Sap may refer to:* Plant sap, the fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant* Sap , a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia...
of certain species of eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
and gum trees. The sugar glider is named for its preference for nectarous foods and its ability to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel
Flying squirrel
Flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .- Description :...
.
When suitable habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are present, sugar gliders can be seen 1 per 1,000 square meters provided that there are tree hollows available for shelter. They live in groups of up to eight adults, plus the current season's young, all sharing a nest and defending their territory, an example of helping at the nest
Helpers at the nest
Helpers at the nest is a term used in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology to describe a social structure in which juveniles and sexually mature adolescents of either one or both sexes, remain in association with their parents and help them raise subsequent broods or litters, instead of...
. A dominant adult male will mark his territory and members of the group with saliva and a scent produced by separate glands on the forehead and chest. Intruders who lack the appropriate scent marking are expelled violently.
Appearance and anatomy
A sugar glider has a squirrel-like body with a long partially prehensile tailPrehensile tail
A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to be able to grasp and/or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees...
. The males are larger than the females, and their length from the nose to the tip of the tail is about 24 to 30 cm (12–13 inches, the body itself is approx. 5–6 inches). A sugar glider has a thick, soft fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
coat that is usually blue-grey; some have been known to be yellow, tan, or albino. A black stripe is seen from its nose to midway of its back. Its belly, throat, and chest is a cream color.
It has five digits on each foot, each having a claw, except for the opposable toe on the hindfeet. Also on the hindfeet, the second and third digits are partially syndactylous (fused) together to form a grooming comb. Its most striking feature is the patagium
Patagium
*In bats, the skin forming the surface of the wing. It is an extension of the skin of the abdomen that runs to the tip of each digit, uniting the forelimb with the body.*The patagium of a bat has four distinct parts:...
, or membrane, that extends from the fifth finger to the first toe. When legs are stretched out, this membrane allows it to glide distances of 50–150 meters. This gliding is regulated by changing the curvature of the membrane or moving the legs and tail.
Another feature are the scent glands, located on the frontal (forehead), sternal (chest), and paracloacal (cloaca). These are used for marking purposes, mainly for the males. The frontal is easily seen on adult males as a bald spot. The male also has a bifurcated (two shafts) penis. The female has a marsupium
Marsupium
Marsupium is the Latin word for a pouch in several animal groups:* Pouch , in marsupials* Brood pouch , in peracarid crustaceans* Brood pouch , in syngnathids such as sea horses...
(pouch) in the middle of her abdomen to carry offspring.
Torpor
During the cold season, drought, or rainy nights, a sugar glider's activity is reduced. This is usually seen due to torporTorpor
Torpor, sometimes called temporary hibernation is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually characterized by a reduced body temperature and rate of metabolism. Animals that go through torpor include birds and some mammals such as mice and bats...
. In the winter season or drought, there is a decrease in food supply, which is a challenge for this marsupial
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
because of the energy cost for the maintenance of its metabolism, locomotion, and thermoregulation. With energetic constraints, the sugar glider will enter into daily torpor
Torpor
Torpor, sometimes called temporary hibernation is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually characterized by a reduced body temperature and rate of metabolism. Animals that go through torpor include birds and some mammals such as mice and bats...
for 2–23 hours while in rest phase. However, before entering torpor, a sugar glider will reduce activity and body temperature normality in order to lower energy expenditure and avoid torpor.
Torpor, which is seen as an emergency measure, allows the animal to save energy by allowing its body temperature to fall to a minimum of 10.4 °C to 19.6 °C. When the food is scarce, as in winter, heat production is lowered in order to reduce energy expenditure. With low energy and heat production, it is important for the sugar glider to peak its body mass by fat content in autumn (May/June) in order to survive the following cold season. In the wild, sugar gliders enter into daily torpor more often than sugar gliders in captivity.
Diet and nutrition
Like many exotic animals, the sugar glider can suffer from calciumCalcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
deficiencies if it is not fed an adequate diet. Calcium to phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
ratios should be 2:1 to prevent hypocalcemia, sometimes known as hind leg paralysis (HLP).
In the wild, gliders live off gum and sap (typically from the eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
), acacia trees, nectar and pollen, manna and honeydew and a wide variety of insects and arachnids. A captive glider's diet should be 50% insects (gut-loaded) or other sources of protein, 25% fruit and 25% vegetables.
Some of the more recognized diets are BML, HPW, various calcium rich diets and LBM. These diets are proper protein supplements for captive sugar gliders.
Breeding
The age of sexual maturity in sugar gliders varies slightly between the males and females. The males reach maturity between 4–12 months old, while females reach maturity between 8–12 months. In the wild, sugar gliders breed once or twice a year depending on the climate and habitat conditions, while they can breed multiple times a year in captivity as a result of consistent living conditions and proper diet.A sugar glider female has one (19%) or two (81%) joeys a litter. The gestation period is 15 to 17 days, after which the baby sugar glider (0.2 g) will crawl into a mother's pouch for further development. It is virtually unnoticeable that the female is pregnant until after the joey has climbed into her pouch and begins to grow, forming bumps in her pouch. Once in the pouch, the joey will attach itself to its mother's nipple, where it will stay for about 60 to 70 days. The joey gradually spills out of the pouch until it falls out completely. The mother can get pregnant while her joeys are still ip (in pouch) and hold the pregnancy until the pouch is available. Their eyes will remain closed for another 12–14 days, and they are virtually furless at first. During this time, they will begin to mature by growing fur and increasing gradually in size. It is about two months for the offspring to be completely weaned off of the mother, and at four months, they are on their own.
Conservation status
Unlike many native Southern Australian animals, particularly smaller ones, the sugar glider is not endangeredEndangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
. Despite the massive loss of natural habitat in Australia over the last 200 years, it is adaptable and capable of living in surprisingly small patches of remnant bush, particularly if it does not have to cross large expanses of clear-felled land to reach them. Several close relatives, however, are endangered, particularly Leadbeater's Possum
Leadbeater's Possum
Leadbeater's Possum is an endangered possum restricted to small pockets of remaining old growth mountain ash forests in the central highlands of Victoria north-east of Melbourne...
and the Mahogany Glider
Mahogany Glider
The mahogany glider is an endangered gliding possum native to a small region of coastal Queensland.-Appearance:A nocturnal arboreal marsupial, the mahogany glider closely resembles the sugar glider, the squirrel glider and the yellow-bellied glider., but is noticeably larger than any of its...
. The sugar glider is protected by law in South Australia, where it is illegal to keep them without a permit or to capture or sell them without a license (which is usually only issued for research).
As pets
Sugar gliders are most popular as pets in the United States, where they are bred in large numbers. Most states and cities allow sugar gliders as pets, with some exceptions including California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Whether sugar gliders make good pets is a subject of mild controversy, with many myths and exaggerations made on both sides.
Taxonomy
There are seven subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of P. breviceps:
- P. b. breviceps (WaterhouseGeorge Robert WaterhouseGeorge Robert Waterhouse was an English naturalist.In 1833, Waterhouse was elected as the Royal Entomological Society of London's librarian and curator of insects and records....
, 1839) - P. b. longicaudatus (Longman, 1924)
- P. b. ariel (GouldJohn GouldJohn Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
, 1842) - P. b. flavidus (TateGeorge Henry Hamilton TateGeorge Henry Hamilton Tate was an English-born American zoologist, who worked as a mammalogist for the American Museum of Natural History in New York....
& ArchboldRichard ArchboldRichard Archbold was an American zoologist and philanthropist. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold. He was educated at private schools and later attended classes at Columbia University though he never graduated...
, 1935) - P. b. papuanus (ThomasOldfield ThomasOldfield Thomas FRS was a British zoologist.Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and sub-species for the first time. He was appointed to the Museum Secretary's office in 1876, transferring to the Zoological Department in 1878...
, 1888) - P. b. tafa (TateGeorge Henry Hamilton TateGeorge Henry Hamilton Tate was an English-born American zoologist, who worked as a mammalogist for the American Museum of Natural History in New York....
& ArchboldRichard ArchboldRichard Archbold was an American zoologist and philanthropist. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold. He was educated at private schools and later attended classes at Columbia University though he never graduated...
, 1935) - P. b. biacensis (Ulmer, 1940)
External links
- Gliders in the Spotlight — Wildlife Preservation Society of QueenslandWildlife Preservation Society of QueenslandThe Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland is a Queensland based conservation organisation. The Society was founded in 1962 by Judith Wright, Brian Clouston, David Fleay and Kathleen McArthur...
- Sugar Glider — Australian Fauna
- Information about the Sugar Glider from Tasmanian Parks