Why You MUST Have More than One Sugar Glider

Sugar Gliders are EXTREMELY social animals. Even if your sugar glider is out for hours everyday (Like they should be) you are not enough. Imagine if you were the only human, it would be very lonely wouldn't it? If gliders are kept alone they feel like that every day. A second sugar glider can make a world of difference. I got my gliders a couple weeks apart and after being alone for only 2 weeks there was a noticeable difference in Luna when Stella joined the family. She stopped crabbing immediately and became more friendly. The average life expectancy for Sugar Gliders is 15 years. A sugar glider kept by itself will only live a few years if that. They get so depressed they will actually harm themselves, some have been known to even chew off their own limbs and toes which can kill them. If you notice your glider doing back flips or any of the following take it to the vet immediately. Other since of depression are:

"1. Consecutive flips- this could be the glider getting on a perch of his or her cage and jumping to the top. A glider doing this for two or three minutes is normal, but a glider doing it for an hour is not.

2. Lack of interest in eating and playing- this is of course more harmful if they lose interest in food. If they do force feed them something. You can buy the syringes for animals at most pet stores and feed them baby food or another soft food through it.

3. Sleeping changes- This could be the glider sleeping more, sleeping less, or just sleeping for an hour getting up for two, sleeping for two hours getting up for one. It is normal for gliders to wake up at some point during the day potty, possibly eat and get some water, and go back to sleep.

4. Over-grooming- this is when the glider seems to groom him/her self for hours which can lead to the glider's hair falling out and unexpected bald spots.

• If you have a lone glider that is missing patches of hair go to the vet, it is not always certain that it is due to depression, it could possibly be a parasite.

5. Extreme instances of depression can lead to Self Mutilation.

• if you have a lone glider Self Mutilating you should go to the vet and put in a Collar a clear vet checkup is a good idea before you add another glider"

http://www.sugarglider.com/gliderpedia/index.asp?SignsOfDepression

If for nothing else, Look how cute they can be together!

Stella is on the left, Luna on the right