| $ $ Continuous Expenses: $525 - $700 | $ $ $ Primary Expenses: $300 - $1K |
Sugar Gliders are small marsupials that originally come from forests in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.
The most interesting and well-known characteristic of Sugar Gliders is their ability to “fly” or glide long distances with the help of the skin between their back ankle and fifth forefinger.
In the last decade, people have started to keep them as pets, and you might have seen some examples on social media platforms, where videos of Sugar Gliders gliding have become popular.
If you want to have one as a pet, there are a few things you should consider first. Let’s review them next.
Table of Contents
Is A Sugar Glider The Right Pet For Me?
Sugar Gliders are exotic pets.
This means that they are not domesticated animals, they are not common and it can be difficult to find veterinarians with the right expertise to treat them.
Even though they are not an endangered species, they are not legal in every state or city, so you should first take a look at local laws in your community before buying one.
Sugar Gliders live in large groups in the wild, they are very social animals that need the companion of others of their species to have a healthy life.
You can’t just have one, you will need to get at least two of them if you want to take good care of them.
Sugar Gliders need a lot of space to live, which means that they need a large cage to stay active.
Do you have enough space in your house for this?
They are also a long-term commitment because they can live in captivity for 10 to 15 years.
It’s not recommended to have them as pets in families with young children.
Their nature and traits just don’t match with small kids.
Primary Expenses
If you still want to have a Sugar Glider as a pet, here you’ll find the most common things to buy when first getting one.
Adopting Or Buying A Sugar Glider
As exotic pets, Sugar Gliders won’t be so easy to find in local shelters or rescue groups, but it’s still important to check if they have any to adopt.
If you prefer to buy a Sugar Glider, some professional breeders can sell you either baby or adult ones.
Adopting or buying a Sugar Glider can cost from $100 to $500 each.
Cage, Food & Water Bowls
A proper cage for Sugar Gliders must be as large as possible.
It’s not only to keep them safe during the day, but that’s also where they will be spending most of their time.
It should be large enough to put food and water bowls inside, hammocks or pouches hanging from the top, and any other toys or accessories you want to add.
These cages should be from wire or metal that allow proper ventilation but with a fixed bottom made of plastic or other material you can easily clean daily.
Cages for Sugar Gliders can cost between $150 to $400, depending on the size and materials.
Food and water bowls usually cost from $10 to $20.
Hammocks Or Pouches
Sugar Gliders don’t need a bed as other pets do; they need a hammock or a pouch to rest and sleep during the day.
As it happens with other marsupials, when they are babies, they live in their mother’s pouch, so fabric pouches are a good option for them to sleep while in the cage.
Hammocks and pouches can be found from $10 to $20 each.
Continuous Expenses
In this section, you’ll find the basic expenses you’ll have to make either monthly or annually when having Sugar Gliders as pets.
Food
Sugar Gliders are omnivores, which means that they can eat vegetables, fruits, and also small insects.
In the wild, they feed mostly on nectar, pollen, eucalyptus tree sap, beetles, and spiders.
In pet stores, you can find small dry pellets that are just for Sugar Gliders and have most of the nutritional requirements they need.
You can expect to pay for food between $360 and $420 annually per Sugar Glider.
Bedding
Bedding in the cage should be changed daily to keep their living area as clean as possible.
This bedding can be made of shredded or recycled paper.
Bedding can cost from $120 to $180 per year.
Vet Visits
Finding a veterinarian for an exotic pet is generally difficult.
Not every vet is going to have the expertise and experience to take care of the health needs of a Sugar Glider.
And when they do, their fees tend to be higher than the rest.
Sugar Gliders need regular check-ups to avoid bacterial and parasitic infections, metabolic bone disease, obesity, and stress-related diseases, among others.
An annual basic check-up can cost from $45 to $100.
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