How to Create a Lovely Environment for Sugar Gliders

If you are thinking about getting a couple of sugar gliders or already have some and would like to upgrade their living environment, when it comes to cages, these lovely little creatures are much happier when they have plenty of room to play and move around in.

Buy The Largest Cage You Can Afford

You need to buy the largest cage you can afford and then make sure there are plenty of perches and toys in their environment to keep them occupied and happy. If your budget stretches to it, you should try to invest in a cage that's been specifically designed to house sugar gliders which are typically that much taller than other cages.

You can opt for a free-standing cage or one that sits on a work surface, but whichever you decide to get, the cage needs to be a minimum of 36 inches in height and 24 inches deep and width wise, it needs to be at least 36 inches wide. In the wild, sugar gliders like to be as high up as possible because this is where they feel safest. With this said, a really tall cage is ideal and it should have bars which are no wider than ½ inch apart or you might find your pets can get through and escape!

Draft-Free & Out of Direct Sunlight

The ideal place for a sugar glider cage is somewhere that's draft free, well ventilated and quiet. There should be a little indirect sunlight but cages must never be put in direct sunlight and they should never be placed near any heat sources. The ideal temperature is anything between 70 to 80 degrees F, but with this said if the temperature is a bit warmer, your sugar gliders will be more active.

Natural daylight Rhythms are Important

It's also very important for sugar gliders to be kept in a place where they are exposed to daylight rhythms. But if you want to watch your pets at night, you can use infrared lighting which works well without disturbing their natural rhythm.

Toys & Accessories

Sugar gliders like to be kept busy so not only is it important to set up a nice, large environment for them to live in, but they also need to have lots of toys and necessary accessories, which include the following:

• At least 2 water bottles – the more you have the better placed high up in the cage
• 2 Feed bowls – preferably metal ones, plastic ones are not ideal placed high up in the cage

Creating a nice environment means setting things up in their cage which includes the following:

• Branches which need to be set at different levels
• Perches around the environment for your sugar gliders to use when they want to
• Toys – lots to keep your pets busy
• Nest boxes/pouches – plastic are best because wooden ones can get a bit smelly. If you decide to get pouches instead, you need to make sure there are no open seams or loose threads which could injure your sugar gliders. These need to be cleaned regularly using a pet friendly detergent

Investing in Good Quality Toys is a Must

The best toys are those which have been specifically designed for smaller birds. However, sugar gliders really like playing on exercise wheels too. The best toys for these lovely little creatures are natural branches but if you decide to use any from your garden, you need to make sure they have been correctly sterilised to get rid of any parasites that might be living in them. The only wood you should use in a sugar glider's cage are the following:

• Elm
• Apple
• Willow
• Aspen

The woods you should never put in a sugar glider's environment because they contain harmful resins are the following

• Pine
• Cedar
• Fir

The Best Choice of Bedding for Sugar Gliders

By far the best choice of bedding for your sugar gliders is paper bedding and preferably the recycled variety which you can buy from good pet shops or online. It's not a good idea to use pine shavings or cat litter.

The Best Choice of Nesting Boxes

There's a choice of nesting boxes available from good pet shops or online which includes designs made out of plastic, wood or wicker. The easiest to keep clean are the plastic ones because wooden and wicker nest boxes tend to get a bit smelly after a while and therefore need replacing more frequently.

The other alternative to nesting boxes is to opt for pouches which sugar gliders really like getting in. These are normally made out of fleece or some other very soft material. Both pouches and nesting boxes need to be placed as high as possible in a sugar glider's cage because this is where they feel safest. Ideally, you should place at least 3 nesting boxes or pouches in their environment so there is one for each of your pets and one extra!