Sugar Glider University

It is with rising alarm that we have noticed a trend in the sugar glider "industry" that can only harm sugar gliders in the end, and that is the scarcity of "pet" sugar gliders.

We called and/or emailed several sugar glider breeders looking to see just how many sell "pet sugar gliders".  Sadly, almost none of them did.

What is a "pet" sugar glider colony?  This is a colony in which none of the gliders will produce offspring.  This is a colony containing gliders that are perfect in health and have wonderful temperments, but do not breed.  This would mean that all males are neutered.  Unfortunately,  almost every breeder we talked to would never think of altering gliders. Most are afraid that they would never sell.

Here is the alarming situation within the sugar glider "industry":

a. Someone sees a sugar glider and immediately "falls in love" with it and wants to breed it. 

The unethical ones will look at what looks like "easy money" and decide that they would like to breed sugar gliders for financial gain (this is not possible to do if sugar gliders are given adequate care and housing.  Even a well-run breeding program will not profit substantially, if at all.  Most profits come from accessories, such as cages and pouches, not from sugar gliders.  Even these are relatively small). 

There are other people who are not bad, just ignorant of the incredible cost to maintain a sugar glider breeding program, and may even think they can make a little supplemental income doing something they like.

b. This person pays their $25 and becomes USDA Licensed.  They buy some sugar gliders.

Unethical persons will buy them for as cheaply as possible, with no thought to the genetic lines from which they come.  Some unethical persons will even pose as "rescuers" to get free or cheap sugar gliders.

c. This person, now a breeder, starts breeding the animals.  The unethical person will try to breed as much as he can, as he only sees dollar signs, not animals.  He thinks, "Yep, I'll be able to sell these no problem!"

d. When the joeys are ready to be sold, the majority are then sold to people who would like to be breeders. And the cycle starts all over again.

So, the glider "industry" business model goes something like this:

Breeders buy sugar gliders to sell as pets but instead end up selling most gliders to people who want to be breeders to sell sugar gliders as pets, but end up selling most gliders to would-be breeders....

Does anyone see something wrong with this picture? It sounds almost like a multi-level marketing scheme!

This situation must be stopped!  This will only result in more and more numbers of unwanted sugar gliders who are neglected or illegally released, or given to the SPCA only to be picked up by unethical "breeders".  But how can we stop it?

Part of the the answer lies with all legitimate and responsible breeders.  They must begin to require that all male sugar gliders sold as pets be neutered before being released to the new owner.  This will also mean that the breeder will be responsible for giving the new owners information about post-operative care, etcetera.

If this policy is adopted by all legitimate breeders, it would immediately weed out the unethical ones. 

Why not just a neuter contract for each glider?  An article by the Humane Society of the United States found that compliance to a spay/neuter contract for cats and dogs was somewhere around 50%-70%.  Within the sugar glider world, it would probably be much lower.  We just can't afford to take the chance that people will not neuter their gliders!

This will mean that each responsible, legitimate and ethical breeder will have an actual working relationship with a competent veterinarian who can perform the surgery. 

Glider University fully endorses neutering of male sugar gliders using the laser surgery method of removing the "pom-pom".  We do not recommend any other neutering surgery, especially if performed by the breeder, as in the case of Mike McGrath (Sugar Glider Connection).  No breeder, unless he or she is a DVM and can perform the laser surgery, has any business around a sugar glider's reproductive organs.

In the Houston area, Dr. Dan Jordan, DVM, performs this laser surgery, and has performed it on all of the sugar gliders we have helped to place. Recovery was incredible!  The only side effect we noted was that sugar gliders were a little groggy the first 24 hours.  On the positive side, they were not required to remain alone (as they did not have stitches to worry about).  They were usually back to normal in about 48 hours.

Some people do not agree with neutering their male sugar gliders because they are under the impression that the surgery will require stitches.  This outdated method of sugar glider neutering also results in "quarantine" of the altered sugar glider, which can lead to loneliness, depression, and in extreme cases, some self-mutilating behavior. This is why Glider University recommends that all responsible breeders find a veterinarian who can perform the laser surgery for their male sugar gliders, or ask their veterinarian to learn how to do it.

It is Glider University's stand that male sugar gliders should be neutered unless they are in a breeding program that breeds to improve the species as a whole. There is, tragically, an overpopulation problem emerging within the United States which makes the policy of neutering even more critical. 

It is common knowledge that spaying and neutering of cats and dogs is one of the only ways to help decrease the number of cats and dogs that are euthanized every year (between 11 and 19 million).  In the case of sugar gliders, while the numbers are not as staggering, their deaths are perhaps more tragic, as many of the unwanted suffer death from neglect, and some are even released into the wild, with no hope for survival.  These gentle captive animals suffer far more than those dogs and cats who are simply put to sleep.  So, why isn't neutering of sugar gliders (spaying is not recommended), more common?

If you cannot locate a veterinarian who can do the surgery, do not get involved with sugar gliders as a breeding program or pets. It is irresponsible.

Part of the definition of being a responsible pet caregiver is to insure that the pet is not allowed to reproduce.  If any breeding is to be done, it should only be done by those who are breeding to specifically improve the species, not those who, for example,  are simply wishing to enjoy "the miracle of life" or who want a certain color of sugar glider.

The following are NOT good reasons to breed sugar gliders:

1. To make nice pets for people.  There are already too many sugar gliders that are unwanted and neglected.  There are thousands in glider mills.  There are thousands in conditions that are not adequate for their needs.  There are many that need good homes. From the AFRMA: (though it applies to sugar glider breeding as well)

Breeding any animal is an art form and breeders should be aiming to produce an animal that is not “just a nice pet” but that is also a beautiful example of its variety. Doing this is much more difficult than just producing nice pets. Any litter...produced by a responsible breeder will contain both animals that represent the improvement the breeder was trying to make, and animals that do not. Thus, any litter will have some animals in it that would be considered [good pets]. These animals can then be made available to individuals who are not looking for potential [breeding sugar gliders]. There is nothing wrong with this; however, creating this quality of animal should not be a breeder’s goal.

2. Breeding to make money. If you are making significant money from breeding sugar gliders, you are not ethical.  It just isn't possible to make a significant profit if you are an ethical breeder.

3. Breeding because you love your sugar gliders.  If you love sugar gliders, you will realize that the best thing for this species as a whole is to curtail breeding.

4. To have you or your children witness the "miracle of life".  If you want to witness the miracle of life, watch the Discovery Channel.  Better yet, contact your local 4-H Club to see if you can arrange to witness a live birth. If you simply must, contact a legitimate rescue to see if you could adopt a sugar glider with joeys in pouch. (Be prepared to neuter all male gliders and to keep the offspring).

4. Breeding to make more of a color.  Again from the AFRMA:

Breeding is so much more than just “making more of this color...” To breed just to make babies of a particular color without factoring in the health, temperament, and conformation of the parents, is not responsible breeding. Breeding to improve on the parents should be the goal . . . even if that means not producing any babies of the color you want. Breeding litters [of a certain color] just because people want to buy them, is not responsible.

How many breeders are breeding just for color, with reckless disregard for temperment and health?  Many are even in-breeding, though they would never admit to it.

If you are not breeding with the sole purpose of improving the species, NEUTER YOUR MALE GLIDERS. 

Another major benefit of early neutering of male sugar gliders is that they are able to remain in a colony of both male and female sugar gliders, which is the ideal situation for sugar gliders.  Pet sugar gliders should be kept in colonies of at least four. 

Just who else endorses and/or recommends early neutering?  Well, for starters, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the United States Humane Society. The American Kennel Club and the Cat Fanciers Association does as well.

Let us think of the sugar glider as a species and help to be part of the solution.  Let us sell sugar gliders as pets and not breeding animals.

Let us be honest and realize that there is a major crisis on our hands if we cannot find any people who would like sugar gliders as pets (ie, non-producing sugar gliders).  If this is truly the case, we have no business breeding them at all.

There are relatively few people who have the money and time for a legitimate breeding program.  Even then, the question must be asked, "If I cannot sell sugar gliders as pets, why breed them at all?"  Breeding only to produce more breeding will only end in tragedy.

One of the only ways to stop the overpopulation problem currently facing captive sugar gliders today is to cease from the practice of selling sugar gliders to other would-be breeders and, instead, focus on selling sugar gliders as pets to people who will be able to maintain a captive habitat for the duration of the sugar glider colony.  This would mean neutering male sugar gliders to insure that they do not reproduce.

In this scenario, breeders would be breeding to improve the species.  Those gliders that do not exhibit the characteristics of improvement would be altered and sold as pets, while the gliders that show the improvements would be, in general, kept by the breeder, or sold to another legitimate breeder at a much higher price.  This would only be done in an effort to improve the species.

This standard would go far to eliminate unethical breeding practices and would help to curtail the number of sugar gliders suffering tragic neglect, abuse, and death.