Sugar Glider University

Sugar gliders were illegally introduced into the United States in the late 1980's, which is quite unfortunate for the species as a whole, as the history of captive sugar gliders in the U.S. begins with ignorant animal smugglers.  Unfortunately, the ignorance that began the buying and selling of sugar gliders in America continues to persist today in nearly all aspects of glider care, the most glaringly obvious being the minimum cage size or enclosure requirements by different state governments, as well as the minimum sizes endorsed by various breeders.

Why do so many supposed lovers of sugar gliders endorse or support small cage sizes?  The answer has to do with two things most glider caregivers and breeders seem to have little of: time and money. 

Due to the fact that many people who are buying sugar gliders are buying them to breed, combined with the glider mills which produce thousands of gliders, there has been a sugar glider population explosion.  This has led to a point where the market is quickly becoming saturated, with no end in sight.  Breeders know that if a potential buyer were to find out that two gliders would need the space equivalent of a small room for their pets, that most (if not all) potential buyers would realize that owning sugar gliders would be too time, space and cost consuming to fit into their lifestyle. 

Fortunately, breeders can fall back on the ignorance of government agencies to back them up when declaring their cruelly small minimum cage requirements.  Many states have erroneously grouped sugar gliders, who are named so because of their ability to glide (gliders have been known to glide 300 feet), with hedgehogs, chinchillas, mice and rats--none of whom can even remotely glide!  This grouping is ridiculous and shows the complete lack of understanding that even government agencies have with regard to sugar gliders.

A perfect example of a regulation based on ignorance is Colorado's minimum enclosure requirement.  Grouping sugar gliders with chinchillas and hedgehogs, the requirement states that cages need only be 16" high with a minimum of 216 square inches for a single glider. (State of Colorado Department of Agriculture) Considering that it is cruel and inhumane to keep a glider singly (something they obviously don't know), this inadequate size would only add to the cruelty.  Compare their minimum square inches for one glider to the 81 square feet for two gliders required by Australian regulations. (Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Australia) It's disgusting and inhumane.

It is important to keep in mind that sugar gliders are gliding marsupials. They have been known to glide the length of a football field, and while it would be ridiculous to require that length of a cage, is it good husbandry to keep sugar gliders in a cage so small that they are unable to have "adequate freedom of movement"? (Animal Welfare Act, United States, Section 13, Subpart F)

AWA guidelines state that:

Enclosures shall be constructed and maintained so as to provide sufficient space to allow each animal to make normal postural and social adjustments with adequate freedom of movement. Inadequate space may be indicated by evidence of malnutrition, poor condition, debility, stress, or abnormal behavior patterns.

It also states in an addendum:

"Subpart F species that fly...must be provided with sufficient unobstructed enclosure volume to enable movement by flying..."

Sugar gliders do not technically fly, however, they do glide, and it is reasonable to expect that gliders should be given ample room to enable movement by gliding. In an 18"x18"x30" cage, for example, with a pouch or nesting box, exercise wheel and branch, it is impossible to have enough room for sugar gliders to glide.

Why would sugar glider caregivers support these small cage requirements?  Many caregivers are teenagers or young adults who are dependent on others for their lifestyle.  The major complaint heard countless times in the sugar glider community is "I just don't have enough money...." 

Sugar gliders are expensive animals to keep humanely. Most people who are financially independent would be hard pressed to devote the time it would take to fulfill the basic needs of a sugar glider colony and they choose not to own gliders.  So, sugar glider caregivers, many of whom are not financially dependent, are not even capable of providing the correct habitat environment for a sugar glider colony.  When and if they realize that their housing is too small, they must somehow come to terms with that, because they cannot afford to do anything about it.  Here is where the breeders come in and assuage the glider caregivers of any guilt by reinforcing the cruel industry standard.

What is the industry standard?  A quick perusal of different breeders will give us cage sizes from as small as 12" x 18" x 12" (this is actually animal cruelty, and is illegal in most states.  Of course, it comes to us from Custom Cageworks, a known glider mill), to 18" x 18" x 24" (To and Fro Gliders) to one of the largest minimum cage size we could find at 36" x 30" x 20" (Exotic Nutrition).  Still another site claims that glider owners should get the biggest cage possible, "at least three feet high!"  These sizes are cruelly small.  They do not allow the glider to move freely, especially when one factors in adding toys, an exercise wheel and a place to sleep.  This is absolutely ridiculous.

Perhaps most astonishing was the minimum cage size recommended by SunCoast Sugar Gliders.  According to SunCoast Sugar Gliders:

NOTE: 36" tall is the minimum height we suggest for a sugar glider cage; anything smaller is bound to constrict the activity of these very active animals, and no more than 3 gliders should be kept in the 36" tall cage.

Interestingly enough, SunCoast Sugar Gliders is recommending a minimum cage size that is in violation of their own state's regulations! Florida is one of the few states which actually have a less than cruel regulation.  From the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission:

Gliders (e.g., sugar glider, Family Petauridae)

(I) For one or two animals, a cage or enclosure 4 feet by 4 feet, 4 feet high. For each additional animal, increase cage size by 25 percent of original floor area.

(II) Each cage shall have perching area(s) and nest box(es) that shall accommodate all animals in the enclosure simultaneously.

Each cage shall have a horizontal climbing apparatus.

It is very distressing to see a well-known breeder and "sugar glider lover" and a veterinarian (Suncoast's Dr. "C"), actually recommending a cage size in defiance to their own state's relatively generous guidelines.  This is preposterous.  This breeder and veterinarian should, instead, be enforcing and supporting Florida's guidelines. 

According to a husbandry manual written by Stephen M. Jackson, an Australian expert in sugar gliders, the minimum enclosure requirements for captive sugar gliders should be 9 feet high by 9 feet deep by 9 feet wide.  Some glider caregivers have openly scoffed at what they say is an "outrageous" minimum enclosure requirement, but that only goes to prove that they are, unfortunately, ignorant of sugar glider physiology and behavior.

Glider University recommends that an enclosure be at least four feet deep, six feet wide and six feet high as an interim until we can reach the standard of 9x9x9. Someone who is educated in the natural movement and behaviors of sugar gliders would be hard pressed to call that "outrageous," however, compared to the industry standard, and even to some of the guidelines made in ignorance by various state agencies, these measurements could be considered completely over the top.

Glider University is not the only voice in America that considers a large habitat (at least six feet high), to be correct.   Theresa Lightfoot, a Tampa area veterinarian was quoted in an article in the Tampa Tribune saying,

"Take sugar gliders. These...animals are adorable....Sugar gliders weigh 2 to 3 ounces as adults, but their enclosure should be a minimum of 8 feet tall to give them room to leap..."

If the industry would raise the minimum enclosure standard to something at least humane, it would do much to improve the captive species as a whole.  Mental illness, malnutrition, joey "rejection", cannibalism, and other problems would drop significantly.  Potential glider owners would be forced to really weigh the responsibility and cost of owning an exotic pet that requires the time, space and attention mostly reserved for zoo exhibits.  This would insure that glider owners would begin their ownership of sugar gliders with a full knowledge of how much space a sugar glider colony needs to maintain a happy, healthy quality of life.

Until the industry standard changes, sugar gliders will continue to suffer, no matter how much glider breeders and caregivers profess to love the species.  It's time that they put up or shut up.  Sugar gliders need ample space to glide, and that is a fact.  Leaning on the outdated and ignorant standards of incompetent government agencies does not show a love for the species.  Making the sacrifice to be honest about the true cost and space required in the care of sugar gliders will show true care for the species.