Sugar Glider University

In another article, I discussed the good-hearted rescuer, and the issues and problems that can come from the good intentions of a person who loves sugar gliders, but has no experience in professional animal rescue or the guidelines set up from years of experience in animal rescue.

I have noted a trend in the sugar glider rescue efforts that concerns me--it is that we have not taken the time to learn from the vast experience of rescuers who have dealt with puppy mills and other animal abuses for far longer than sugar gliders have even been in this country. We can and should learn from them!! Most of what they do can apply to the situation currently facing sugar gliders.

For example, in our situation, if the rescuers had acted from a base of knowledge of general rescue guidelines and standards currently in place for facilities like the Humane Society and the SPCA, perhaps we would not be watching her die right now.

Let me explain our story. We got Lilo and Stitch from two very good-hearted people who spend a majority of their time finding sugar gliders and bringing them from very bad situations into their home. There are, however a few problems inherent in this rescue situation:

1. The rescuers look for or find out about bad breeders and then go and try to rescue the gliders from them, even if it means giving them money. In many cases, these rescuers will pay the bad breeder for the gliders! This only sentences at least four more gliders to the terrible conditions they are rescuing one glider from! Not only are they unwittingly sentencing more gliders to misery, as the bad breeder will continue to breed as long as people will buy their gliders, they are buying gliders from unknown lines, with unknown health problems.

2. The rescuers are breeding the sugar gliders they have rescued. Once again, we can learn from the professional rescue standard. Legitimate, professional rescues do not breed rescued animals. Breeding rescued sugar gliders only perpetuates bad lines and contributes to the bad health of the species as a whole.

3. The rescuers are heavy smokers. I have never visited a professional, legitimate rescue facility in which smoking was allowed around the animals. Smoking will kill sugar gliders. Sugar gliders in captivity are prone to cancers, and we all know that smoking causes cancer and birth problems. There is no reason that anyone should smoke around a sugar glider. The rescuers said that they never smoke in the sugar glider's room, but smoke does not stay in one place. Smoke seeps into every area of a small home, it stays in clothes, it infiltrates everything. If rescuers smoke, smoking should be done outside of the housing or facility in which the sugar gliders are kept.

4. The rescuers do not feed enough protein. These rescuers, because they have so many gliders, are unable to take the time to raise insects for their gliders. They only give chicken to gliders a few times a week. Consequently, their gliders are not getting nearly enough protein. Also, it is imperative that gliders be given insects as a protein source, as not enough is known about sugar gliders and the way they process foods to try and substitute this part of the diet with something else entirely.

If I had known then what I know now about sugar glider lines and health, I would never have gotten sugar gliders from this rescue. Don't get me wrong. These people are kind, loving, wonderful, generous people. In their many wonderful and courageous efforts to be kind, they do not see that some of their practices are actually hurting the situation.

When we picked up our sugar gliders from this rescue, since the male was paired with a rescued female, the male should have been neutered. It doesn't matter that the male had blonde genes or not. Instead, our female, who was already underweight, had a joey in pouch when we got her.

Well, Lilo and Stitch came home, and at first, we tried to follow the advice of the rescue. Only feed a supplement mix with fruits and vegetables, and then every few days a little boiled chicken. Here is where we ran into problems. First of all, everything I read from legitimate publications insisted on the high degree of importance of insects/protein in the sugar glider diet, especially with a pregnant or lactating glider. Secondly, they would not eat the mix. When I called the rescue to see what could be done (they weren't eating at all), the rescuers told me to just keep feeding it to them, even if they didn't eat for a few days, eventually they would. I understood where the rescuers were coming from, but I didn't agree with that philosophy either.

So, I got crickets. They wouldn't touch them. Then, I got mealworms, and they were given as many as they wanted (both gliders are even now stunted in growth, but they began to gain weight). Lilo had her baby, and we neutered Stitch.

Lilo is now not even two years old, and is dying of cancer and problems with her muscles and bones that can only be attributed to bad lines. She was more than likely pulled too early from her mother, and in the first 11 months of her life, was probably never given enough protein. Her mother was probably not fed enough protein, either. The cancer is more than likely from the excessive amounts of smoke she was exposed to while at the rescue. It is heartbreaking to see a not quite two-year old glider going through such pain and agony. So far, her baby is healthy, although stunted in growth, and we don't even want to think about the fact that she will probably live a shortened life, as well.

There are many healthy gliders that can have babies and can be paired with mates that will actually improve the sugar glider captive species as a whole. We can breed for good health, temperment, and long life. There is never a need or reason to breed these rescued animals....and never a need to contribute to their suffering by smoking around them.

We are staying up nights with Lilo. We are holding her, giving her pain medication, and trying to make her journey from this life to the next as painless as possible, but we are doing it through tears. It is sad to say goodbye to anyone you love, but it is tragic to say goodbye to one so young.

Please, if you are a rescuer, or are considering rescuing sugar gliders, please volunteer at your local Humane Society or SPCA or legitimate animal rescue/shelter and gain experience and knowledge before you begin. In this way, hopefully we can ease the suffering of captive sugar gliders everywhere.