Sugar Glider University

Many sugar glider breeders would mislead people to believe that sugar gliders are not only tame animals, but that they are well on their way to becoming domesticated.  Unfortunately, neither statement is true.  The majority of sugar gliders, even though breeders will advertise them as "tame", are actually not tame at all.  Sugar gliders also do not posess the characteristics needed to be good candidates for domestication. 

Sugar gliders are wild animals who are, thanks to those who illegally smuggled them in to the U.S. about ten years ago, now being bred in captivity.  There are several obstacles that keep sugar gliders from being domesticated. 

There are six basic criteria an animal should meet before being considered for domestication: flexible diet, fast maturity rate in comparison to humans, ability to breed in captivity, non-aggressive behavior, temperament which makes it unlikely to panic, and a modifiable social heirarchy.

While sugar gliders can easily satisfy the requirements to mature rapidly, the rest of the requirements are not realistic for sugar gliders, as there are not enough breeders with enough money or, sadly, enough breeders who care enough, to truly practice selective breeding.

Sugar gliders do not have a flexible diet.  Sugar gliders require insects and acacia gums, as well as other food sources indigenous to their native habitat.  Acacia gum and vegetation are an integral part of the sugar glider diet.  Ten years of attempting to force sugar gliders to eat an alternate diet have shown us that sugar gliders are rarely able to thrive without their natural diet.  Most captive bred sugar gliders are merely surviving due to their inability to adjust to an alternate diet.  Over half of the sicknesses and maladies common to captive sugar gliders can be traced back to alternate diet.

Sugar gliders do have the ability to breed in captivity, but often with tragic results.  Many sugar gliders will cannibalize their young, and many young often simply "disappear" before they make it out of pouch.  Many of the joeys that do survive must be hand fed by humans, thus leading to major health problems later on, and often, early death.  Even sugar gliders who do reach adulthood are often sickly and frail.  We at GU believe this could be solved with proper diet and habitat, but unfortunately, the majority of captive sugar gliders live with extremely poor diet and inhumane habitat conditions.

Regardless of what most breeders, hobbyists and enthusiasts would like everyone to believe, sugar gliders are naturally aggressive.   Sugar gliders are extremely territorial and will attack others of their own species as well as other animals that invade their territory. Captive sugar gliders can viciously attack each other.  While this behavior is most prominent in males, we have observed it in females, as well.  This aggressive nature is instinctive in sugar gliders, and often results in the sugar glider scratching, biting, or even trying to attack human caregivers.  We at GU believe much of this could be solved by neutering males, but again, the vast majority of sugar glider breeders and owners are unwilling to neuter male sugar gliders.  In fact, we know of only 1 breeder in North America who will neuter their male sugar gliders.

When sugar gliders are startled, they will do one of two things--crab (their version of growling), or scratch and bite, or run.  This temperament is closer to the side of panicky and nervous than laid back and amenable.

Finally, although sugar gliders are social animals, their heirarchy consists of a colony of sugar gliders with one male and the rest female.  It is not realistic for human beings to keep such a colony of sugar gliders. We at GU believe this could be overcome if every sugar glider owner kept a colony of sugar gliders.  It is more likely that eventually, over several generations, the gliders would accept a human into their colony.  Gliders kept singly or even in pairs generally will not truly accept a human.  They are already living in a way that is radically different than their nature. 

An additional obstacle to the acceptance of humans is the fact that sugar gliders are nocturnal, and unless the human caregiver becomes nocturnal as well, there is not enough interaction to truly allow the human to become recognized as part of the colony.

Even if, through generations of selective breeding sugar gliders could result in a laid back, pleasant temperament and an adjusted social heirarchy, there are other things to consider.  For example, sugar gliders can carry salmonellosis and can pass it on to humans.  In one study alone, it showed that five people were infected by sugar gliders.

The large habitat requirements of sugar gliders also make them an unsuitable candidate for domestication.  A six feet square enclosure for a small colony of sugar gliders is much too large for most people.  It is a lot of work on the part of the human with very little return on the part of the animal.  A domesticated animal is an animal who has a symbiotic relationship with humans--meaning that both human and animal receive some benefits.  The only benefit the sugar glider offers the human is an allowance for the human to handle and pet him or her, but that does not make for a truly symbiotic relationship.

While it could theoretically be possible to attempt to domesticate sugar gliders in spite of these obstacles, it can be practically guaranteed that this will never happen.  Due to the ignorance and/or absence of morals and ethics among those who breed sugar gliders, these animals will continue to be bred without regard to domestication. 

There are a few breeders who are attempting this effort, but not enough.  Even good people who would like to breed toward domestication are often faced with the reality that without a major fund, it is virtually impossible to continue a selective breeding program. As time goes by and the sugar glider market reaches the point of saturation, the unethical breeders will abandon the practice of breeding and selling sugar gliders, and the ethical breeders will find that they will no longer have clients willing to purchase pet sugar gliders.  The ethical breeders will be unable to carry on a breeding program unless they obtain private funds and resources to house these sugar gliders for at the least,  several generations of gliders.

There is an effort by a few breeders to selectively breed.  The Pet Glider sugar glider line has been selectively bred over four generations for qualities such as higher tolerance for alternative foods, laid back, non-aggressive temperament, ability to reproduce and raise healthy, robust joeys, and even to become more diurnal.  Even with all this selective breeding, The Pet Glider line is still far from being domesticated, but are much more likely to be tame.  Gliders from this line have been bred with other sugar gliders who have exhibited these traits to produce The Sugar Shack line.

The Sugar Shack line has gone far beyond what we ever thought possible for sugar gliders, and has produced an amazing breeding program combined with behavior modification to truly work miracles with sugar gliders.  The Sugar Shack is the best hope for sugar gliders to become at least tame enough to be considered a true pet.  Yvette at The Sugar Shack truly is a glimmer of hope and true progress in the world of captive bred sugar gliders.

Here is a letter from Yvette explaining what she has done to really make a difference:

... I am still working with my gliders.  They all know and respond to their names and have proven to learn basic commands quite easily, especially at a young age.  My adopting parents have been quite pleased and I have been fortunate to find such excellent homes. 

I am breeding for improved temperament and more laid back gliders as well.  I still can't lick the potty training thing though.   

I have neutered any adults that have not produced offspring to my standards and I neuter their offspring as well. 

Also, I have noted that biting in gliders seems to be primarily associated with territorial aggression that can be solved by neuter or simple fear aggression that can be remedied by building better trust...

...I feel that most gliders are very smart and I have actually watched them pick their own owners during my viewings.  I have one glider that never was allowed to walk throughout my house, but he was allowed to ride on my shoulder.  He learned the entire floor plan of my home that way and one day when he wanted to get down and play, he soared across the room I was in and out the door.  He ran the maze of my house to the other side without a wrong turn and didn't stop until he reached in the room that he played in.  There was no doubt in my mind that he knew exactly where he was going even though he had never walked it himself before. 

As far as sleep patterns go, I have a variety... I have the 3-4pm crowd, the 5-6pm crowd, and the 8-9pm crowd.  I also have some gliders that stay up til 9am and noon.

What amazing things The Sugar Shack has accomplished!!  It truly says that there is at least the hope of taming the sugar glider population that has been allowed to explode over the last decade in the United States. 

Theoretically, it may be possible to at least tame sugar gliders--perhaps even to get them semi-domesticated, but that will never happen unless more people take their cue from breeders like The Sugar Shack and The Pet Glider.  Sadly, we feel that this will never happen.  Not only do most breeders lack the knowledge and resources to accomplish this, but it is a sad fact that the majority of breeders would rather breed for a certain color mutation, as it garners them more money, than for health or domestication.

For some interesting reading on domestication of a previously wild species, please read this examination of The Domestication of the Silver Fox.