Flying squirrel (sugar glider) at home

Rodents 7591

The sugar squirrel is the smallest marsupial in the world. This is an incredibly charming marsupial: the fur is pleasant to the touch, like plush, large eyes like saucers and a soft pink nose. The possum has excellent manners: he is unusually good-natured, endlessly curious and easily tamed. The sugar glider has many names, which will be used periodically throughout the article.

Appearance of a sugar glider

In appearance it bears quite a strong resemblance to a squirrel. The animal has miniature dimensions: the body is up to 21 cm, the tail is 16.5–21 cm, and the weight does not exceed 170 grams. The sugar flying squirrel has a rather thin body, although due to the flight membrane it has, the opposite impression is created.

The body is covered with dense, velvety fur, the tail exceeds the size of the body and is also fluffy. The possum's muzzle is slightly pointed and shortened. The ears and eyes are large, the former are quite mobile. The sugar squirrel has a variegated color: the back is ashen, there are brown stripes on the face, and the belly is white with a sandy tint.

There are a total of 5 toes on the paws: on the front paws, the first 2 are opposed to the other 3, on the hind paws, the first toe is opposed to the others. The 2nd and 3rd toes are partially fused on the hind limbs.

The main exocrine glands - for marking territory - are located on the forehead, chest and near the anus. Males have a bifurcated genital organ. Females have a pouch on their abdomen for bearing offspring.

Relationships with people

The opossum is not an endangered animal, although due to deforestation and loss of habitat, possums are becoming more common in urban and suburban areas.

The opossum has long been known in the United States, particularly in the southern regions, which have many culinary recipes and folklore relating to the opossum.

In Dominica and Trinidad, the animal is still popular today and can be hunted at certain times of the year. You can even buy such an animal. Its meat is traditionally fried or stewed. It is light, fine-grained. Used in dishes instead of rabbit or chicken.

Historically, hunters in the Caribbean would place a barrel of fresh water or rotten fruit to attract fruit-eating game.

Unlike hunting ferrets or arctic foxes, these animals are not hunted for their fur. In Mexico, their tails are used as a folk remedy to improve fertility. Possum fat, which is highly acidic, is used as a remedy for arthritis. Our children know this funny animal from cartoons. Crash and Eddie, the possums from Ice Age, became their favorites.

The hooligan, impudent brothers annoy everyone, but at the same time they take care of their named sister, they are cheerful and kind.

Opossums are kept in zoos, where they can live up to 7 years. Children especially love to watch and feed them.

Lifestyle

Their peak activity occurs in the dark, and the day for them is sleep time. The animals nest in safe, secluded places, usually hollows or other recesses in trees.

These are social animals that live in flocks. One flock can include up to seven mature individuals and broods from the current breeding season. In a flock there is certainly a leader (a mature, dominant male), who marks the territory and possums from the family with his secretions. The territory is jealously guarded; strangers who do not have the mark of a leader are immediately expelled from its borders.

Marsupial flying squirrels are heat-loving, and with the onset of cold weather they hibernate. During the dry season and rainy nights, their activity also decreases significantly. This feature helps possums survive those seasons in which the ability to obtain food is severely limited. In natural habitats, sugar squirrels hibernate much more often than their domesticated counterparts. Wild possums feed on the sweet sap of acacias, eucalyptus and other trees, nectar and pollen from flowers. Their diet also includes insects, small animals and birds.

How to care for an opossum at home?

• An opossum, like a cat, can wash itself with its paws. But, unlike cats, the former love to swim.
• By the way, if you suddenly notice that your pet smells unpleasant, it means he may be sick. In this case, you will have to urgently show the animal to the veterinarian, since a healthy possum never produces foreign odors.
• If you do not plan to breed opossums, castrate the male. In this case, its natural smell will be significantly reduced.
• How to care for an opossum at home? The main hygiene processes for an opossum are as follows - just clean your pet’s cage more often. Do this at least once every 7 days.

Males

In males, there are a significant number of glands on the body, the most noticeable of which are on the forehead (bald patch) and chest. They are formed as the possum boy matures. In a sexually mature male, the exocrine glands produce an oily secretion with a characteristic odor. In a castrated possum, the hormonal levels decrease, as a result of which the bald patch can become completely overgrown. In males, there is a “pompom” on the abdomen with testicles placed in it; the forked penis has a pink-red hue. The reproductive organ may occasionally be shown outside, this is how it is cared for.

Feeding

Prohibited products:

• birdseed;
• cheese;
• raisin;
• grape;
• lettuce;
• a large number of nuts.

An approximate balanced diet:

• Fruit is the most important product in a possum's diet. They should make up 70% of the serving.
• Protein food should make up 30% of the serving.
• Food should have less phosphorus and more calcium.
• Give little sweets, only as a treat.
• You can give some meat supplements (unsalted boiled chicken or turkey).
• You can’t do without live food (grasshoppers or zoophobes).
• Once a week you should give honey, which has a good effect on digestion.

Of course, keeping sugar possums is far from easy. However, those who are not afraid of difficulties can safely get fluffy marsupial flyers and they will give about fifteen unforgettable years of companionship.

Females

In females, like in males, there are many, but less pronounced, exocrine glands located on the body. The vagina and uterus of female possums are bifurcated and separated from each other, similar to the male’s penis. On the belly of the female short-headed flying squirrel there is a pouch, inside it there are 4 nipples. The bag should not be red or swollen, otherwise this is evidence that the animal is unhealthy.

Flying squirrels have a short gestation period - up to 17 days. As a rule, from 1 to 3 cubs are born, the size of a steamed grain of rice. After giving birth, the female possum licks the cubs and licks her fur, smoothing the way from the newborns to the pouch. Along this “path” they move to a cozy “house”, where they attach themselves to the nipple, after which it swells. They will remain in this position until the moment they are able to get out. The “journey” takes about 5 minutes, and the babies will mature in the bag for another 60–70 days.

After leaving the “house”, the cubs need another 8 weeks to adapt to the outside world and switch to the diet for adults. While this is gradually happening, the babies continue to be on a milk diet.

Appearance and description

As you may have noticed, sugar gliders are quite small in size. The animal was even able to take a leading position, as the smallest representative of the possum family.

The creature is only 120 to 220 mm long, with a tail of about 160 mm. Already an adult weighs extremely little - 140 grams.

If you look at the photographs, you can see that there is a dark stripe running down the back from the nose to the very backside. Stripes are also present on the muzzle.

As we know, a flying squirrel has folds of skin between its legs, so our little possum was not left out either.

They also have the same kind of membranes between their front and hind legs, and they use them for flight. Therefore, some believe that squirrels and possums are almost the same creature, although this is not the case.

The only difference between a female and a male is that the female has a small leather pouch for her cubs. When an animal jumps from one point to another, opening its wings, it looks like a flying square flap.

Jumping from a tree, the animal spreads all its limbs wide, creating the semblance of a small parachute, and can calmly control and change the trajectory of its flight. By the way, with the help of their folds of skin, sugar animals can soar at distances of up to 50 meters.

They usually do this to search for food, or to search for a nest. They can also communicate with each other, sending many different signals and sounds. For example, both simply for communication and to warn of danger!

Keeping at home

Flying squirrels are quite active and are kept either in a spacious cage or in an aviary. The minimum dimensions for a pair of animals are 80x80x60 cm, however, the higher the cage, the better. The walls and ceiling should have bars no larger than 1.5 cm, otherwise the cubs will be able to squeeze between them or even fall out.

The door must be equipped with a lock or carabiner. These animals are very inventive and easily learn to open an unfixed passage on their own. The floor is covered with a specialized filler for rodents in the form of compressed sawdust.

Branches are a must when keeping sugar gliders. In their natural habitat, they live in trees; these animals have the instinct to climb wood.

It is best to place bowls on shelves and in different parts of the cage or enclosure. This will help keep the water uncontaminated longer.

The house is an invariable attribute of the possum’s habitat. The ideal option would be a suspended structure, fixed as high as possible. The following can be used as a nest: plywood or wooden boxes, something soft and at the same time reliable, for example, a knitted pocket. Flying squirrels passionately adore cozy, soft nesting places, so if the frame of the house is hard, you should put rags or hay in it.

It is permissible to use several nests at once, however, while feeding the brood, it is worth limiting yourself to one.

Toys should be chosen that are made of hard plastic. The following are perfect for flying squirrels: tunnels, stairs, running wheels, bells, mirrors and small balls. Toys require periodic updating to maintain the animals’ interest in them.

Feeding

The most important question that the happy owner of a sugar glider will have to face is what to feed the animal. Proper nutrition is the key not only to health, but, consequently, to a long and happy life. The smell and mood of your pet also depend on this.

In the wild, the sugar squirrel is an omnivore. The main part of its diet consists of fruits and insects. When feeding, you should adhere to the following principles and rules:

1. The 70 to 30 rule – 70% of the diet is protein, the remaining 30% is carbohydrates.
2. The feeders are filled with food and the drinking bowl with fresh water immediately before the flying squirrels wake up - at approximately 9 - 10 pm. In the morning, you need to clean the feeders and leave the water. If a possum has access to food 24 hours a day, it will suffer from obesity. Representatives of this subspecies are able to wake up in the daytime and sleepily drag a treat into the nest, falling asleep on the move, often with an unchewed piece of food in their paws. The maximum that can be left for the possum during the day is a piece of fruit or dried fruit, as well as a little juice diluted with water.
3. If your pet doesn't drink for a long time, don't be alarmed. Sugar squirrels can get enough moisture from fruits. Despite this, water in the drinking bowl must be constantly present in the cage. It is better to use filtered or bottled water and change it at least once a day to prevent harmful bacteria from growing in it.
4. Foods from the human table are prohibited for feeding: fatty, spicy, fried, salted, sausages, etc. The maximum that can be allowed is chicken or turkey meat, cooked without salt and spices.
5. Sweets (honey, fruits) can be given to the animal in limited quantities - as a treat, to support the female during pregnancy and feeding the cubs.
6. The food should contain as much calcium as possible (the domestic sugar glider is very sensitive to its deficiency) and as little phosphorus as possible.
7. All vegetables and fruits should be cut into fairly large pieces that will be easy for the squirrels to pick up in their paws. The animal will not like small pieces.

Products necessary for the normal development of the dwarf flying squirrel:

Protein

• Insects – you can feed your pet live grasshoppers, fly larvae, crickets, mealworms and zoophobas (Latin worms, a favorite delicacy of the sugar glider). The daily norm for an adult older than six months is 2–3 zoophobass per day, 5–8 mealworms or 1–2 large banana crickets. All of these insects can be purchased at a pet store. Many sugar glider breeders breed gliders in plastic containers with sawdust. They eat cucumbers, apples and cereals. They can live up to 3 months. You can also feed the possum no more than once a week with one-day-old chicks or other small chicks.
• Meat - about 30 grams per day per individual, boiled without salt and spices, lean (chicken or turkey).
• Fermented milk products - no more than 2 times a week: natural low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt, fermented baked milk, children's curds and yoghurts without preservatives and additives, including sugar-free.
• Quail eggs without shell - no more than once every 7-10 days.
• Baby food – puree for first feeding, possibly with meat.
• Porridge - once every 7 - 10 days, they must be cooked exclusively in water, since milk is extremely harmful for flying squirrels. The healthiest ones are oatmeal and buckwheat, you can add fruits, dried fruits, candied fruits, honey (literally a drop per serving).

Carbohydrates

• Whole fruits and vegetables are the main source of carbohydrates. A possum needs about 35–40 grams of fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables of various types per day. These can be peaches, oranges (if the possum is older than six months), kiwis, apples, pineapples, bananas, avocados, watermelon, melon, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mangoes, papaya, carrots. Products with a laxative effect (beets, pears, plums) should not be offered to your pet.
• Juices and fruit purees – up to 20 ml per day. It is advisable to give the animal freshly squeezed juices diluted 1:1 with water, or juices and purees intended for children under 3 years of age, without preservatives and sugar.
• Any dried fruits, except prunes - 1 - 2 pieces per day (cherries, pineapple, dried apricots, etc.).

Treats

• Nuts – 2 small or 1 large nut per week (peanuts, hazelnuts, pine).
• Honey - only as an additive to the main food, about 1.5 teaspoons per week.
• Drops – no more than one per day.

Breeding

The breeding season for flying gliders living at home is year-round. When keeping a female and a male at the same time, when both are ready, they will definitely mate. In this case, the animals will absolutely not care whether they are related.

This point is very important, and you need to take it into account when keeping related gliders in the same cage or enclosure. If you allow such mating, their genetic diversity will be disrupted, which can lead to weak and sick offspring.

When planning to continue to keep relatives together, it is better to castrate males. Males are castrated at 13 weeks after emerging from the pouch. Potentially, it is possible to sterilize a female individual, however, in practice this is undesirable due to the special structure of the intimate organs and the small size of the animal.

Such an operation is carried out only for special indications. When intending to acquire offspring of possums, it is worth waiting for not only their sexual, but also psychological maturity. The optimal age for breeding for both boys and girls is after 1 year, but not earlier than 10 months from the moment they emerge from the pouch.

At this age, males are fully ready to raise offspring, and females significantly reduce the risk of abandoning their cubs. In addition, the mother possum will spend less energy on feeding, and the babies themselves will be stronger and healthier.

During mating games, sugar squirrels can behave somewhat aggressively. At this time, it is worth periodically inspecting the animals for injuries caused to each other and, if necessary, treating them. This way you can avoid infection and keep your pets healthy.

During gestation, the female's diet should be enriched with up to 50% animal proteins, but the level of fat should be kept low. Do not try to feed the animal beef or soy products, they are not suitable. Excellent options include chicken, mealworms, crickets and other sources of protein.

A nursing mother will benefit from a slight increase in the level of fat in her diet. It is extremely important to avoid stressful situations for the female during the gestation and feeding stages. At this time, you should not touch it or show it to anyone; it is also advisable not to methodically check the nest yourself. The male, like the female, should be inviolable during this period, because he is now the protector of the family and can harm you in self-defense. This parental behavior goes away when the brood becomes more or less independent.

Babies should not be separated from their parents for at least 8 weeks after leaving the pouch.

Reproduction

Features of sexual development

Breeding sugar flying squirrels at home is a rather responsible and expensive task. It is difficult to call possum breeding a profitable business. It requires a lot of time (the female takes care of the cubs for more than 4 months) and the presence of an isolated and spacious room.

Many breeders say that females who are expecting or nursing offspring become much less friendly and affectionate. For various reasons (stress, genetic predisposition, early pregnancy, and many others), females can abandon their own cubs or even eat them. Therefore, before deciding to purchase a pair of opposite sexes, you should carefully think through all the nuances of the future keeping of the animals.

Males and females reach puberty at different ages: males starting at 4 months, females at six months. However, parental responsibilities should be assigned to animals no earlier than a year. The mating season usually occurs in June-July. Animals bear offspring 1–2 times a year. For mating, you should not choose individuals that are in a related relationship - this can lead to pathologies in the cubs.

Pairing

Mating occurs within 24 hours after the female starts estrus. She may behave excitedly, make calling sounds, and refuse food. The male looks quite aggressive from the outside: he bites the back of his resisting female friend and even inflicts wounds on her. But for possums this is normal behavior. The wound, if it appears, should be treated to prevent infection. If the future father continues to disturb the female, she needs to be placed in another cage until she recovers completely.

Pregnancy and childbirth

Pregnancy lasts 15 – 16 days. There is no need to remove the male from the cage during pregnancy. He does not interfere with his friend, and after giving birth he also helps her care for her offspring.

Feeling the approach of childbirth, the female carefully licks the pouch on her stomach, and after giving birth, she also licks the path for the offspring - from the genitals to the pouch. The tiny squirrel covers this path on its own in literally 5 minutes.

Despite the fact that there are 4 nipples in the bag, the offspring usually does not exceed 1 - 2 babies. The possum stays in the pouch for about 9 - 10 weeks, without tearing itself away from the mother's nipple - it swells in its mouth, and the baby literally sticks to it.

During the period of feeding “babies”, the female’s diet should be increased - at the rate of plus 50% for each cub.

After some time, the babies move from their mother's pouch to their parents' backs, and then become independent. At the age of 4 months they can already be separated from the female.

Exterior features of the Australian squirrel

It would be most correct to start describing the external appearance of a flying squirrel with the parameters of its body. The length of its body reaches approximately 40–42 cm, and the body is approximately 15–22 cm in length, the tail grows in the range from 16 to 22 cm. Body weight ranges from 100 to 175 grams.

The body of this Australian eccentric is wrapped in fur that is quite thick and soft in texture; nature has painted it a noble gray color, sometimes with a bluish tint; it is less common to find a marsupial squirrel with brown-yellow fur. The main color tone of the animals is varied by stripes of brown color, which are quite harmoniously located on the face and back. The projection of the abdominal cavity is presented in white tones with a delicate cream tint. Some sources say that there are cases of albino possums being born.

The miniature muzzle of the pygmy flying squirrel has a characteristic pointedness. Looking at the cute face of a possum, one cannot help but pay attention to its most noticeable elements - the eyes and ears. His ears are quite impressive in size in relation to the volume of his head, they are also special - they have the ability to turn towards the source of the sound signal, which is reminiscent of locators. The marsupial's organs of vision are large, decorated with a clear black border, which gives the muzzle of this animal an even cuter appearance.

The limbs of this original little animal are quite well developed. Each foot has five fingers, which are relatively long and thin. This feature allows dwarf squirrels to easily get food from even the most secluded corners, for example, from under the bark of trees. And the sharp claws of the sugar glider serve as a reliable fastening for it even on the flexible branches themselves. Australian flying squirrels have some unique toes. So on the front legs the first two fingers are opposed to the other three, and on the hind legs the first finger is opposed and partial syndactyly of the third and second fingers can be observed.

These original little animals also have another distinctive and unique exterior feature. At first glance, this is a very small and compact animal, but it has a thin membrane, represented by a thin layer of skin covered with fur. It is located on the sides of the body and extends from the wrist to the ankle. During a jump, it stretches, forming a so-called aerodynamic surface. This unusual part of the flying squirrel’s body allows it to regulate the distance and direction of flight; with its help, marsupials easily fly from tree to tree, both in search of food and for fun. During the rest period, the membrane is harmoniously located along the body in the form of a wavy fringe.

The distinctive sexual characteristics of the sugar glider are represented not only by the genitals, but also by another feature. The male sugar flying squirrel has a small bald patch on the frontal part of the head, and the female has a pouch in the center of the abdomen, where she will bear her babies. The male genital organ also has its own uniqueness. The thing is that it is divided into two parts that can act independently of each other.

Diseases

Possums suffer from a fair number of ailments that affect their lifespan. Most often they are affected by metabolic bone disease associated with injury and poor nutrition. Possible diarrhea from overloading the stomach with fruit or due to parasites. Any treatment is carried out under the supervision of a veterinarian.

Irina Ivanishchena

I am engaged in professional breeding of hamsters and rats on an ongoing basis. I know something about them that most people don’t know. Always open to constructive discussion

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Possum development

The sugar squirrel feeds its offspring with milk in a pouch for 9 weeks. The day the cubs emerge is considered the date of their birth. From this time the age of the possum is counted. The cubs gradually wean themselves off milk and their mother’s pouch.

They still climb into her and grab the nipple. The possums are still blind, hairless, weakened and helpless:

It happens that parents leave the brood and abandon the offspring. The behavior of adults must be monitored. Undesirable children can be eaten by their parents. If the female and male do not accept the cubs, then the offspring are moved to another cage.

It is heated. The optimal temperature is 25 C. Fattening is carried out with baby formula from a bottle. Goat milk mixtures are preferable. They are easier to digest.

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Let's draw some conclusions

As you noticed, the creature is extremely interesting, cute and attractive. Starting from an unusual sweet tooth to the amazing features of sounds. If you want to listen to these sounds right now, there are many audios on the Internet that are easy to find!

So you can listen both live and online. But it’s worth finally recalling that although the animal is cute and funny, it is on the verge of extinction. Listed in the Red Book.

For this reason, some refuse to purchase it, and some even try to open specialized nurseries with ideal conditions for them!

Let's summarize

As we can see, this sugar animal has many positive qualities, especially for keeping it at home. But unfortunately, this species is now listed in the Red Book, so people are trying to take care of them and their population as much as possible.

This cute animal is distinguished primarily by its unusual affection for its owner. Indeed, his behavior is very similar to that of a dog.

Therefore, as soon as the possum feels that you are not a threat to him, but, on the contrary, a faithful friend, a master who feeds and takes care of him, he will calmly become your faithful partner.

Drawing a conclusion, we can safely say that this furry animal will become an excellent pet, with the right approach to it.

Cell

For one individual you will need a cage with a tray, an aviary, a terrarium or a display case with dimensions of 50-50-80 cm, for two 140-50-80 cm. It is better to provide the largest possible conditions. If a cage is used as a container, the bars should not be narrower than 1 cm.

Reference cell

What should be in the cage

Be sure to have a drinking bowl and several feeders. It is important that the squirrel is habituated, otherwise it may die of thirst. Small metal or ceramic feeders are required.

Inside the cage you need climbing structures, a house, branches, pipes, etc.

What shouldn't happen

There should be no materials inside the cage that could poison the animal. Curiosity and constant contact can cause a squirrel to try something, which can affect its health.

Squirrel pregnancy

It is recommended to keep the reproduction process in sugar gliders under control. Otherwise, the female may become weakened. Her body's supply of nutrients is running low, and symptoms of vitamin deficiency appear.

If the squirrel itself feels that it is not able to bear and feed offspring, then it shows aggression towards the male. It is recommended to place the couple in separate cages.

When a female goes into heat, she calls the male with certain sounds. The possum doesn't have to wait long. He begins to bite his partner, climbs onto her back, and the mating process occurs. Sometimes biting is accompanied by wounds.

In this case, the female is placed in another cage, where she is given first aid. They wait until the wound is covered with fur.

The squirrel's pregnancy lasts 16 days, but her estrus does not stop. After the cubs emerge, she is again ready to mate. Towards the end of pregnancy, the squirrel begins to open a gap on its abdomen. The female makes a path on her stomach for the cubs.

It runs from the gap to the bag. The individual smooths out the fur with its tongue to make it easier for the gliders to get to the bag.

After all the preparations, she lies on her back and waits for the babies to come out. She worries, cries, and has convulsions; This is a physiological process, there is no need to help her. Possums are born underdeveloped.

They make their way to the bag, find milk nipples, and capture them with their mouths. The nipple swells a little. The cub does not release it until a certain age.

Household members at home are rarely able to see the possum coming out of the crack into the bag. You can determine that pregnancy is over by small bulges on the abdomen.

When a sugar squirrel bears its young and feeds its young with milk, it must receive a sufficient amount of nutritious food. Her diet is doubled. If before pregnancy the squirrel received 30 g of food, then in its new position it should receive 50-60 g of food. The protein diet is 35-42 g. A vitamin cocktail and calcium supplements must be added to porridge or fermented milk products.

If you have a trusting relationship with the squirrel, then it can allow you to probe the bag. Usually the individual behaves very aggressively.

After 29 days, a female sugar glider may develop a new pregnancy, but if there are cubs in the pouch and all nipples are occupied, the embryo will slow down its development. It is recommended to control the breeding of young animals.

Intrauterine development of possums may not stop if there are free milk nipples in the pouch. Often a sugar squirrel bears 4 babies of different ages. Milk tanks produce milk that differs in chemical composition, depending on the age of the glider.