Hello Suggies !! :D

[Kookaburra]

Hello my name is Callum and i live in bridgwater/Somerset. Iam 16 and have just got into college so i can study to be a vet, whilst working ain the college i encoutered a Sugar Glider called Joey ( soo cute) ahha , i then asked can they be pets, my tutor said yes and with that i came home and researched them , ive been watching online videos, i have emailed vets and also specialists about them , and to my surprised im aloud one for christmas !!! , So i joined this forum to gain even more facts about them thank you

[Marie]

Hi, welcome to SGF.  You can have them as pets, and they are superb!  But, and it's a BIG but ... you should not only have one.  They are highly social animals and need to be kept with at least one other glider.  I'm surprised you haven't come across this most basic requirement in your research.

[Kookaburra]

I was told it would be okay aslong as i spent about 4 + hours a day with it , and to be honest i would i blooming love em

[Marie]

No, it's really not ok.

Sugar gliders are naturally social animals and should not be denied this basic need for the sake of their physical health and mental well being.  You cannot play in a wheel with them, you can not communicate with them on their level, you cannot snuggle up with them in the pouch which is really important at this time of year.  Basically, it is cruel to keep one on it's own  .  Think of it this way, you spend 4 hours with suggie, suggie spends 20 hours alone which is torture for a social animal!  

Besides all of that, two or three suggies are more fun, they give each other confidence because they feel more secure.  If you want a happy suggie ... get 2 ... or 3!  

[Kookaburra]

I would love to have to but i dont think you can keep boys toegtehr can you (even if their brothers) and i also heard that girls are as friendly & and if i have a boy and a girl they wont stop having babies. and theirs not a sinlge vet in my area that can deall with castrating them

[Marie]

Get two girls then!  I have brothers living together without a problem because they have been together since birth.  You should not try and introduce two male gliders, so if I split my brothers for a while I would not put them back together.

I'm sure there would be a vet that could castrate gliders, there are a lot around the country that do and if they've never done it they usually research and successfully complete the op.  

Also, if no vets in your area could neuter, then how would they deal with suggie illness? 

[Kookaburra]

Thats very true about the vets !! and like you said i will have to find a vet where they can help out with illnessess  , and if i bought brothers that had been together since birth would they be okay growing up ?

[Nell]

Definitely! I have three boys (a dad and his two sons) none of whom have yet been castrated and they live together absolutely fine, as they have always done

[Kookaburra]

http://www.cagesworld.co.uk/p/Liberta_Discoverer_Ferret_Cage.htm Here is a cage i would liek to get, would it be good enough for 2 gliders ?? i would liek to ask someone with experince

[Marie]

The bar spacing is way too wide, they'll get through that easily.  You need the bars to be no more than 15mm apart (15mm is the absolute max).  Have a look in the housing section to see the kinds of cages people on here have.

[Kookaburra]

Hi Marie im getting this cage now http://www.cagesworld.co.uk/p/Liberta_Rodent_Happy_House.htm?item_id=133&category_id=23&category_name=Chinchilla

[Nell]

That looks pretty, I have this Liberta cage:

http://www.equinecaninefeline.com/catalog/liberta-tower-cage-degu-ferret-cage-free-delivery-p-6681.html

and it's really good. They're nice quality cages, and mine is 2nd hand and has no rust!
xxx

[hday]

sounds like you are working your way through looking into things
vets, diet, cages, handling/bonding, illnesses etc.
next challenge is the 10 year plan! (thats their life expectancy)
so who will look after them when you are at vet school?
and will you cope with late nights looking after them during a- levels.

[melanied]

Hi Callum,

We are about 14 miles down the road from you in Weston super Mare and there is a vet in Landford that has castrated around 6 suggies to date, so fairly experienced.  It costs about £60 at this vets.  (Langford is a couple of miles out of WSM).  Check the Vet list on here SW and you will find him.

That's if you were to get a boy and girl glider together.

Keep doing the research, there is soooo much to learn and theres a lot of info on here and a lot to think about before you make the final decision. 

[Kookaburra]

Thanks everyone !! i held the Suggie at college today and to be honest i loved it !!! ive found a breeder and hopefully after chrsitmas i willproperly be part of the Suggie community