Criptic's Page On Herps - Mammals - Sugar Gliders

should be as large as you can possible have, while being no smaller than 20” x 20” x 30”. This size cage is suitable for one or two sugar gliders. If the cage is a few inches smaller than 20” deep, but taller than 30” it is equal to the same thing. A tall cage is preferable to a short one.

The wire of the cage should be no bigger than 1” by ½”. If the cage has straight bars, but no crosshatching, the bars should be no further than 1/4” apart. These are typically sold as budgie bird cages. Do not use door screen to build a homemade cage, as the sugar gliders tend to get their claws stuck in them. You may build a large cage with wire on the front, and the rest plywood. If you paint the plywood, make sure to use a nontoxic, lead-free paint. If you use a nontoxic, high gloss latex or melamine paint, the cage will be durable, washable, and easy to keep clean.

The door of the cage should be big enough to allow the nest box to fit through.

When cleaning their cage thoroughly, you can just remove the nest box. If possible, clean the cage by placing it in a bathtub or shower stall. It can be scrubbed and rinsed with ease. Make sure to not leave any cleaning agent on the bars. For instructions on how to build your own cage, click here!

Make sure to place your sugar glider cage in a place that not constantly under the flow of noisy traffic during the day. The cage should be placed as high as possible, as sugar gliders like the sense of height. The location of the cage should receive enough light that there is a noticeable difference between day and night. It should not be placed in direct sunlight, as overexposure to sunlight will cause retinal cancer in sugar gliders. The temperature of the cage, or room the cage resides in, should be between 65 and 75 F.

Your sugar glider will need a place to curl up and sleep during the day. In the wild this is provided by holes in trees. In captivity, you can provide this by placing a nesting box made of wood, wicker, or plastic. There are also cloth pouches with a slit in the front that can be tied to the side of the cage. Sugar gliders like to relocate their nests, from time to time. Because of this, you may wish to provide several within the cage.

A good nesting box is the wooden nesting boxes made for birds. The entrance shouldn’t be any smaller than 11/2” in diameter. If the nesting box is for a breeding pair, it has the advantage of having the entrance hole high up, so the babies can not fall out. Make sure to get one that has removable or hinged lids. This will provide better access to sleeping pets and make it much easier to clean.

Sugar gliders will sleep in nesting boxes with no bedding. But, you can add plain shredded paper, or aspen wood shavings. If you line the bottom with the shavings, it will be used to absorb droppings, and food that has fallen. Your sugar gliders will retrieve bedding for use in their nest box.

You may use a multiple of food and water containers for your sugar gliders. Water can be an open, non-tip dish, a clip-on bird dish, or the sipper-type water bottle. I prefer to use the sipper-type water bottle, as the sugar glider can not foul the water. Place the food and water dishes up high.

You will want to provide branches in your sugar gliders cage. This will make a more natural habitat, and inspire more interesting behaviors in your sugar gliders. Make sure to use a nontoxic species of wood. If a wood is rated safe for a bird, it is safe for sugar gliders. You may use apple wood, aspen, cottonwood, and willow. You may use live, or winter dormant wood. The leaves can be left, as the sugar gliders will amuse themselves by stripping the leaves off, and carrying them up for bedding. Avoid using branches from coniferous trees (pine, cedar, fir, and redwood). These woods produce a sticky sap. The sugar gliders will sometimes strip the bark from the branches, and the sap will get stuck in their fur. Make sure to rinse all branches prior to placing them in the cage. It is time to replace branches once the sugar gliders have stripped the bark from them, or they become soiled.

You may use toys for birds to decorate their cage as well. Some examples of toys would be swings, perches, ladders, and bells. If you choose to use a hamster type wheel, make sure to not use an open metal one. One sugar glider may be playing on the wheel, and squish another one that is trying to join it.

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