# sugar gliders!



## dranger (Mar 23, 2009)

Even though rats are cute, my first love is Sugar gliders! I thought I would share some pictures...


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## kleeheartsratandrabbit (Mar 21, 2009)

aaw  so cute!


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## Gabrielle B (Jan 16, 2009)

I know sugar gliders well, being from Australia, I am probably one of many Aussies that is disgusted that people are now keeping them as pets  It would be like if we kept the Bald Eagle as a pet, its an icon of America, and I doubt any americans would like to see them caged up, its the same for us Aussies and Sugar Gliders


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

If this goes for sugar gliders, the same can be said of any other animal / pet that is confined.
I sometimes feel sorry for my rats and mice too that they can't go as they please although I think the rats would follow me around 
People from India cannot imagine that we keep cows behind barbed wire.
Are sugar gliders a symbol for Australia? I thought it was the kangaroo or koala.


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## Gabrielle B (Jan 16, 2009)

Our possums are one of the lesser recognised (by overseas people) aussie icons. Kangaroos and Koalas are also great icons of our country, and Sugar Gliders are held on the same level as these, as well as Red Back Spiders, the Red Bellied Black Snake, the Saltwater Crocodile, the Platypus, the Echidna, the Tasmanian Devil (and Tiger, though it is now extinct), the Bilby, the Kookaburra, and we also hold the Dingo pretty high, though they were bought (theyre not native) over with the aboriginals some 50 thousand years ago

Theres a difference between keeping a wild animal and a domestic animal.


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

But don't all domesticated species start off as wild animals? Our rats were once wild animals and over here in England anyway they started off as being bred from wild rats for sports and pets - then their lines were established and colours grew. 

I believe that if a species is able to manage the stress and acclimatise to the way of captivity, then with careful husbandry it can be domesticated ethically. I'm sure the same cannot be said for many species, as many refuse to lose their wild ways.

Just a though.

Very cute gliders btw! I never thought holding a bug could ever look sweet .. proved me wrong lol


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## kwise211 (Jan 24, 2009)

so cute! i've always wondered what a sugarglider looks like! their huge eyes are awesome!


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## Gabrielle B (Jan 16, 2009)

Its true all domestication has to start somewhere, I just dont agree with the fact that it is a possum that is being domesticated, if Americans knew how agressive our native possums could be, youd have second thoughts lol


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## dranger (Mar 23, 2009)

Gabrielle B said:


> Its true all domestication has to start somewhere, I just dont agree with the fact that it is a possum that is being domesticated, if Americans knew how agressive our native possums could be, youd have second thoughts lol


I think it's a shame that a lot of animals are kept as pets, such as lions, bears, chimps... They are even selling sloths now as pets :'(
I feel in love with them the first time I saw them... I try to educate people about sugar gliders and give them a enriching life. If people are responsible, I think sugar gliders could be domesticated one day. But they do require a lot of time, and care. 
I think it's a shame that the beautiful birds Australia are pets too.... My cockatiel was the sweetest thing and it makes me so sad to think of a beautiful bird such as a cockatoo stuck in a tiny cage...


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## Gabrielle B (Jan 16, 2009)

Oh I forgot about this thread! Yea I dont think Cockatoos should be in captivity either, for starters they live longer than we do, so they will never have one owner their whole live, and secondly they need sooooooooooo much stimulation or else they become pretty agressive and noisy, and thats not fun lol. But with everything, education is key!


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## rattiesrock (Apr 19, 2009)

Cockatoos live longer than us??


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

rattiesrock said:


> Cockatoos live longer than us??


A quick search on Google gave me 40-60 years on average. Larger species can reach up to 80 years or more. It has been known for some to live to 120ish years.


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## Gabrielle B (Jan 16, 2009)

Sulfur Crested (the main ones kept as pets) live up to and over 80 years!


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

awwwwh lol they are SO funny looking, very cute


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## chiklet1503 (Jun 12, 2009)

Very cute gliders! The first one.. is a WF? Gorgeous! 

I used to have 4 gliders- I rescued my male from a shelter out in KS, my female from a bad home in KS and she turned out to be carrying twin joeys IP, a male and female.

Scrat & Scarlet were the mom and 'step-dad' and the baby twins were Dora & Diego. They were a lot of fun but definitely a lot of work. I had a gianormous cage for them considering I was living in a small 1 bd apartment. It was 5 ft long, 2 ft wide and 3 ft tall and set up with tree branches, hidey-holes, pouches, toys, and all sorts of fun playthings.

They really don't make very good pets and everyone I meet who asks about them, I very much try to discourage from getting them. Besides the fact that many of the ingredients that make up their natural diets cannot even be purchased here in the US, they are very time consuming and difficult to keep- many vets around here don't even see them. 

My adult male, Scrat, ended up coming to me from the shelter with a severe eye infection. His eye was swollen shut and pussing and he was obviously in a great deal of pain. After the vet, it was determined that his eye was partially ruptured from infection and needed to be removed. $800 later his eye was removed, sutured closed, and he spent a month and a half in an e-collar. I had to give him meds and feed him with a syringe a bunch of times during the day. Good thing I wasn't working at the time!

Anyways, after his surgery he lived about 2 years before passing away. It was very sad and he was my little lovey man.


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