Sugar Glider Facts for Kids
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- A sugar glider is a marsupial.
- A marsupial is a mammal that has a pouch to develop and carry their babies. A kangaroos and koalas are well known marsupials.
- The scientific name for a sugar glider is Petaurus breviceps which is Latin for short-headed rope dancer.
- Sugar gliders are arboreal, meaning they spend most of their time in trees.
- Sugar gliders are also nocturnal, meaning they are most active at night and sleep during the day.
- Sugar gliders live in the forests of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Tasmania.
- Sugar gliders can also live in the United States and other countries as exotic pets.
- They are sometimes compared to flying squirrels however, they are not related. Sugar gliders are in the Petauridae family, which consists of possum.
- Sugar gliders can glide from tree to tree using patagium membranes of loose skin that is attached from their finger and stretches to their toe on each side.
- Sugar gliders have been known to glide up to 150 ft.
- Sugar gliders are small animals. They are about 12-13 inches long from the tip of their nose to the end of their tails.
- They weigh on average between 3-5 ounces.
- Their bodies are between 5-6 inches long.
- They have thick fur that can be a range of colors between blue-grey, yellow and tan.
- Their tummies are an off which cream like color.
- They have a long black strip that runs from their nose to their back and have black rings around their eyes.
- Females have a pouch in the middle of their tummy to carry their babies.
- Baby sugar gliders develop in their mother’s pouches. Once they are fully developed they come out of the pouch.
- Baby sugar gliders are called joeys.
- Joeys are born without fur and with their eyes closed. Their eyes will start to open in 12-14 days.
- Joeys stay with their mothers for about 4 months old, they go out on their own.
- Sugar gliders are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals.
- They eat insects, small vertebrates, bird eggs, small lizards but prefer the sweet sugary taste of sap and nectar from eucalyptus, acacia and gum trees.
- Sugar gliders are social animals and live in groups called colonies.
- Colonies can have up to 7 adults and their young.
- Sugar gliders in a colony share a nest. Sharing a nest keeps them warm in colder months.
- Members of the colony work together to keep each other clean.
- Sugar glides use different sounds to communicate with each other. The sounds include squeaks, barking, and hissing sounds.
- Some predators to the sugar glider include: owls, large birds and some snakes.
