Thanks for all the comments, everybody!
As for what they are like as pets... oh man, I could write a book. LOL! I'll do my best to summarize.
As you can tell by my pics, they are a caged pet, not free range. Of course, you can get them out to play with them. They will bond with their owners, though there is a process in order to fully earn their trust. They will take treats from your hand, share their toys with you, and invent silly games to play with you. Curious does not even begin to describe them, it's on the next level from that. You have to keep an eye out that they don't get into trouble because they will investigate EVERYTHING. Really, they can get anywhere and fit in anything, and they will do just that if given the opportunity.
Sugar gliders are nocturnal. They sleep in pouches during the day and wake up to play in the evening. They are relatively quiet, though they do have a variety of vocalizations like barking, hissing, and crabbing. Crabbing is their only real defense mechanism, and it's LOUD. It sounds like jamming a knitting needle into an electric pencil sharpener. Basically, when frightened, they try to sound bigger than they are. The good news is that once they are bonded to you, they don't make that noise anymore. LOL! In fact, if they've bonded correctly, they will view you as their "safe place" and will run to YOU if they are startled.
That said, even though they bond and will stay close to you, they really are not trainable. They never really learn their own names, you can't teach them litter box habits, and they definitely don't have the attention span to learn tricks.
That's not to say they aren't smart, because they are very, very clever. They just aren't motivated to learn things FOR YOU. LOL!
They are colony animals. They NEED to at least be in pairs. I cannot emphasize this enough. Single sugar gliders are often sickly or die. They NEED companionship They bond so strongly that it is not uncommon for sugar gliders to die from depression if they lose a cagemate, or are rehomed to new owners. (We nearly lost Teller this way when his original partner, Penn, died of a freak illness three years ago.)
They need some very specific equipment. For example, they need a spacious cage in order to exercise their jumping and gliding, BUT the bar spacing must be 1/2" or less or they can squeeze out. They need lots of toys to be adequately stimulated. They need to eat fresh fruits/veggies/protein every day. This is not an animal that you can just pour kibble into a bowl and expect them to thrive; their nutritional needs are very delicate. (You will find that diet is the number one thing that sugar glider owners argue about. There are two major approved diet plans, and two other supplemental plans and people will fight tooth and nail over which is the best.)
On the other side, there are very specific things that must be avoided at all cost. Catnip is toxic to them, so cat toys are off limits. (We avoid all toys that are marketed for cats, because often they will be sprayed with catnip even if the label doesn't say so. Zinc (metal) is toxic to them, so you have to be careful that any toys with metal parts are made with nickel. PVC cage coatings are toxic to them (powder-coated cages are the only safe kind). Fleece is the only safe fabric because the fibers are small enough that they won't get tangled and caught in it. There are more, but those are the main things.
In short, there is A LOT of research that needs to be done before bringing home a sugar glider. I've really only scratched the surface. LOL! When it all comes down to it, they are truly exotic pets and have some requirements that simply are not naturally occurring. It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but after the initial setup and finding all the right equipment, the rest just falls into place.
I highly recommend them as pets. If you're doing things right, they are 100% worth it and then some. I don't mean to scare people way with all the things that could go wrong, but I do feel obligated to warn people. These animals are not as hardy as, say, a hamster or a rat. They require a lot more time and energy, they really do, but as I said before, if you are willing to invest all of that, you will be rewarded more than you could imagine.
Okay, so I wrote a book anyways. LOL! I hope that does help people, though!
