Sugar glider craze...pets are NOT toys!

Jellicat

The Metro, the Sun and the Daily Mail have all been printing articles on the latest "must have" pet. They have big beady black eyes, and they can glide!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1676031.ece

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1054594/Hello-possums-The-new-pet-thats-simply-flying-shelves.html

I just wanted to let the animal lovers on this forum know. Sugar gliders might look cute but they are INCREDIBLY difficult to care for. I have a friend with a pair, and they clearly love her and are very tightly bonded to her, but they need hours of attention, a well-thought out and time-consuming diet and a very large cage. They are also very messy and have very painful bites. They have been kept in the UK for a while now but have recently seen the demand for them surge. Other upsetting stories about "fad" pets include...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7060000/newsid_7061700/7061798.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4220496.ece

I'm sure the irony of parents buying clownfish for their children when the film was about being a free, wild clownfish, will not be lost on moneysavers!

The last thing rescues need is more rats and exotic creatures like sugar gliders to look after. If you hear anyone talking about how "awesome" these little creatures are or parents talking about buying rats, gliders, clownfish or other "cool" pets for their kids, please inform them of the downsides! It's bad enough finding shelter dogs a home without having to worry about finding homes for animals with very specific needs (the rat nonwithstanding, all they need is a big cage, a nice diet and toys and lots of cuddles but they are still not toys).

greenmoneysaver_2

Have seen a few of these too and it worried me, as they are not bred in captivity anywhere else it would seem and it is illegal to remove them from the wild, so where have they come from???

Another of the miracles of animal smuggling!

Jellicat

They are bred in captivity, there are quite a few specialist breeders breeding them, however they are difficult to breed so demand seems to outstrip supply. Not sure how they originally got into the country though as Australia bans the export of it's native wildlife...however probably sugar gliders have been imported before that ban? They have been on the go awhile, its just that they are getting the attention now.

orlao

In the Mail article there is a reference to a british breeder.....

TBH when I read about them my first thought was while they look great they'd be a nightmare to care for properly!

greenmoneysaver_2

I am aware people are "breeders" but the original gene pool must be tiny as they have been smuggled out, the Oz laws have been in place for many years.

Have seen alot with dentition issues, often a sign of inbreeding, and most of these people have bought from the small ads and been given little advice!

Are very cute, and its a shame as they make "perfect" pets for todays lifestyle, quiet and you can shut them in a cage when you don't want them. . .

Jellicat

There are sugar gliders imported from other places too, captives from the US and Europe. I doubt the gene pool is that small...especially when compared to pedigree dogs! You can also export from Australia with a permit, and I dont believe the islands surrounding Oz itsself have the same laws, but will have much of the same wildlife. I know this is usually the case with frilled dragon lizards, many legal ones are exported off of mainland Oz.

Also...I know you're being sarcastic, but sugar gliders are not the kind of thing you'll shove in a cage and forget. They are extremely noisy, they bark and make other noises and make a racket in their cages at night...they also create a hell of a mess outside the cage, they spit food everywhere and manage to poo outside the cage. That is why these articles will be problematic...people will buy and then get rid of them cos they bite or make a mess on the carpet.

Orlao, yeah that breeder is on another forum I frequent, kicking herself. She was misquoted in the article and never said ANYTHING about sugar gliders being the latest pet...in fact she was stressing the downsides. The sodding journalist basically lied and made up a load of quotes about her, and now she feels terrible .

Gliders are lovely, my friend's are amazing little creatures, but yes they are extremely hard to care for!

Feline2001

Jellicat wrote: »

(the rat nonwithstanding, all they need is a big cage, a nice diet and toys and lots of cuddles but they are still not toys).

whilst I TOTALLY agree with what you say - and thank you for writing such a well thought out piece - I have to totally disagree with this last sentence!

Being a rat keeper myself - I know that they neeed soo much more than what you have said!

The diet isn't just as easy as picking rat food up from a pet shop to be 'nice' they need daily freshfood and a healthy balanced diet - a lot of people make their own mix.

While they do need lots of cuddles - they also need somewhere they can run around, and play.

They are very prone to tumours and resp dieseases - so need to have money spent on them at vets, and a good knowledgeable vet to take care of them.

Also - the most important 'need' is other rat company - they are sociable animals and need to have some of their own kind to play around with!

However, for all that they need they give back 100X they are such amazing pets!

Jellicat

I was referring to the fact that compared to the other animals rats care is pretty simple, I have four myself and find them extremely low maintenance apart from the attention they need. Aside from food and space and toys (and yes rat companionship) all they need is time out of their cage and interaction...that is a far cry from the complicated protein skimmers, salt mixes and knowledge of water chemistry that clownfish need, and the extremely complex diet and caging and bonding requirements of a sugar glider.

sodamnfunky

ALL animals need proper care and attention, no matter what it is.. As a fishkeeper, it really does annoy me when people have such tiny tanks with huge fish, that have no chance of a decent life, or fish that need brackish water in freshwater.

I have seen rats kept in cages, with almost an inch of mess, to be told well its a rat they are dirty, when you explain to them that actually they are one of the cleanest rodents, they looked at me as if I was from anther planet.

I know it could never happen, but it would be nice if people were inspected before and during keeping a pet.

sammy_kaye18

Oh I am not keen on that as a pet - it would scare me sh@tless to see that flyign at me across the room :eek:

foxxymynx

They look cute and I'd love to see one and stuff, but I wouldn't want one. Far too much work and if they can glide 200ft in seconds, surely it's cruel to keep them locked up?