Monthly Archives: May 2008

Sugar Glider Talk – 31/05/08

Whoa, today actually went by pretty well. I was there at about 12.30pm and had a look around, got some sugar apples, ciku and blueberries when I was browsing the produce section of Cold Storage of Ikano.

Met up with quite a number of LowYat.Net members too who were very helpful at helping me out during the talk and also giving me support. Thank you so much guys.

Anyway, Petster’s 2nd Bite event wasn’t much of a crowd puller. The talk was suppose to start at 2pm but we had to start later, about 30 minutes later. Why? There was just too little people. So a group of us decided to visit the pet shop on the 2nd floor of Ikano to see if we can pull some people to the talk. Hahaha, I guess we made a few people stare at us since we walked in a group, with our gliders sitting on our shoulders. We did manage to get a few to join our talk but we were very disappointed to see that the shop had underage joeys, huddling over a half eaten apple. The joeys were wet, scruffy and obviously malnourished. With a bright light just a few inches from them, I bet their eyes were burning. Poor babies.

Ok, back to the talk. I definitely had fun. I started off very shaky, well, that’s normal I guess but soon I got the crowd to participate a little. Overall, it went pretty well. We manage to pass around caresheets in Malay, Chinese and English. The LowYat.Net members did a good job explaining to people about their gliders when they went around to talk individually. We did some glider toss with some random people, a bit of showing off on the rope swing and let people handle our gliders. Pretty good today.

I’m quite happy with how it went. When I started the talk, there were just a few people but thank goodness more showed up and I didn’t get too uncomfortable. We were disappointed that there was no projector, so I could not show my slides that I had prepared the night before. Reanne helped me out with a few small topics.

I hope tomorrow would be better.

For the 1st of June talk, it would be at 4pm. Come and join us at the open area just next to ACE hardware. Look out for Petster Magazine’s banner.

Sugar Glider sounds

I bet many would be interested to know what sounds do sugar gliders make and what they may mean. I have come across startled people when they hear a sugar glider crab for the first time. It was funny to see their expressions. Some would be quite shock, asking how on earth can such a small creature make such a loud and disturbing sound. Some people panic and think it’s crying in pain. I was in a taxi once and the driver thought I was carrying a snake! Hahaha…. he may have thought that the crabbing was a rattle snake. Now that just made me laughed.

Gliders are vocal pets so don’t think that these cute sleeping beauties of the day cannot be vocal. They make all sorts till people are quite puzzled with what they mean. Here are some common sounds that you would normally hear from a glider.

Crabbing : Now this sounds like a chain saw. One of my friends told me that it sounded something like an old car engine trying to get started. This is the loudest of all their sounds and can appear scary to new sugar glider owners. Basically crabbing usually means that they feel uneasy or uncomfortable, threatened, frightened or provoked.. It is normal to hear this sound on the 1st day of getting a joey/glider. They just feel so scared that the only way they protect themselves if they feel stressed is by crabbing and biting and jumping away. Once a joey or glider is used to you being around them, the crabbing would lessen.

Barking : This is one of the nicest sounds from gliders. It’s barking. It really does sound like a very young puppy giving short barks. Cute thing to hear. Now gliders bark for a few reasons. One is to communicate to one another, sometimes if something new appears unusually odd to a glider, it would bark to alert one another about it. Some gliders would also bark to call their human owners. Now barking usually happens at night, sometimes at during those wee hours in the morning.

Hissing : It is a sharp hissing tone. Adults do make this sound but usually when they are angry or in distress. Joeys would often make when they are hungry. Some gliders hiss while going to the toilet, it can be a sign that your glider is having constipation or has urinary tract infection.

Chattering : This sound is like a soft sound but with a fast beat. It sounds like it is talking. Normally gliders would make this sound when they are very excited. My Kimba would always chatter to me during his feeding times. It’s like a fast but soft tak-tak-tak sound…

Crying : A combination of a crab and hiss, this is often heard from young joeys that have been separated from their mom or gliders who have been separated from their partners or colony.

Chirp : This is one of my favourite sounds. Hard to explain how it sounds like but this can be heard when you offer your glider it’s favourite food. It can be GliderSLURP or mealworms or dried fruit treats. A happy sound.

There is also purring, which I have never heard before, maybe I have bad hearing hahaha. It is hard to listen to this sound unless you are in a very quiet room and you listen closely. It should sound like a little kitten’s purr. This often means a glider is content.

Mother gliders sing to their joeys. I may have missed on these sounds as I am not always by their side, but it has different pitches, making it rhythmic.

For more information on sugar glider sounds, visit:

Bourbon’s Sound Page – it has all the sounds available for you to listen

Glider Anonymous’s sound article

Ruth’s Sound page

2 wonderful surprises today!

First of all I would like to say that I am quite happy that my blog is getting some 60 views and readers. Thanks to all.

Ok, today I checked on my pets and found Kiah, my adult female glider has 1 joey in pouch. Very small little bump that can hardly be seen but as I run my finger around the outside of her pouch, gently of course, I could feel a little ball, similar size to a tictac candy. Kiah is very laid back and a calm glider so that is why I could do it. Try doing it to an active and jumpy glider and there is a risk of harming the joey. We should never try to force open a glider’s pouch that has joeys because the joeys have already attached themselves to a teat/nipple. If we disturb the joeys by trying to check on them while still in the pouch, there is a risk of them detaching from the teat, causing them to die from starvation. Joeys that are still in pouch, especially in the early stage of development cannot open their mouths wide enough to reattach to the teat/nipple for the mother glider’s teat normally swells up on the first day the joeys nurse.

Anyway, the other nice news is that my cockatiel’s egg hatched! I know what you guys are thinking, this has nothing to do with gliders hahahaha,…. I agree with that but it is just such nice news that I though I should share.

Here is a photo of Kiah.

Little Ringo Popped Out!

This little cutie came Out Of Pouch(OOP) on the 22nd of May 2008. I should have mentioned this earlier, but it slipped my mind. Well, let me introduce Ringo, a little boy suggie joey that is now 7 days OOP. Look at the size of this little cutie. I named him Ringo cause his tail is curly like rings. Well, I had Twister in mind but Ringo somehow suits him for now.

He comes from my adopted breeding pair, Naya and Pama. I will formally introduce my sugar gliders in their very own page once I get all of their latest pictures. Now, Ringo may look comfortable on my finger but in reality, he actually still needs his mom.

Joeys should never be separated from their mother at this age. Isn’t it a pity that many Malaysian sugar glider suppliers are separating them at this age to make money? Cruel right? Ringo still needs his mother’s milk, warmth, care and also nurturing. Parent gliders would teach sugar glider behaviour to their young, such as gliding, eating insects and so on. Both parents play important roles. I saw this the other day as I was giving my gliders their night time meal. Pama, the father glider would take a piece of fruit from the bowl and hop away but where does he bring it to? Well, Pama brings it straight to Naya, the mother glider that is inside the sleeping pouch. Why is she in the sleeping pouch? Naya was busily feeding and grooming Ringo, so Pama became the food provider. It was lovely to see that. So sweet…. sigh….

Joeys would open their eyes around 2 weeks OOP. They would be very curious at the age of 4 weeks OOP and start trying solid food. At 8 weeks old, they are fully independent from their mother.

Ringo here is one of my joeys for sale. If you are interested in him, you can place a reservation for him.

Can suggies live with other pets?

This is one question that I often see popping up here and there by people who are interested in getting a sugar glider. Well, if you were to put them in the same cage then of course it is a BIG NO!

Sugar gliders can easily adapt to sounds, like dog barks, cat meows, maybe the sound of your stereo or TV, it just takes a bit of time. My suggies are immune to dog barks. They can sleep through loud noises at any time of the day. I do have dogs at home, 1 labrador, 1 boxer and 1 cavalier king charles spaniel.

A glider needs to be safely in a cage of it’s own if you have other pets at home. Dogs, well, they are more likely to try and scratch out the tasty food droppings that’s left on the cage pan than to eat your gliders but don’t take it for granted that you can leave your pet glider safely with your dog without any supervision. Come dogs like terriers were bred to chase rats and other rodents, so gliders do fit the bill since they LOOK like a rodent. My boxer won’t just chase, he would in fact try and kill any rodent, so when I take my gliders out, I have to be extra careful.

Cats on the other hand are professionals at trying to get hold of small animals. Some cats are able to knock over cages, getting their paws through the cage bars and even opening the cage. Yes, my cat did that, he opened my glider’s cage and killed my 1st male glider, Jarrah(RIP). Today I am extra careful, using wire and cable ties to fasten all cage doors securely. I use small little locks and snap keychains to lock the cage doors that I normally use.

So how about a hamster with a glider? Well, a hamster can either hurt a glider, or the glider hurt the hamster. I have notice that some adult gliders do readily eat pinkies if they are offered one so small or young hamsters can be harmed if an adult glider that gets near it. I got this glider that is quite friendly with hamsters but this is because I introduced small animals to my glider when she was a joey. This made her friendly towards hamsters. You can do this but I think it is better not to do such odd introductions at all just to be safe. Some hamsters and rabbits can be aggressive and they may attack a glider.

How about fishes? I think it is more likely for the glider to end up swimming in the aquarium than to get attacked by fishes, unless the fish is an arapaima or some large mammal eating fish. Do be aware that gliders are not swimmers, so some may drown in water that is too deep for them.

Parrots are a no no since they have curved strong beaks that can do a lot of damage. Parrots are able to crack open hard nuts, so imagine what it would do to a glider…. wow… horrible to think about it….

Well, just for fun, here are 2 pictures of my old sugar glider with my dog and hamster. Don’t try this at home if you have not trained your glider or your pet to accept each other.

My gliders make me go shopping.

My parents always wonder why I have this sudden urge to buy more fruits and veggies…. Well, obvious reasons rite? Keeping sugar gliders is not cheap and easy as I have to hunt for sweet and tasty fruits for my darlings. The funny part is that I don’t eat any of the fruits I buy at all. Crazy crazy, everything goes to my 7 lil suggies.

According to Sugar Glider University, sugar gliders need 75% protein and 25% fruits and veggies, while an article written by Caroline MacPherson mentions that sugar gliders should have a diet of 75% of fruits and veggies, 25% protein. For me, to make me less worried about their nutrition, I feed 60% fruits and 40% protein. This works well for me. Protein comes from cooked chicken meat without any seasonings, my GliderSLURP which contains chicken and eggs, holistic dog kibble and mealworms. My gliders do put on weight and have not shown any signs of malnutrition.

Anyway, back to my list. Yes, I do have a list of fruits that I usually buy from the fruit seller. Sometimes it depends on what is in season. Veggies are abundant at home since my mom purchases fresh kangkong (water morning glory), sawi (choy sum/mustard green), carrots, sweet potato leaves and sweet peas in the pod. Some Malaysian sugar glider keepers find it hard to follow what oversea keepers feed. Well, Malaysia is blessed with many local fruits that are suitable for sugar gliders.

Fruits that are readily available in most fruit stalls and supermarkets in KL:

Apple, Orange, Pear, Papaya, local and Thai Mango, Honeydew, Sun Melon (local rock melon), Cherry Tomatoes, Guava, Water Chestnuts, Plum, local Strawberries, Kiwi, Dragon Fruit, Watermelon

Fruits that is uncommon or seasonal:

Cherries, Sugar/Custard Apple, Peach, Nectarine, Blueberries, Rambutan, Mangosteen, Honey Jambu Air (rose/water apple), Durian, Ciku

I may have missed out on certain fruits but the fruits that I have listed are fruits that I would buy for them when they are available. I know all my gliders LOVE rambutan and cherries, sweet sweet sweetness.

I normally get about 3 to 4 types of fruits for my gliders each day. Like today, I just bought mango, honeydew, sun melon and watermelon. Tomorrow they will have a fruit salad of apple, orange, papaya and carrots.

Veggies should be fed as it contains minerals and vitamins that cannot be found in fruits. My suggies do not take veggies just like that. I have to blend into a puree and mix with a bit of yogurt and fresh fruits, making it slightly sweet and palatable. My suggies do enjoy carrots and French bean that are chopped up into 1cm cubes, which is wonderful for them. I get so happy seeing them eat their fill.

I will do a page on “sugar glider diet and nutrition” later when I have gathered enough research from different websites. Keep your eyes open for it!

Sugar Glider Talk at Petster’s Event

Come and drop by this weekend (31/05 and 01/06) for a sugar glider talk and also a mini gathering with sugar glider owners.

The talk on both days would be touching the same topics but the time for the talks would be different. Saturday’s talk would start around 2pm, and my partner for the day is Reanne while Sunday’s talk would start around 4pm, with KP as the second speaker.

Hope to see you guys there. We will touch on basic info on sugar gliders, suitable diets that suits Malaysian keepers, cages and accessories, introducing our own sugar gliders for a handling session as well as a Q&A session.

Venue: Ikano Power Center

Petster Magazine’s 2nd Bite event, look out for their banner. Location of the event is just next to ACE hardware.

Time: 11am to 7pm

Would you want my name card?

Well, today is the 27th of May…. ok, I guess I was slacking off with this blog. It’s time for me to add some stuff for now.

ON the 31st May and 1st of June 2008, there will be a pet event. I was invited to give a talk on sugar glider care. Wow, I feel nervous just thinking about it but I hope I won’t get anything wrong. Will be getting a crowd from lowyat.net forum and also help from 2 other senior sugar glider keepers. We are hoping to educate the public on sugar gliders as there have been many pet shops around Malaysia that are selling terribly underage joeys to new owners. Many newbies who have bought these cute but young joeys end up experiencing sick and dying joeys. Pitiful as some of them only lived for a day to 3 weeks. Lucky ones manage to keep them alive for less than a year. The main problem that we are seeing here is the lack of information and research, as well as proper nutrition. I will touch on nutrition later on.

Like my title, I was wondering if people would accept my name card… I remember going to the Pet World 2008 event at MidValley MegaMall with my gliders. A few of us glider keepers brought our lil suggies to have a small get-together. By just standing in a small little group, we attracted many visitors. They would stop, ask us all sort of questions about gliders as well as even asking us if they are for sale. We had to remind them that “They are our pets!”. We had a splendid time educating some people and making new friends but I remembered that I kept getting this question, “Do you have a name card?”, then I would stare at them back with a little sigh and said no. Then I could see the disappointment in their faces.

So, this time, I thought, why not have a name card? I’m still in the midst of designing it but I think it turned out pretty ok. I still think I should minimize the words and give more space to the design but it was hard. Hope to see some comments here.

The first step

I have never started a blog before so this is my first attempt. What made me thought about having a blog is that it would be a good way to share with people about sugar gliders. In Malaysia, it is hard to find proper ethical sugar glider breeders as many are just doing it for money. Yes, those are the suppliers and commercial breeders that I am talking about, selling at cheap prices. The main problem here is that there are many newbies that easily fall for such a cute mammal, and they buy without knowing about glider care, nor are they aware of the age and size a joey should be when it is weaned from it’s mom.

Anyway, to start this of, I have 7 sugar gliders living with me. Yes, you read it correctly, I have 7 for now and no, they did not come about from a breeding of 1 pair. I bought 4 while 3 were given to me. They are my pets and also my foundation breeders. Since there are not many sincere breeders around, I decided to concentrate on glider care to guide others and also to provide healthy and quality joeys for new glider owners.

Living with sugar gliders is quite a challenge as I have to stay up late to play with them and feed them. I sacrifice my sleep for them LOL. Crazy crazy…. It is a joy to have them as they are so different from the typical pet hamster or gerbil. Firstly, they are sociable, and very smart, almost like a little puppy. Of course these animals do not obey and learn tricks like dogs, they have a mind of their own, like toddlers. So to those who are reading this and are thinking of having gliders, think carefully, don’t get a glider on impulse. They require a varied diet, constant bonding and socializing as well as live up to 10 years. A big commitment here.

I hope this blog would be useful as I would update it with problems I face, on glider health, diet, cage accessories, basic care and my experience.