Suggies At Home

This is a question I often get when people inquire about gliders,

“Which is better? Male or female?”

Well, to me the difference is mainly physical.

The Male:

Most male animals have scent glands for marking territory and family members and to ward off other male animals of the same species. Sugar glider males have their scent glands located on their chest, head and anus. On the head, we normally call it a bald spot, mainly because it appears bald.

Here is a picture of a males head. On the chest, the scent gland appears to be a deep yellow spot, sometimes it would appear damp from musking.  The oils from the musk is slightly coloured, like a yellow tint. The male would normally rub his musk all around the cage to guard his territory, and rub his head and chest on his females and colony members to show that he is dominant.

The smell is noticeable but not overpowering if you keep the cage clean. If the musk bothers you, then the male can always be neutered. After neutering, the scent gland on the head would stop producing musk and the fur would grow back again.

Male glider sexually mature as soon as the bald spot is noticeable. This can be between 4 months to 12 months OOP. The urge to mate would depend on the glider itself. Now males may sometimes have this little pink worm-like thing poking out of it’s anus. Do not be alarm as that is the glider’s penis. It is bifurcated, meaning it is split in 2, looks something like a snake’s tongue.

One thing with males that are not neutered, it is hard for them to get along when they are sexually matured. Some may fight due to hormone levels. So to avoid all these problems, get your male neutered.

Why Neuter?

First it actually lessens the musky smell. Then with testosterone levels down, they can actually be more docile and more loving since intact males tend to musk a lot and also act aggressively to new smells. I have a male, Kimba and he is one dominant glider. He would not let any of the other females gliders eat first. If they go too near to any of the 4 food bowls, he would chase them away with crabbing, hisses and chattering. If I were to put another male glider in his territory, he may end up killing the other male. So if you are not breeding gliders, then get your male neutered for safety reasons.

The Female:

Females do have scent glands but it is located at the anus and pouch. Females do not have any bald spots of scent glands on the chest, which is why they have little to no odour, if compared to a male. The pouch is located around the tummy area, and it is a little slit. Now females sexually mature around 6 months to 12 months OOP, depending on living conditions and diet, some just become sexually mature early. The best age for females to breed is actually after 10 months old. Younger than that then the female would not be ready, she may cannibalise or reject her joeys and it would weaken her body too. So think carefully about having a male and female pair.

Females get along pretty well with both sexes. They are not as dominant as males so having 2 females is alright. Female gliders cannot be spayed, so to control breeding, just neuter the male or keep 2 females.

So which is better?

There is no difference in personality, every glider are different individuals. Males and females can be both calm and gentle, or hyper active and feisty. To me they are equally good as pets, just that you have to find out if the particular glider suits you or not.