hye…my fren who bot a sg from u recommended me to deal with u…i’ve been reading alot on sg n hedgehog, n been considering on getting either one…..im not sure whether this info is relevant or not, but im staying in college…so would it be a suitable environment to place these sg? any info would be much appreciated…n if i have decided…..should i get 1 or a pair of joeys? my only concern is that…since these marsupials are nocturnal n social creature…..i would be gone for classes mostly during the day….would that b a major problem? thanx…sorry for asking too much…i just need to know so that i wouldnt neglect this cute animal

Hi Nurul

Well, first of all, send my regards to your friend. Thank you for visiting my blog too. Well, the answer is gonna be long so I though why not share it in a post.

Many students actually do own sugar gliders now. I have many friends who are still in college like me and we too only have time after classes. You have to make sure you can commit to the gliders coz when they are joeys, they require lots of attention, lots of bonding and handling time. You can shorten the bonding by always carrying a sleeping pouch with them all day, but that depends if you got classes that restricts noises or not.

About hostel, well, it also depends on the rules. Are you allowed to have pets in the hostel? Would anyone complain if they heard barking and crabbing from a glider? There are students who have been able to keep gliders in their hostels plainly because the rules are not strict and no one comes around to check their rooms. So be sure you can cope this.

Secondly, one of the things I would say glider owners should have in their homes would be a small fridge and a blender if possible. The fridge would keep the produce and food fresh for your glider and a blender comes in handy if you need to create some fruit blends for them.

About 1 or 2 joeys, it would be up to you. I normally start off with 1 joey first, then after a month or 2, I go on with the second joey because the time gap allows me to concentrate on bonding with the first joey. Gliders should be kept in a pair for life, so in the end you would definitely end up with 2 gliders. Anyway, it is up to you, 1 or 2 joeys but you must be able to give each joey individual attention. Bonding and handling is crucial at their young joey age as that is where they learn to trust you, to see you as their friend, care giver, security tree and their surrogate mom. If we do not give them enough bonding time, the gliders won’t be very tame, they will not trust us. To them, we are just food givers and a big annoying monster. I don’t really get much sleep or travel and have a good time with friends coz I got many gliders to handle, it’s just a big commitment for me. So you have to be ready to commit, to stay up late at night to handle them and to stay confident and not let a few crabs and bites or nips scare you. Remember, when we get a glider, we gotta be ready for a 10 to 15 year commitment.