Suggies At Home

I have decided to write this article base on a few disturbing news that I have heard from friends and from what I have experienced.

Now, it is natural to think that sugar gliders are like flying squirrels. They do look almost alike, and sugar gliders are, after all, wild animals. So is it proper to let them go into our jungles if we get bored of them? NOoooooooooooooo…. no no no…. Big No!

Why????

Because sugar gliders are not native to Malaysia, they are not our local fauna…. and tame sugar gliders will never be able to survive in our jungles. If wild gliders, they may endanger our local flora and fauna.

I went to a pet shop that I frequently go to, and I asked them about sugar gliders, like how is the demand. Obvious answer is that people want joeys, the younger the better because when they are underage, they look so babyish and vulnerable that we tend to feel like we should care for the like babies. Then he told me that some of his customers actually release their gliders once older coz they feel that keeping them captive is pitiful. I would like to smack those people to make them come to their senses. Gliders that have grown to trust humans and live in a cage with food laid out for it since it was a joey will never be able to survive in the wild. Yes, gliders enjoy freedom, like in our homes, and yes, they are attracted to trees, but they should never be released into our jungles. In our local jungles, there are many types of snakes, bird of prey, wild cats and civet cats that will eat gliders. Even a wild rat would eat a glider if given a chance.

I believe many people are practicing this because recently my uncle’s friend found a semi-tame glider in a park. Either it escaped from it’s cage or someone released it in the park. Poor thing was so hungry and tired.

Sugar gliders do not belong to our jungles. We may be near to Indonesia, but it is just not right to release gliders here. Our local flora and fauna may suffer. Gliders may eat the same things as our tree shrews and squirrels, so that may cause a problem or gliders may destroy some of our native plants that normally other animals do not bother. These are just possibilities, so best to take this into consideration.

So please, do not think that releasing a glider is the best thing to do. Once a glider is tame and kept in captivity, it should never be made to defend itself in our jungles. We should never endanger their lives. It is not cruel to keep gliders if you keep them properly, it is cruel to kick them out of your home by just simply letting them go into the wild. We should never assume that a captive bred glider would know how to survive. With predators and cars and dangerous things around, a captive bred glider will have little chance of staying alive. So think twice, keep your gliders properly or if you get tired of them, find them a new home with someone else. Do not take the easy way out.