Sugar Glider
The sugar glider is a member of the marsupial family, native to Australia. They are well known for their ability to glide through the air - which is what gives them their name.
About sugar gliders
| Common Name | Sugar Glider |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Petaurus breviceps |
| Native to | Australia, Indonesia & New Guinea - also introduced to Tasmania |
| Natural Habitat | Mostly forested areas, including rain forests |
| Diet | Omnivorous - eating insects, plant exudates (like gum and sap), flowers, pollen, seeds, eggs and fruit |
| Life Expectancy | 12-15 years |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern (3.1) |
About our sugar gliders
We have a group of over 20 sugar gliders. Our male sugar gliders have arrived in 2016, and came from another Askham Bryan College centre, and belonged to Tropical World in Leeds before that. Our female sugar gliders were part of the college collection before the wildlife park opened. We have bred quite a lot of sugar gliders recently!
How we care for our sugar gliders
Our sugar gliders are housed in a large enclosure in our nocturnal zone.
Their exhibit is kept on a reverse light cycle, with red lighting and a few white light 'moonlight' spot lights during the day, and full lighting overnight.
Their enclosure has artificial rockwork to create a complex and varied environment.
The sugar gliders are fed a variety of fruits, vegetables, honey, gum and invertebrates.
How you can help sugar gliders
Whilst wild sugar gliders are not threatened at present, they are an understudied species and more research is needed to identify subspecies and find out what affects wild populations.
If you're inspired to help sugar gliders in the wild we'd suggest studying to be able to research wild populations - you could become the next world expert in sugar gliders!