Well, to all who know me I used to visit this site and others alot more than I do now, sorry to say. I basically came to discover sugar gliders in a commercial shown on TV of the local pet shop. They advertised snakes and hedgehogs then they had this little cute furry thing jumping onto a young girls shirt. They looked pretty interesting and I have never seen one before.
I have had pets when I was younger at home with decent success. I had a 30gallon fish aquarium, a cat and a dog. All went good except the dog which (at that time) we didn't have enough time to spend with it so we gave it back to the breeder. Sad to say a year later it died of cancer. But that was then and now I am living by myself in Texas and I needed some company. Thats why I decided to get a pet in the first place.
Well, as most of the people that have been on here for a long time know, I had been researching every day for about seven months before I got my two cuties. I was on everynight for about 3 hours looking at sites, talking to people and trying to find out more about these pets since they are a pretty big investment. Well, trust me there is alot of information out there and some of it contradicts with other information. I have learned to trust some of the popular websites more than I would any book. McPherson's book is the only one I really looked at though and that is relatively correct.
I bought my gliders from a breeder which I feel is the correct thing to do. I feel for the ones in the pet shops knowing that they preobably have a bad attitude since everyone always reaches in and grabs them and stuff. I drove 5 1/2 hours (each way) to pick up my guys even though they had some down the road in a pet shop for even 10 dollars less. They instantly jumped on my back and seemed comfortable falling asleep almost right on my back. They crabbed very little and were really pretty sweet. The first night at home I was awakened at about 3 in the morning to some barking even. Was a neat sound.
Before i got them I decided to build a cage myself for them since I could make a huge cage for a real good price. I ordered wire from Klubertanz and made a 6 foot tall cage relatively easily. I also had ordered pouches from Betsy's Custom Creations to put in their cage along with a wodent wheel. Radar and Skye love playing in thier cage. The wodent wheel is their favorite btu they do climb on the various perches that I put in their made of dowels from the hardware store. They also LOVE sleeping in their pouches.
These little ones are a handful to look after though. I have to cut up food and stuff every night, no matter what I have to do or how tired or sick I may feel. They also have to play out of their cage for awhile too. Trust me, on a night where you have the flu or something this is very hard. I am also lucky that I am really not big on the social scene either. I go out some but am not a regular "party goer".
Let's see what else. Oh gliderproofing. I found that my bedroom and bathroom are the best areas to let them go. I have plugged the extra outlets with baby covers so they won't ever get shocked. Trust me they get into all small spaces!!! I have lost mine under a kitchen counter once and it was a pain to get her out. I was also worried that their may be an old box of rat poision or something under there from the earlier tenant. Thank goodness their wasn't. Another space I lost them before was the computer printer. That was a hard place to get them out of. I am also in the good habit of putting the toilet seat down every time!! (ladies hahaha). They are just so fast and small that they can get anywhere.
I just am doing this to help explain a bit to newcomers the work involved in taking care of these cute little creatures. They are alot of work, but they be wonderful pets. Like I said. I have wanted gliders for a year now. I have only had my own for four months now. Research does pay off to. You know what to do in many situations that come up, and they do come up. It really pays to be prepared too. Can make life a whole lot stressful for you too.
Prices for me.
gliders 150.00 each 300.00
cage I made 120.00 120.00
glider pouches ~20.00
toys+perches ~50.00
glider food (monthly) ~30.00 really depends on what
fruits you buy. Can be
much more.
520.00
There are alot I missed I am sure. Well the trip probably ran about 80 bucks too to get them. There are alot of hidden expenses too. Also vet visits add up too. Well hope this just gives everyone something to think about before jumping right in. If you have to still ask where do you get them and what do they eat and questions like that, please do MORE research!!!
Tim K.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Good reading. NEW and PERSPECTIVE owners please read collette 04:46:58 1/21/100 (0)