I will try my best to make this brief. I have previously owned sugar gliders, but had to give them to a friend when my husband got orders in Italy because I couldn't figure out how to get them to this country.

Fast forward two years, yesterday we were at a pet store here in Italy and saw a lone sugar glider in a display case, for sale. One of his eyes is milky, I'm not sure if he had a scratch that damaged his cornea and made him blind or if something else is going on. We took him home because otherwise he would have died there, alone. He's "6 months" old but I suspect he's closer to a year or two old, and he's shockingly docile considering the hell he's been through growing up alone in a tiny aquarium in a pet store.


There is an exotic vet here, it's the weekend so I don't know if he has any experience with sugar gliders, but has anyone had an eye issue that looked like this and if so, what did it end up being?

It is hard to tell from just a photo but it looks like he might have a scratch or scar on the cornea. A vet check up is a good idea. It may be an infection that could respond to antibiotics. Cloudy eyes can also be the result of either an inherited problem or from a long term poor diet.

Sounds like he is in good hands and will at least have much better life than he would with an inexperienced owner.

Keep us posted on his progress.

Will do...I read online that a diet high in fat can lead to similar looking eyes, and he lived on mealworms in the store so it's definitely plausible but if that's the case then I would expect the milkiness in both eyes, right?

I will definitely be calling the vet on Monday to either schedule an appointment with them or see if they have recommendations for another vet with applicable expertise. Here's to hoping whatever vet we end up with speaks English, since my italian is limited at best and the only sugar glider vocabulary I have is their italian name (petauro dello zucchero).

One of my gliders had an eye clouded over from a scratch. I was told to wipe the eye with gauze dipped in warm water and then apply a bit of triple antibiotic ointment. In two weeks it was back to normal. Good luck to you!

I've been applying neosporin for 2 days, I'm not too hopeful that it will help but it can't hurt to try. I also found out during his first nail trim today that Chalupa Batman is missing his left thumb :( poor baby.

Poor, poor baby! I'm glad he found you
Best of luck at the vet. I hope it clears up!

Depending on where you are in Italy, I know a breeder there who might be able to advise a vet familiar with gliders.

We're in Naples, I don't think they're very common in this area so I would love recommendations for a knowledgable vet