Gliders are very social and active animals. They need lots of play time in addition to time spent on
exercise wheels. This is important for their mental and physical health but also for the human-glider friendship. Here are some various tips, suggestions, and items that glider owners use.
Wheels
In addition to ordinary exercise wheels, which are important for fun and exercise, there are other types of wheels that encourage play. The
Custom Cruiser, which is a wheel that is purposefully off-set challenges gliders that are use to normal glider wheels. Another type of wheel is one that sits on it's side and spins like a merry-go-round. There are two community versions:
Treadmill and
Tilt-n-Whirl and a pet store one called the
flying saucer that I have not tested for safety. Keep in mind these wheels are good additions to Exercise Wheels but not substitutes.
Tents
A tent is another good thing to have. It's not a toy, but it allows you to play with your gliders without having to worry about them running off and getting in trouble. Tents are really good tools to help you bond with your gliders because there are no distractions in the tent. They are also easy to set up glider obstacle courses in. Popular choices include the
Genji and
Sansbug. These tents pop up, are mostly mesh for climbing, and fold up into small circles to be stashed away when not in use!
TOYS
As mentioned above, Sugar Gliders love to play and nothing excites them more than to be able to explore a new toy. Here are some examples of toys that are safe and fun for them:
Barrel Full of Monkeys - which can be purchased at stores like Walmart, Target or KMart and can be found in the game section. Just string the monkeys together and hang from the top of the cage. Sugar Gliders will climb them and tear down the chain. You will find monkeys thrown all over the cage and floor! You can also incorporate the monkeys into fleecy braids or plastic chains. Sugar Gliders love to play in the barrels, too. Eggful of Bunnies are available at Walmart & Michaels at Easter time and are basically the same - only bunnies instead of monkeys! And they are cheaper!
Toddler Toys Usually anything safe for a toddler will be ok for a sugar glider to play with. Examples are Fischer Price Noah's Ark, Fischer Price Barns, Fischer Price Tree House, Baby Links, Rattles, etc. Of course, you can purchase these new - but I would suggest going to yard sales, flea markets and thrift stores. They offer a wealth of suggie toys at prices that cant be beat!
Ropes and Feathers Having a few braided fleece ropes in their cage converts it to a mini jungle gym. Peacock feathers are good for supervised playing as well, they can be found in any craft store. Feather Teasers really bring out the wild side of gliders. Please note that regular rope is unsafe for gliders, as they can get caught in the threads be sure to use fleece when making ropes for your suggies!
No Sew Items There are several patterns for toys (and pouches) that are no sew for those of us who are sewing challenged. The majority of these are made from fleece and are so simple, they can be made in an hour or less. Check these sites for patterns:
http://www.suzsugargliders.com/nosewaccessories.htm
http://www.sugarglider.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=185064
Here are some sites where you can get fleece, plastic chains and other items to make your own toys:
http://www.rockportroost.com/partschainplastic.html
http://www.fleecelady.com/search.php?search=sale&x=25&y=12
http://www.cabirdnerds.com
Suggie Bay is a fantastic place to purchase handmade toys, garage sale toys and branches, etc. (they also have many other suggie related items)
http://suggiebay.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl?Lang=English
Check out the Sugarglider.com
suggested products page which links to some favorite items from the community and also has a convenient search box at the top to find any other Ebay items.