Sugar gliders are often heard making a sneezing sound. Many ask if their sugar glider might have a cold. The answer is probably not. Sugar glider will spit into their hands to groom themselves. They use their saliva, much like a cat. Most often, you hear the noise while they are still in their sleeping pouches. They tend to groom the most before going to sleep and after waking up. You may also hear them making this noise and then observe them rubbing their noses, heads, ears, etc… This is grooming and it is completely normal.

Here are a few videos of sugar gliders grooming. You may want to turn your volume up to see if this is the sound you are hearing.

If your sugar glider has symptoms in addition to the sneezing noise, such as runny/watery eyes and nose or discharge from the eyes and nose, drooping ears, purple nose and a popping sound when they breathe, this can be a sign of an illness or respiratory infection and they need to be seen by your vet. A vet should never prescribe medication based on the sneezing sound alone.