Lots of people love keeping sugar gliders as pets, but some of them don’t really understand the care needs of sugar gliders all that well. These pets are becoming more popular but they still aren’t that common or well known when compared to mainstream pets such as cats or dogs.
This means that there is a lot of confusion surrounding how to take care of sugar gliders and what types of things can cause them to die.
If you woke up one day and discovered that one of your sugar gliders died, then you’re going to be understandably upset. This is a heartbreaking situation, but the cause of the sugar glider’s death could be related to its care.
Read on to learn about what can cause a sugar glider to die so that you can avoid this situation in the future.
1 – Improper Nutrition
One of the most common things that can cause a sugar glider to die is improper nutrition. Sugar gliders need to be getting the right amount of nutrients so that they can survive.
If you’re not feeding them often enough or if you’re not feeding them the right stuff, then you’re going to have a hard time meeting their nutrition needs.
It isn’t necessarily that hard to feed your sugar glider because they can eat many types of common fruits. They need a lot of calcium, and you can feed them things such as apple slices. However, you might not be able to meet the nutritional needs of your sugar glider by just giving them some fruit now and then because they also need protein.
The best thing that you can do when you want to take care of your sugar glider right is to give them specially formulated food from the pet store. There is a specific type of food that is made to give sugar gliders everything that they need to live a healthy life, and this is going to make your life easier as a pet owner.
It’s also good to note that the food from the pet store will help your sugar glider to stay as odorless as possible.
In the wild, sugar gliders eat lots of fruit but they also get protein from eating insects and stuff like that. Thankfully, the food that you buy from the store replicates the nutrients that they would be getting in the wild fantastically.
It isn’t necessary to track down insects for your sugar glider and you don’t have to spend lots of cash on exotic fruits either.
Pet owners who feed their sugar gliders animal proteins might notice that their sugar gliders will start to develop a distinct odor. This odor comes directly from eating the animal proteins and it can be avoided by just feeding the sugar gliders the food from the pet store.
If you want the best experience, then the food from the pet store is going to be your best bet when you want to meet the nutritional needs of your sugar glider.
2 – Getting Too Cold
Sugar gliders will like things to be a bit warmer than you might expect. Most people probably aren’t accidentally killing their sugar gliders due to not providing enough warmth, but it is a possibility.
These animals are used to being in hotter temperatures and might not feel as comfortable when you put your thermostat in the low seventies.
Granted, temperatures in the low seventies shouldn’t kill your sugar glider but could make them a bit less happy. This is why many people put some type of heat source inside of their sugar gliders’ cages.
This is a good way for the sugar gliders to be able to get warmth when they want it that won’t impact the temperature of your home.
Sugar gliders are really smart and they’re going to do what they need to do to survive. If your sugar glider feels cold, it will very likely try to crawl in your shirt or pocket if you have it out of the cage.
Humans have the same body temperature as sugar gliders (99 degrees Fahrenheit) and this makes it so that you can act as a heater for your animal companion.
It’s cool to know that sugar gliders are going to be smart enough to huddle up when they’re feeling cold, but what about a lone sugar glider? If it’s the dead of winter and you aren’t heating your home, then this is where you could encounter issues.
Be mindful of the heat needs of your sugar glider so that they can remain safe in your home.
3 – Illness
There are certain types of illness that will impact sugar gliders and you might wind up losing a pet due to illness over time. Some of these illnesses will occur due to nutritional problems or other factors.
For example, sugar gliders can develop a condition known as metabolic bone disease where the bones will become too soft when they aren’t getting enough calcium.
If a condition such as this isn’t taken care of, then it can lead to problems such as heart issues and seizures as well as broken bones. You can turn metabolic bone disease around by changing the diet of your sugar glider in many cases. This isn’t the only illness that they can get, though.
Sugar gliders can have issues with a condition known as “ick” that could kill them. It leads to malnourishment and dehydration when it isn’t treated right away. If you notice that your sugar glider is having issues with diarrhea, then you need to take action as soon as you can.
Some sugar gliders even have issues with skin infections due to aggressive grooming. Many note that sugar gliders can have mental health problems when they are not given enough attention.
This is more common when a sugar glider is being raised alone but it isn’t an incredibly common issue so long as the sugar glider receives regular attention.
When a sugar glider is having mental health issues, it might turn to self-mutilation, which can leave it with scratches and cuts. These cuts can get infected and could cause many health issues for your pet. If you don’t turn things around, then this is something that could kill your sugar glider.
Taking care of your sugar glider is often going to be about paying attention to what is going on to prevent any of these illnesses from progressing. If you’re a proactive pet owner, then it’s likely that you’ll notice issues very early on.
Be mindful of the potential for illnesses to become a problem in sugar gliders so that you can react accordingly.
Be Careful with Sugar Gliders
Be careful with sugar gliders and try to give extra attention to how you’re feeding them. You want to meet the nutritional needs of your sugar glider while also ensuring that they’re living a happy life. If you don’t do this, then it’s possible that you could encounter more problems.
Overall, caring for sugar gliders isn’t any more complicated than caring for pets such as dogs or cats. You just have to understand what to feed these animals and how important social interaction is for them.
Mental health might be boosted if you raise a pair of sugar gliders instead of just one but it’s up to you to decide which route to take.
Enjoy your sugar gliders and have fun caring for your pets. So long as you’re doing your best, it should be unlikely that you will have an unexpected death occur.
You now know more about what causes death in sugar gliders now and should be much more prepared.
I have a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When I’m not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, I’m at home with my wife, two daughters and a dog. Outside of family, I love grilling and barbequing on my Big Green Egg and working on projects around the house. Growing up, I had pet dogs, cats, deer, sugar gliders, chinchillas, a bird, chickens, fish, and a goat.