Sugar gliders are common in the coastal lowlands and inland eucalyptus and rainforests of northern and eastern Australia. If you spot a sugar glider, there will most likely be more nearby, as they live in family groups of up to seven adults with their young. Gliders spend their days in leafy nests in tree hollows.
At night, they munch on nectar, sap and insects from eucalyptus trees, gliding for up to 50 m to find their favourite foods. The glider's name came from its alleged sweet-tooth.
When not in use, it looks like a wavy line, stretching along their body. Males of this species exhibit bald spots on their heads and chests. Females are considerably smaller than males.
Sugar gliders occur in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and surrounding islands as well as northern and eastern parts of mainland Australia. In , they were introduced to Tasmania, where these animals are currently common and widespread in inland areas.
They are able to live in a wide variety of habitats such as plantations, rural gardens, roadside areas as well as forests such as rainforest, eucalypt forest and woodland. These nocturnal animals spend their daytime hours in hollows, which are lined with leaves. They transfer materials to these nests, coiled in their tails. They are highly social and active animals, forming groups, which typically consist of 7 or more adult individuals and their offspring.
In order to keep warm and conserve heat in cold weather, these animals may huddle together or, occasionally, enter short periods of torpor. Group members do not fight each other, but are known to display threatening behavior.
Each group of Sugar gliders has a dominant male, which is the leader of the group. In order to identify members of its group, he uses a communication system of scent-marking. The dominant male also scent-marks and fiercely defends the territory against intruders. Individuals within the group recognize each other by group scent. Outsiders, which do not belong to the group, are identified due to not sharing the group scent.
If such cases do occur, intruders are usually violently attacked by the group members. These omnivorous animals particularly favor sweet sap of the eucalyptus tree, supplementing their diet with pollen, nectar, insects and their larvae, arachnids as well as small vertebrates.
Sugar gliders are generally considered to be polygynous, which means that one male mates with multiple females. Populations in the northern parts of their range breed year-round. In the south, sugar gliders breed with a peak period, occurring from June to November, when insects, upon which they feed, are most abundant. Gestation period lasts for 16 days, yielding 1 -2 babies. Immediately after birth, offspring of these marsupials climb into the pouch of their mother, where they continue to grow for around 40 days.
Type: Mammals. Diet: Omnivore. Group Name: Colony. Size: 6. Weight: 4. Least concern. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Stable. Share Tweet Email. Go Further. Animals Climate change is shrinking many Amazonian birds. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth.
Even though habitat destruction poses a problem, their numbers are high and their populations are healthy. Sadly, some of their close cousins that live in the same regions do not fare as well. Sugar Gliders can make good pets, but you should always do your research before adding any pet to the family. Even though they are small, Sugars need plenty of room to climb and explore. Though they are about the same size and a hamster , their needs are relatively intensive.
As pets, these creatures need lots of climbing space, so large enclosures are a must. They are social creatures, so you should not keep one alone unless you plan on interacting with your pet multiple times per day. You must also feed them a special diet to ensure they receive enough calcium and other vitamins and minerals.
This species is nocturnal, and most active at night. Though they spend their days sleeping, they are incredibly agile and active overnight. They live in groups, and each group protects a small territory from other groups.
They use saliva, urine, and gland secretions to mark their territories.
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