Here I will be posting funny and incredible stories about my own Sugar Gliders!  These stories will give you an idea of sugar glider behavior.  They are all very different in personality, all are individuals!

Arwen the sugar glider has shown me that sugar gliders are much smarter than the average cat or dog.  Sugar Glider Behavior is as individual as human behavior!

I routinely play with my sugar gliders with "chase and catch" toys such as feathers, leaves, palm leaves with a freeze dried cricket tied on at the end, and make the toy "run" around so the sugar gliders will chase them. One day I decided that if my cat loved chasing that red dot from a laser pointer, perhaps the sugar gliders would as well.

I figure if the average cat or dog will chase a laser for quite a while and will every day, then it would be an inexpensive and entertaining toy for a sugar glider! Imagine making your sugar gliders chase that dot up the curtains! What fun would that be?

It was fun for about 10 seconds! It took about 10 seconds for Gizmo and Arwen to realize that chasing that dot was silly as when they got to it and tried to grab it, there was nothing there! They would actually look sort off quizzically at their hands! I was quite impressed. But then the next second showed me just to what depths sugar glider intelligence may really go! Arwen looks at the dot as I move it and she than looks at my hand holding the pointer. Each time I move it she looks from the dot to the pointer. The THIRD time she looks at the dot, she jumps on my hand and proceeds to "kill" the very tip of the pointer where the dot comes out. This whole thing took about 10 seconds and only 2 times thinking about it while looking back and forth between the dot and the pointer and the third time realization occurred and instant decision on what to do!

I was amazed that they figured it all out so fast! Definitely sugar gliders are the smartest little people I know!

Gizmo and the Puzzle Toy

In an attempt to test out sugar glider intelligence a little bit more, I buy or make some puzzle type toys, such as the kind made for parrots.

I bought one toy that is a cylinder shape and the treat spot needs to be twisted to pull it out and get to the treat hidden inside. I put a yummy treat in there, walk out of the room, come back about 2 minutes later and the toy is open and Gizmo happily munching! I have sat and watched Gizmo and Arwen hold onto the toy with one hand and deftly open the toy with the other. I am constantly on the hunt for harder puzzle toys for them (if you know of any that would be sugar glider safe please let me know!)

Her first glide      Story added Jan. 30, 2010

This happened when Arwen was about 6 months OOP. She has only done small jumps so far. The longest being about 20-24 inches. her Mom....nothing. small hops only. and she does everything very carefully. everything! well Sunday Arwen, Gizmo (mom) and I are enjoying our new glider room. Arwen realizes if she climbs the pole jumps small jump to shelf, runs across the top and another small jump to the other shelf and gets on the uppermost point and looks at me...she can glide 6 feet to my face! she loved it so much she runs down to the floor, across to the pole, and does the route again....6 times! and each time she lands on my face or chest she stops a moment to LOOK at me as if to say "look what I did!" she was definitely doing it for fun! well...the whole time Gizmo is watching us. Just sitting on the shelf near the "launch pad" just watching. after Arwen's 6th time she stops and sits on my lap and now looks at her mom. Gizmo slowly goes to the "launch site" and puts her nose WAY out. but doesnt jump. so I move alittle closer...she lifts one foot and I move closer and tell her its ok...and she jumps! only about 2 feet but the first time for her too!. well she runs right to Arwen and the 2 of them look at me...very intently...and then proceed to nuzzle eachother with all sorts of happy sounds and then they both come to me and assume the "cricket position" (that's sitting on my chest and looking at me till I feed them one) no one could have seen that and not realized the dynamics of the relationship and events. Gizmo no longer looks at me disdainfully when I wake her up either!

I first told this story on Glider Central, but decided I needed to add it here as well.

So one morning I put Arwen up on her favorite "launching site" to do our "wait and jump" routine. When she got ready to jump, she slipped!

It was like I was watching in slow motion!

I was like "oh my GOD!" as I reached to catch her, but of course couldnt make it to her in time. It was only about 2 and a half feet to the shelf below her, but in seconds the thought was "DONT GET HURT!"

As I watch her fall, in slow motion mind you, she falls from the shelf head first, rolls in the air so she is upside down (her back to hit first) then amazed I watch as she TWISTS herself in midair to land with a soft plop on the shelf below. On her feet and looking at me like "whats wrong with YOU?" she then proceeds to jump to me and then to prove how acrobatic she is, she runs ALL over her room and jumps ALL over the place, landing always on me of course!

If you ever meet me in person, it wont take even a few minutes for you to learn that I love my gliders and love to tell stories about them.  I think this is a great way to share with you about the complexities of a sugar glider.  For such small people, they have a depth of personality.  Although, I will admit, that like humans, some are more complex than others.
Kizmit.  Sweet.  Friendly.  Playful.  But at times can be very aloof too.  He bites.  Sometimes for no apparent reason.  He has been known to come running out, take a nip, then run away.  He never bites hard anymore.  Just a touch with his teeth to remind you he still thinks he is the boss.
Frodo.  The movie star of the group and he knows it.  Friendly, but fiercely protective of his cage, but only to me (heavy sigh).  A “day walker”  couldn’t care what time of the day it is he is always ready to play and explore.  He is well bonded to my hubby but is fine with being handled by others (except me) and will readily jump to almost anyone (even me).
Gizmo.  Probably the sweetest and most mellow one in our group.  Well bonded to me, and prefers me, but will go visit other people and seems fine being handled by them, but is always happy to come back to me.  Always welcomes pets and treats as long as it is night time.  Do not bother her during the day.  She will crab and crab and crab.  Gizmo doesn’t like to jump from high places and takes her time about going anywhere.
Arwen.  MY girl.  Intelligent and inquisitive.  Flighty and moody.  Very brave if I am her landing pad.  She is always ready to snuggle with me.  But doesn’t like other people very much.  If you are in HER room she will come and visit with you.  But if out and about town or other areas of the house even, she will look at you with mistrust.
One evening while playing in the glider room with my 2 girls, something happened that shows in such a simple way the difference in personality.  The girls are on the floor fighting with a feather.  Our glider room is separated from the house by a “storm” door that is half screen.  My son in the next room gets up and walks in front of the door.  Gizmo turns one ear in that direction, looks for a second and goes back to killing the feather.  Arwen jumps around faces the door whole body on the alert, ears forward, then decides it is safer on my leg.
Or how about this one:  I drop the treat container and both girls run to it like they hit the motherload!  When they realize it is still closed, what do they do?  Arwen proceeds to “kill” it to try and open it.  Gizmo looks at it and looks at me and waits.  (Gizmo is a dog, while Arwen is a wolf LOL).
Never forget that they are individuals.  As individual as you and I!

I have no idea what to call this story:

“The Most Frightening Day of my Life”

“The Importance of Trust”

“Always break Nuts into Small Pieces”

“A PLASTIC tweezers is a must in a Sugar Glider First Aid Kit”

“Remain Calm in Crisis Situations”

“Why you should keep one Thumb Nail very Long”

“Why you need to understand sugar glider speak”

"Why You should Pray"
I usually break nuts into small pieces.  This morning during playtime I decided the sugar gliders needed pumpkin seeds as a treat.  As usual I broke them into small pieces. But I guess one piece was a smidge too big.  And you guessed it.  It caused a problem with my dear sweet Arwen.  
I give her the treat and she goes to her “snacking area” which is hanging upside down someplace in the glider playroom. Within a few seconds her “yummy” sounds change to another sound.  Not a crab, but a type of “yummy” sound but with a distinct feeling of distress mixed in.  I know immediately by the sound that something is very wrong.
This is where the trust comes in.  When I go to her she looks at me with the most pitiful “help me” look.  She is making a distinct vomiting motion and pawing at her mouth.  So I scoop her up and hold her with mouth pointing down and stroke her backwards (from back to front) to encourage her to get it out.  She cannot.   She is breathing ok so I know she is not choking.  But after what seemed like forever, all she did was manage to spit up fluids.  Anyone who says sugar gliders do not vomit, I wish I had recorded this for you.  They do vomit.  Now I know she needs more help.
This is where you remaining calm is important.  I know she is petrified at this point.  She is making more frantic sounds and is really pawing hard at her mouth, which is constantly working and she is making very hard vomiting moves.  I am ready to break down but I know I must remain calm.  To not only think clear to help her, but to help sooth her as well.  
I take her to the kitchen table where the light is better.  She is really freaking at this point but is also clutching me and still giving me that imploring look.  I set her on the table and muster up all the calmness and peace I can and slowly exhale thinking all the while she is in good hands.  Then I pray, “help her Lord, and help me to help her”.   I slowly turn her over so I can look in her mouth and there it is.  A piece of pumpkin seed just the right size to get stuck in the roof of her mouth between her teeth and slightly blocking the back of her mouth.  I use a finger nail to try to slide it sideways and it wont budge.
I know I need a second set of hands and scoop Arwen back to my chest and go wake up my son.  He is amazing.  He is so good with all animals and especially with gliders.  He has such gentle and firm hands and just instinctively knows what to do.  We go back to the kitchen and on the way I grab the cheap plastic tweezers I have always thought were useless.  Once again we put Arwen on her back and with Mike holding her I once again pull her mouth open.  I put my thumbnail in the way of her bottom teeth as she is still reflexively trying to bite the seed.  She chomps away at my thumb nail and I take the tweezers and put it at the back of the seed and flick it out of her mouth.  She immediately crawls into my hand and starts licking me all over.  I hug my son, thank the good Lord for His help, and its off to play.  
Of course during playtime I get another look at her.  Check her tongue for bite marks.  Give her a mealworm.  She is supper cuddly for a while.  Then its back to business jumping around.
It was then that I broke down and sobbed.