What Can My Sugar Glider's Behavior Tell Me About Him?

Is your sugar glider sleeping during the day and is awake during the night?

Is your sugar glider making barking sounds?

Is your sugar glider making hissing sounds?

Is your sugar glider making purring sounds?

Is your sugar glider trying to bite you (he may make a high-pitched noise just before he tries to bite you)?

Is your sugar glider scraping you with his teeth?

Is your sugar glider sneezing and wiping their hands on himself?

Is your sugar glider rubbing against various things?

Is your sugar glider climbing on and leaping from you?

Sugar gliders are nocturnal. This means they want to sleep all day and might be inclined to leap around their cage or enclosure at night. It's normal behavior for sugar gliders.

The sound of a barking glider is similar to a small puppy, or a small puppy who swallowed a squeeze toy. Expect to encounter some barking if your sugar glider is trying to communicate something with other sugar gliders or even you.

There are varying degrees of hissing: slow, drawn-out hissing; short hissing and even hissing intermixed with barking. The duration of the hiss, the circumstances that elicit a hiss, and other minute factors can make a hiss mean different things.

Just like a cat, a happy, relaxed sugar glider might be inclined to purr, but it’s not as loud as a cat’s purr.

An efficient and direct way for your sugar glider to express displeasure at something you did that he finds frightening or annoying is to bite. Making a high-pitched noise (crabbing) just before biting is a warning that he may be aggressive.

In the wild, sugar gliders scrape the trees to draw out the sap to eat. In the home setting, your legs and arms can resemble tree trunks so it's their instinct to try and do the same. Give your sugar glider an appropriate toy or treat to distract him and stop him from trying to scrape you.

Your sugar glider is spitting saliva in his hands to rub into his fur while he grooms himself.

A male sugar glider will be inclined to rub the scent glands on his head and chest against things, including you, to mark his territory. An un-neutered male will do a lot more marking than one that has been neutered.

In the wild, sugar gliders spend most of their time in trees, and their main form of transportation is leaping from tree to tree. In the home, your pet sugar glider might very well treat you like a tree.

Sugar gliders have an extreme fondness for sweet fruits and vegetables. In the wild, they consume nectar and pollen from sweet gum and eucalyptus tree blossoms. Don't be alarmed if your pet is seeking out a lot of sweets.