breeding gliders

Okay so ive got these gliders i really want to breed. i just think little joeys are the CUTEST thing ever! and i wanna be a suggie grandma.

if i just put them together and let them do their thing is that enough ?

also i dont really want to keep the male because hes not the nicest so can i just let them breed and then give him away ?

and just a bit about the gliders, they are rescues she is just under a year, he is about 10 months. i just reciently got them both seperately but they are so cute.

is there anything else about sugar glider breeding that i should know ?

There's a lot you should know before venturing into breeding.

First off you need to do a 30 day quarantine before introducing them, but if you really don't want to keep the male it's not a good idea to introduce them.

There's no guarantee that they will get along, and if they fight someone could get hurt. If they do get along and bond, then breed.... the males play a big part in helping care for the joey(s) so you can't just seperate them.

Then there's the whole issue of all the things that could go wrong, especially with a young, inexperienced female. If she is overwhelmed she can cannabalize her joey. Are you prepared for that? Are you prepared for dealing with a rejected joey?

Do you have a vet lined up and money set aside to treat any wounds the female may get when mating? I've seen photos of the back of a female gliders neck being ripped wide open by a male who was attempting to mate with her.

Anyway, those are just a few of the things you should consider. I'd really suggest reading up or even reading posts on GC & GG about breeding that can give you some insight and help you make the best decision. (I'm not excluding this forum but it's so new there really aren't any posts of that nature for you to look into.)

There is so much to learn and so many costs too!

Jazz gave great advice!

So summery of costs

~ $400 Initial Vet Exams of Both Gliders

~ $400 Vet exam after the 30 days. (Greats reasons for this that are worth looking into)

~ $100 For emergency Joey Kit to be ready if something should happen and you need to care for a Joey before you can get to a vet.

~ $500 At least in a pet savings account for the care of the Joeys and to get males neutered so they do not inbreed with Mom and sisters as it sounds like you want a family colony.



A few points to consider:

- Gliders bond to one another and it would be harmful to put a male and female together and then split them up.

- Gliders need males to help raise the Joeys!

- Not recommended to Breed a glider under a year old.

- Gliders without lineage could be related and could pass on genetic health issues that could be very costly.

- Gliders are known to kill and eat their Joeys unexpectedly. Can you mentally and emotionally handle that?

- Gliders do not stay little for long, they are near adult size by 4 months even!

- Most of the glider community looks down on breeding gliders without lineage (mutts) and it can be hard to deal with.

- I don't think it is wise to breed any animal if you do not have experience with them already to work with. If these are new to you pets, it would be best to do a lot of research and wait I think.


Some questions for you.

- What kind of cage do you have?

- What Diet are they on? Diet is important to research specially when wanting to breed.

- Is your vet very experienced with gliders? How far is one that is if not?

It is great your asking questions, I hope those here can be helpful!

One of the reasons it is suggested not to breed rescued gliders is not only that you do not know their lineage or if or how the two gliders may be related, but you also do not know what the background is on the rescued gliders or any problems they may have had prior to living with you that coukld cause them to cannibalize their joeys.
I have taken in a few rescued gliders who had joeys in pouch or just oop when coming to me and so far the only joey out of all lof them that has survived was my baby daisy and she only survived because i paid close enough attention to catch her the minute the parents tried to kill her. I went running at the 1st squeek and she already had bite marks on her neck and face. I hand raised her from there on out and she did survive. All others were eaten and this is not just one set of gliders...it's been 4 different gliders now.
I also love having the tiny joeys so we bought lineaged gliders and breed them and have not yet had any problem with joey rejection or cannibalization with our lineaged gliders.
As everyone else has said if you do not want to keep the male please do not introduce him to your female. If she bonds to him she could get extremely depressed and die if you then take him away from her.
Another side note...if the male is mean now and you introduce him to a female he is more likely to get aggressive because he will then have a mate to protect.

While the joeys are ADORABLE! That will not measure up to what you risk. I have heard horror stories about females being too immature or just not wanting kids at all! It is something you will need to look deep into and think hard about it!

If your male is not the nicest then there is a high possibility that any resulting joey(s) from the pairing could take after him and have attitude problems as well.

On the other hand if you work with him, instead of getting rid of him, you two could have a wonderful bond. I've had gliders that would try to bite me through the bars of the cage for looking at them, they take more work to get bonded, but once that bond is there there is nothing like it. There is nothing like that first time they let you touch them without nipping, the first time they don't bite your finger when you offer a treat gives such an exhilarated feeling, the first time that they climb on you feels as though you've died and gone to Valhalla.

thanks for all your input guys!

Did you decide to breed to rescues? Are you a licensed rescue?

It is surely the most inadvisable thing to use male gliders as studs. Sugar gliders can not be bred like this as they take equal amounts of the burden of raising the joeys. If one parent is gone it puts the joeys in the high risk category for being rejected, cannibalized, and abandoned. It also puts unnecessary strain on the females mental and physical abilities, most gliders form life long bonds to their partner and separating her from her breeding partner will result in immeasurable mental anguish, depression, anxiety, etc. she may also become overburdened and if she does not reject or cannibalize her young she will compromise her own health to keep them alive thus shortening her life span due to the strain she must exert all on her own.

Overall the community consensus of breeding rescues seems to be: Rescues should be neutered and enjoyed as a pet who deserves for once in their life not to be exploited but instead to have a home who offers stability to them and requires nothing in return. Rescues are typically advanced in age, were not groomed their whole life to be extremely healthy, and usually do not come with lineage...for these reasons and the moral ones it is unsafe to breed rescues.