Sugar Glider Diseases

by Sarah Elliot

Sugar gliders are hamster-sized marsupials, animals that nurture their young in a pouch on the mother's body. They eat many sweet foods and, like flying squirrels, they have a membrane that allows them to glide. Native to Australia, Tasmania, Indonesia, and Papua-New Guinea, sugar gliders are a recent addition to the range of small pets. As they become more popular, more information about them becomes available, but many people still lack basic knowledge about this animal. Some diseases of sugar gliders would occur regardless of owner expertise, but others happen because their owners do not have sufficient information about the needs and care of gliders.
Diseases Caused by Diet

Most sugar glider illnesses are the result of poor nutrition. Sugar gliders are exotic pets, and there are not many commercial feeds available for them. If an owner is not able to find or make a mix that accurately mimics the glider's natural diet, gliders can suffer from malnutrition, obesity, diarrhea, dehydration, bone disease, liver disease and dental disease. Owners should not feed cat food to sugar gliders. Cat food can cause impacted salivary glands, intestinal blockage, calcium deficiency and liver problems, all of which could be fatal. Signs of nutritional diseases include loss of appetite, change in bowel movement, loose skin, sunken eyes and lethargy.

Diseases Caused by Environment

Sugar gliders are active, sociable animals. They need the companionship of humans or other gliders and space and toys for exercise. Gliders are also nocturnal and are not active during much of the day. If a glider is bored, lonely, inactive or forced to be awake during the day too much, it can suffer from stress or depression. A stressed or depressed glider might be less active and communicative, tremble, have no appetite, have changes in sleeping patterns and pace or do back flips.
Infections

Sugar gliders can contract diseases from bacteria such as giardia and other intestinal parasites. If a glider's owner takes precautions, the risk is small. A glider that does not go outdoors, come into contact with other animals, has a clean environment and eats clean food is less likely to ingest parasites. If a glider does develop an infection, any people who interact with the animal must wash body areas the glider touched. Diseases that gliders can transmit to humans include giardia, salmonella, yellow fever, toxoplasmosis that could lead to encephalitis and streptococcus infections. Changes in behavior, bowel movements, vomiting, lameness and jaundice could indicate an infection in a sugar glider.