ORDER

Diprotodontia (kangaroos, possums, wallabies)

FAMILY

Petauridae (striped possums, squirrel gliders)

HABITAT AND RANGE

Sugar gliders can live in forests of all types, given that there is an adequate food supply. They build their nests in the branches of eucalyptus trees inside their territory. Their distribution covers New Guinea and certain nearby islands, Bismark Archipelago, and northern and eastern Australia.

IDENTIFICATION

They are soft gray animals with a black stripe running down their back and a gliding membrane they use much like a flying squirrel does. The membranes are two thin, wing- like flaps of skin that span from the fifth finger to the first toe on each side of the body. If high enough, a sugar glider can glide as far as 150 feet. Adult gliders weigh about 4-5.7 ounces and are about 8 inches long.

DIET

Sugar gliders are omnivorous. Their diet includes pollen, nectar, insects and their larvae, arachnids, and small vertebrates. They are especially fond of the sweet sap of the eucalyptus tree.

REPRODUCTION AND LIFESPAN

Sexual maturity in sugar gliders occurs late in the first year of life for females and early in the second year for males. Gestation lasts about 16 days and the litter size is 1 to 2 young. Sugar gliders are marsupials. The female has a pouch where the young nurse and develop for 70 days. After 111 days the young sugar gliders leave the nest. Gliders can live for 10 to 15 years if well cared for.

NOTES

The sugar glider was named by lumber jacks and bushmen who found that they liked honey, sugar and jam. Their tails are used for balance and steering when gliding, but not much else. Gliders have opposable fingers and toes.