Natural Habitat of Sugar Gliders

Sugar gliders become the new phenomenon among people. These days, people interest increase rapidly due to raise sugar glider as pet. Yes, although sugar glider is included of the class of wild animals, this fact can’t hold people being one of sugar glider owner. However, I do understand why people pay so much attention to this animal, apparently sugar glider is gifted with the adorable appearance that could hypnotize you. Not to mention their small body size which could flexibly put in any type of houses.

No matter where you live, you could pet this animal. Well, even though  most of the cages for sugar gliders are large, but there are also variant of small cages you could found on pet stores or online stores. Furthermore, keeping sugar glider require stern commitment; from the foods which should be fed or not to be fed, like one of the most hot topic right now on the internet: it is safe to feed sugar gliders with raisins. The next thing you should pay attention is the nesting.

One thing for sure, the perfect nest consist with a comfortable bed. Ordinarily, majority of people would use sleeping pouch as the new nest for their pet sugar glider. Cotton material would make your pet comfortable and warm enough even during the night – and yes, pouch for sugar glider is important. All of these was subjects of consideration of keeping sugar glider as pet. Furthermore, do you my friends, ever wonder what is it natural habitat of sugar glider looks like?

Originate wildlife, the place where sugar glider being wild animals and disassociate with human. Which part of continent, countries, and what kind of forest do they stay? For this matter of subject, this particular day, we would discuss deeper about the natural habitat of sugar gliders; to know better about your beloved one. How they would live if they would not end up inside your comfortable house. However, let’s learn together: natural habitat of sugar gliders!

Sugar Glider

Sugar glider is belonged to marsupial infraclass species, which is also being known as nocturnal gliding possum, and omnivorous animal. You might wonder why they’ve been called with sugar glider? Apparently their name was taken from the species preference of sugary foods such as nectar and sap, also their fabulous ability to glide on the air. If you didn’t know this animal, you might think that they were just flying squirrel, although they were totally different – except, they do share similar appearance and habits.

Do you know that the Latin name of sugar glider is translated as short-headed rope-dancer which is the reference of their unique canopy acrobatics body part. Yes, it’s pretty interesting, isn’t – and by the way the Latin of of them are Petaurus Breviceps. Sugar glider was covered with beautiful soft pale grey to the light brown fur, and their underside body was decorated in lighter coloration. Moreover, most of sugar glider’s species was endemic in the parts of Indonesian islands, Tasmania, New Guinea, and Australia and considered as an exotic animal.

Sugar Glider’s Appearance and Anatomy

Being a small animal, sugar glider size is about 24 to 30 cm which is being measure from their nose to the tip of the tail. The weight between males and females are similar which is about 140 to 115 grams. As the dimorphic species, male of sugar glider is bigger than the female. Furthermore, being nocturnal animal, sugar glider owned larges eyes that would help them to see and located prey location during the dark of the night.

Sugar gliders has gliding membrane which extended from the fifth digits of their outside forefoot to the first digit of their hind foot. This membrane help sugar glider to glide on considerable distance commonly from tree to tree. All sugar glider need to do is stretch out the foots, and they would fly like a dark knight – the batman. This membrane was supported movement muscles of the limb, tail and trunk, and also the well development of tibioabdominalis, humerodoslis, and tibiocarpalis,

However, the life span of this small adorable creature in the wildlife is about 9 years, meanwhile in captivity, sugar glider life span reach about 12 years; reportedly, the maximum life span that recorded was about 17.8 years.

Natural Habit and Distribution

Sugar gliders distribution is spread throughout the eastern and northern, from New Guinea, Tasmania, and Australia. Apparently, sugar glider could be found on several isles such as Indonesian Isles, North Moluccas precisely in the Halmahera islands, Louisiade Archipelago, and Bismarck Archipelago. In Tasmania, sugar glider was introduce for the first time around 1835, meanwhile sugar glider estimated become the inhabitant in Australia since 15,000 years ago.

Mostly, sugar gliders distribution In Australia these days was centered along the northern, eastern, and southern coastline. Furthermore, yellow-bellied glider, mahagany glider, and squirrel glider was being sympatry with sugar glider. For your note, these species was niche partitioning permitted for their coexistence which occur different resources use for different patterns.

Moreover, bequeathed by habitat niche, sugar gliders could live throughout rainforests, dry or wet scierophyll forest, coconut plantations in New Guinea, and acacia scrub and prefer the habitat with Acacia and Eucalypt species in Australia. Sugar glider has their own habitat requirements which are included upper and dense mid canopy cover that could bring them benefit of movement efficiency, and a large number of stems.

During the day, sugar glider mostly is sheltered in hollow lines of a tree that covered with leafy twigs, and during the night, like most of nocturnal animals, they would do some of their routine activities such as storage foods. Also, as an omnivorous, sugar gliders could eat various type of foods, from vegetables, fruits, and even insects such worm – primarily the ones that contained with sweetness.

Furthermore, sugar gliders estimated home range is about 0.5 hectares which is the density range contained with 2 to 6 individuals per hectares. Ordinarily, habitat selection was based on the amount of abundance source of foods.