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The average sugar glider has the potential to live up to 15 years in captivity. Although sugar gliders are generally very healthy animals, there are still several health issues that can arise. The most common causes of illness and premature death in pet sugar gliders are directly related to either dietary problems or general neglect.
Improper nutrition can lead to the occurrence of the following health issues: Calcium deficiency, dehydration, hind leg paralysis, stress, impacted salivary glands, intestinal blockage, constipation, and more. Calcium deficiency can lead to hind leg paralysis, other paralysis, and even death. In order to avoid a possible calcium deficiency, a sugar glider’s diet should contain 2 parts calcium for every 1 part phosphorus present in the diet. Some signs that may indicate the onset of a problem related to calcium deficiency are tremors, lethargy, weakness, paralysis, and broken bones. Many other nutritional problems can be avoided by making it a practice to never feed cat food to a sugar glider. Beyond calcium deficiency, other complications that can result from feeding cat food are impacted salivary glands, constipation, and intestinal blockage. Diarrhea can occur when feeding excessive amounts of a single food or feeding certain types of foods, such as those that contain milk proteins. Dehydration can result from diarrhea that is allowed to occur unchecked, lack of moisture in the sugar glider’s diet, or an inadequate supply of clean water. General neglect can allow a sugar glider to fall prey to parasites, bacterial infections, traumatic injuries, stress related illnesses, and more. Stress related illnesses are a prime example of health issues that typically result from neglect. Depression, self-mutilation, overeating, excessive drinking, cage pacing, and mentally ill behaviors such as back flips are all examples of stress related illnesses. Identifying the potential stressors and rectifying them within the sugar glider’s environment will generally reverse most stress related illnesses. Traumatic injuries are a leading concern for sugar glider owners. Each year, thousands of sugar gliders are victimized by some from of traumatic injury. Many of these injuries may even go unnoticed or misdiagnosed. Traumatic injuries include poisoning, electrocution, drowning, fractures, lacerations, choking, amputation, strangulation, and death. Simple steps such as routine nail trims, supervised playtime, and providing secure environments can prevent most traumatic injuries. For a more in-depth look at the many traumatic injuries that can befall a sugar glider and how to prevent them, please visit our page on Glider Safety. Toxins, poisons, and allergens can also be responsible for promoting illness in sugar gliders. Owners should be careful of cleaners and be sure to remove the residues that are often left behind on surfaces after use. Even basic items such as soda, coffee, tea, or tobacco can prove toxic to a glider if ingested. Several common houseplants or flowers are toxic or poisonous to sugar gliders. Most insecticides are poisonous as well and should never be used in the home. Sugar gliders can die from eating bugs tainted with insecticide or from exposure to the insecticide itself. Allergens such as dust and aromatic oils, present in some beddings, air fresheners, and detergents, can cause respiratory problems, skin or lung irritation, and possible hair loss. Parasites and intestinal bacterial infections are a common occurrence in stressed gliders and those that are raised or kept under improper conditions. Some common intestinal bacterial infections or parasitic infestations in sugar gliders are giardia, coccidia, trichomonas, salmonella, and E coli. As always, many parasites or bacterial forms can be transmitted to humans. In order to prevent contamination from bacteria or parasites excellent hygiene practices should be observed. As an additional measure of prevention, the following checklist should be implemented. Parasite
Prevention Checklist
When an emergency occurs, or an illness is suspected, a trip to the veterinarian becomes necessary. However, many veterinarians are not familiar with treating exotic animals like sugar gliders. In order to ensure that your sugar glider will receive the proper care when needed, it is recommended that an experienced veterinarian be located in your area prior to purchasing a sugar glider. Since sugar gliders are nocturnal animals and most problems will only be noticed while they are awake at night, be sure to check into the potential veterinarian’s after hours and emergency availability. In exotic animals, many of their natural instincts remain intact. This may prompt captive sugar gliders to mask many signs of illness that would have marked them as easy prey in the wild. As a direct result, an unobservant owner may not become aware that their glider is ill until the problem has reached serious, or potentially fatal, levels. Therefore, it is crucial for a responsible owner to pay close attention to their sugar gliders and recognize signs that may indicate poor health before it advances too far. Some of these signs are obvious and require immediate treatment, such as tremors, paralysis, broken bones, refusing to eat or drink, excessive urination, vomiting, dehydration, severe diarrhea, bloody stools or urine, self mutilation, lacerations, difficulty breathing, cases of known traumatic injury, and extreme weakness or lethargy. However, some other signs may be subtler in their onset, requiring an observant owner to notice them before they reach serious proportions. Examples of these types of signs are some physical changes (hair loss, cloudy eyes, suspected growths or swellings, runny eyes or nose, noisy breathing, dry or scaly skin, & pale membranes) and behavioral changes (increased or decreased amount of consumption, changes in activity level, aggression, withdrawal, eating feces or bedding material, changes in elimination, & cage pacing). Knowing how to react in emergency situations or when a sugar glider is assumed ill can be imperative to its chance for survival. Primary veterinary and back up phone numbers should be posted near the phone or in another prominent location. All household residents and other caregivers should be made aware of the phone numbers and instructed how to react in the event of a medical emergency. Emergency payment arrangements should be worked out with your veterinarian prior to an actual event occurring. If the signs are the subtle type previously discussed, it may be helpful to observe the sugar glider, make detailed notes, think about the potential causes for the situation that has occurred, determine the severity, and if there is no change in 24 hours schedule an appointment with the veterinarian. If the problem is more serious in nature, if there is any doubt as to the welfare of the glider, or if the problem intensifies take the sugar glider to the veterinarian immediately! Note: A sugar glider that is suffering from dehydration and diarrhea can die in a little as 6-12 hours time if untreated. Only an experienced veterinarian should render treatment for a sugar glider. It may be tempting at times to seek treatment advice from friends, family, a breeder, or other sugar glider owners, but seeking this type of cheap diagnosis may only lead to further complications for the sugar glider. Never attempt to medicate a sugar glider on your own in an attempt to cure it! The use of improper medications or incorrect dosages can kill a sugar glider. Any sugar glider that is suspected ill should be taken to a knowledgeable veterinarian for examination and correct treatment. Keep in mind that veterinarians are generally unable to make a proper diagnosis over the phone and will more than likely require that the glider in question is brought in for a through evaluation. An experienced veterinarian will have a host of topical, oral, and injectable medications with which to properly treat an ill sugar glider. If you are expected to continue treating your sugar glider at home, carefully listen to the dosages and other treatment instructions as explained to you by either your veterinarian or his technician. Should you have any questions regarding treatment, do not hesitate to ask. It has been said, “that an ounce of prevention can equal a pound of cure.” Taking this statement into consideration, it is true that many of the illnesses that befall sugar gliders in captivity could have been avoided with a few basic changes in husbandry techniques. Sanitation and hygiene are the most important areas to look at where prevention is concerned. Cages should be spot cleaned daily and deep cleaned on no less than a weekly basis to prevent the build up of harmful parasites, bacteria, and other pathogens. Feeding dishes should be placed high in the cage, free of chips or cracks, and sanitized daily. Sleeping areas and toys should be washed thoroughly a minimum of twice a week. Appropriate bedding material should be used, changed frequently, and kept out of the sugar glider’s reach. Wash your hands both before and after handling your glider or preparing its food. Avoid handling your sugar glider when you are sick. An at-home physical exam should be performed on each glider one a week. (Link: http://www.glideruniversity.org/basics/caresheets/health.pdf) Other issues beyond sanitation and hygiene can lead to health problems; obesity and emaciation are good examples. Obesity can occur through the feeding of rich fatty foods or plain overindulgence. An obese sugar glider can fall victim to infertility, fat deposits, blindness, and lethargy. Emaciation can result from underfeeding, insufficient calories, improper absorption of nutrients, parasites, stress, or other disease. A sugar gliders immune system is weakened by emaciation allowing underlying problems to intensify and new health problems to take hold. Probably the most over looked area in illness prevention is the elimination of stressors from the sugar glider’s environment. Stressors take many forms and can be unique to a particular glider. Good examples of stressors can be simple inconsistencies in light patterns, temperature fluctuations, certain noises or noise levels, other pets, improper diet or diet changes, over handling, not enough exercise, insufficient mental stimulation, and lack of companionship. If you desire to learn more about the wild sugar glider mental and physical health issues, including those that are parasitic, nutritional, toxic, and environmental in nature, please visit the following links: Awareness and evaluation: http://www.angelfire.com/nb/sugarglider/emergenc.html Medical issues: http://www.glideruniversity.org/basics/reference.htm Self-mutilation: http://www.gliderhealth.com/ |
