Does anyone have Sugar Gliders?

[RadioRentalMum]

Apologies if this has been covered before but I've searched but can't find any threads. My youngest son would like a Hamster, after looking into Hamsters I decided that a pair of Gerbils would be better however since making this decision my DH has been speaking to someone about Sugar Gliders. I've looked at some You Tube videos and they look cute but I'm a bit freaked by them launching themselves round the house!

Can anyone talk me through the pros and cons of Sugar Gliders? Are they expensive to keep? Do they smell? What are they like as pets? Would a 10 year old boy be capable of looking after them with a little guidance? Should they be kept in pairs like gerbils? Anything else you think a prospective new owner should know?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[BonkeyMollocks]

My friend had one! no longer friend or I would ask her for you

They smell and pee ALOT!! They are also bloody expensive to buy and need alot of space! My friend used to have to catch the little buggers by throwing a teatowel over it ans pounce!

They are also quite tricky to look after properly. IIRC not much is really known about how to look after them well. Especially when it comes to finding a vet!

Have you googled?

Whatever pet you decide on be prepared that your ds may get bored and you may have to take over some responsibility, if not all.

[RadioRentalMum]

Thanks BonkeyMollocks, that's useful info. I don't want anything that smells, part of the reason I was attracted to the Gerbils, apparently their pee doesn't smell much. I don't fancy having to catch them!

I have done some basic Googling but wondered if anyone had first hand experience of them. The lady who breeds them lives locally so I'm assuming there must be a local vet who knows about them.

We have dogs already which are my responsibility so I'm hoping that whatever small pet DS gets he will be able to take on most of the care for it, problem is he has been shown the Sugar Gliders on the internet (thanks DH) and has gone right off the idea of Gerbils now that he's seen them.

[BonkeyMollocks]

Guinea pigs are fab

[RadioRentalMum]

Bonkey, yes I would love Guinea Pigs, they would be my first choice. Biggest problem is with the dogs any small pet will have to live upstairs, I'm just wondering if we've got enough space for Guinea Pigs upstairs. Will need to give it more thought.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Have you thought about a couple of chinchillas? They don't smell anywhere near as much as hamsters, gerbils or even rats. They hardly smell at all. They need a good size cage but more height rather than floor space. Easy to handle and lots of fun.

[chrisdriver]

DD2 and DD1 had a pair at their birthday parties. I really wouldn't recommend them. They are absolutely gorgeous, but a nightmare to handle, and as has been said (smelly) wee everywhere. Afterwards I said to the animal handling woman that it just didn't seem fair to have them in that sort of situation, because they really didn't seem to enjoy it one bit.

We do have gerbils though, and would recommend them to anyone.

[RadioRentalMum]

Mmmmm, didn't think about Chinchillas, that's tempting, I like the look of Chinchillas. Will do and do a bit of research, thanks VivaLeBeaver!

[VivaLeBeaver]

The main things about chinchillas is that you need two, they do need regular time out the cage or will get depressed. They do poo everywhere when out the cage so bathroom is ideal. But it's dry poo nuggets so easy to pick up.

They can't have anything plastic in their cage at all, you even need glass water bottles. They need supervising when out so they don't chew stuff.

They can live for 20 years. We adopted two 7yo brothers rather than getting babies partly due to this. You need to be careful with treats as sugary stuff can cause fits, so chinchilla treats only, not other rodent stuff.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Oh and they are mega cute, and friendly.

[RadioRentalMum]

chrisdriver, sorry didn't see your post yesterday, will take that on board, thankfully seem to have convinced DH that Sugar Gliders are maybe no for us.

I'm definitely interested in the Chinchillas though, I think they would work for us. DS2 has several what shall we say ... cleanliness goals to achieve first! He has to prove he can look after himself before he gets any animals to look after so we could be waiting a while.

[Ratata]

As far as I know sugar gliders are more like keeping wild animals. They haven't been bred and tamed for years like hamsters, gerbils and rats. They have a very specialised diet. I believe they can only eat fruit or at least fruit is the main part of their diet so could be a bit more expensive than keeping the usual rodents.

I would recommend gerbils for easy to care for and least smelly rodents. And they are more fun than hamsters. If you are a keen rodent keeper and have a decent amount of experience with different rodents then sugar gliders might be ok but I personally don't think people without a lot of rodent experience should keep them. They are pretty specialised. Finding a vet who has a lot of experience with them could be hard too.

Chinchillas, hamsters, rats and gerbils are all great pets IMO.