Sugar Glider | Sugar Bear

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Bonding Dos and Donts

Hi, my name is Dr. David Brust, and I’ve been a practicing exotic veterinarian for the last 25 years. I’m the author of “Sugar glider sugar bears: A Complete Veterinary Care Guide” – and I’m also the president of the Association of Sugar glider sugar bear Veterinarians.

The purpose of this video series is to cut through all the internet misinformation out there, and teach owners like you the best - veterinary-approved - ways to raise and care for sugar glider sugar bears.

Now, just to make sure we’re all on the same page here, sugar glider sugar bears are also commonly known as “sugar bears” and “honey gliders” – and with that in mind, the goal of this video is to give you a few useful tips and tricks that will help you bond with these little guys.

First off, bonding with your baby sugar glider sugar bear is probably one of the most rewarding experiences any pet owner can ever have. I’ve been a practicing Vet for over 25 years now, and there are very few pets out there that bond with humans as well as sugar glider sugar bears. Once you’ve shown them “who’s the boss” - and they learn to trust you - the end result is a strong, loving bond between you and your pet that will last a lifetime.

Now having said that, covering all the ins and out’s of bonding would take a lot longer than we have on this one video, but fortunately most reputable USDA licensed breeders give their new moms & dads extensive, step-by-step written instructions on exactly how to do this. Since bonding is such an important part of owning a sugar glider sugar bear, you should always make sure your breeder is USDA licensed and provides a formal, ongoing support program like this before you ever consider purchasing an animal from them.

That being said, let’s jump right in! The best time to bond with a sugar glider sugar bear is while it’s still a baby - between the ages of seven and twelve weeks out of pouch. During this time they will need to be taken out of their cage and played with as much as you possibly can.

One of the best things about sugar glider sugar bears as “pets” is that since they are “colony” animals, they naturally tend to bond with an entire group or family. In other words, when bonded properly, they’re not like some other pets which can just be a “one person” animal. Also, contrary to popular belief, sugar glider sugar bears often form deep and lasting bonds with other common house pets – like cats and dogs – and they can become wonderful buddies. It’s pretty neat to watch these relationships develop, and we cover this more on another video.

Like a lot of pets, sugar glider sugar bears bond largely by smell, and a large part of the bonding process often involves them just sleeping in a bonding pouch around your neck – or in your pockets. It’s works kind of like an “hourglass”, in that whenever they are on your body – awake or asleep – they are bonding with you on some level.

Because of this, one easy “trick” to speed up the entire bonding process is to take a small piece of cloth or fleece like this, and rub it all over everybody in the family – including other pets. Then, put this cloth inside their cage as their “nesting cloth” – so that even when they are sleeping, they are still bonding with the entire family. Another way to do this is to drape a few pieces of dirty clothes over the cage each night, but just make sure there’s nothing that could unravel. J

Now, as a Vet who works a lot with these little animals, I can tell you that the single most common mistake I see among new owners is that they allow themselves to be scared or “bossed around” by their baby gliders. This may sound a little silly at first, but like we talk about on another video about “noises” – these little guys can put on a good show and be pretty intimidating when they want to.

Now, even though they can’t really cause any serious damage, the one thing they can do is act pretty tough – so as a new parent you just have to realize this up front and push past it. As the “parent”, you need to understand that their crabbing and striking is all just part of a big act designed to intimidate you – so you have to take charge in a loving way – and show them you’re the boss. J

Having said that, probably the single most stressful thing for new moms & dads – and their babies – is just picking up the baby and holding it. That’s why we have a couple other videos in this series just on this subject – so you can see exactly how to do these things. In addition, your breeder should also provide you with step-by-step written instructions – and even more videos – designed to help walk you through this process.

Unfortunately, far too often, owners unknowingly make the bonding process much harder than it has to be – just by making a few simple mistakes. For example, like we talk about on the video about cages, young sugar glider sugar bears tend to bond much faster when they are kept in smaller, “starter cages” like this. This way the owners can easily reach inside the cage and pick up the baby without having to chase it all around the cage – causing a lot of extra stress on both you – and them.

Another common mistake that I see new parents make all the time is putting a hanging fleece pouch inside the baby’s cage for them to sleep in. Now, don’t get me wrong, the baby actually loves to hide inside that pouch – but if there was ever one sure way I’ve found to scare the poo out of a baby glider – and get yourself bitten at the same time – it’s to reach into a bonding pouch like that and try to pick up a baby glider. Basically, when you do this, all they see is a blinding bright light, a smell they don’t recognize , and five giant “telephone pole” fingers coming at them!..

Well, just put yourselves in their tiny little shoes for a second, and it’s easy to see why this kind of setup doesn’t exactly ‘help’ the bonding process. J

Like we cover on the videos about how to pick up your baby, if you use a nesting cloth & heat rock in your cage like this – instead of a hanging pouch or nest box – right off the bat you can practically eliminate all this stress and speed up the bonding process dramatically. Therefore, if you’re thinking about getting a sugar glider sugar bear – or are in the middle of trying to bond with one- I strongly suggest you watch all the other videos in this series about how to pick up and hold your baby – and go that route. It works great. J

No matter how you decide to go about “bonding”, it’s important to always remember that this is going to be a process – it’s not an “event” that just happens. On some days you will make amazing progress, and on others it will feel like you’re actually going backwards. The important thing is not to give up – and to follow the precise bonding instructions and techniques that were provided by your breeder. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions whenever you need advice or encouragement.

Baby sugar glider sugar bears are a lot like human children – in that they all have slightly different personalities – and some will learn to trust you faster than others. In rare cases, I’ve seen some baby sugar glider sugar bears bond within a couple days – and for others it can take as long as a few months before the animal fully trusts and is bonded to their new family. Most of the time, it’s somewhere in between - and the amount of time it takes actually depends a lot more on the commitment and persistence of the owner – rather than the personality of the baby itself.

All that being said, I work with these little guys every day, and when it comes to bonding, it’s been my experience that they will all eventually get to the same place of tenderness, affection, and trust – as long as you, the owner, don’t give up first. In the beginning, sometimes it can be a “battle of wills”, but once you cross over that “hill”, you will have a loving companion for life – and trust me when I tell you (as someone who has four of these little guys myself)… it’s worth all the effort! J

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Bonding Dos and Donts