sugar gliders – Pets

Sugar gliders are exotic animals native to Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. Sugar gliders look like rodents, but they are marsupials and are quite popular in the United States. When taking care of pets, there are some things you have to be careful about, and one of them is hydration. So, can sugar gliders drink water? Sugar gliders can drink water if you provide them with a good source, for example, a water bottle or bowl. In the wild, sugar gliders do not drink water frequently because they stay hydrated by eating succulent fruits. In your home, you have to ensure your sugar glider is hydrated by giving it water to drink. You can use a stoppered water bottle or a clean water bowl. You should ensure that the water is fresh and clean and replace the water daily if you use a water bowl. Sugar gliders are cute little pets, and dehydration is one of their biggest health concerns. You have to take extra steps to ensure your sugar glider is drinking water, or else you might lose your pet. Read on to find out more about sugar glider's hydration needs. When we are thirsty, we usually take a glass, fill it with water from the tap and quench our thirst. Some people also give tap water to some of their house pets, such as cats and dogs. If you own a sugar glider, you might be wondering if tap water is safe for your pet. Sugar gliders can drink tap water, but you should not give it to them. One of the most common causes of death among pet sugar gliders is poisoning from contaminated water. Tap water is usually treated using chlorine, which makes it fit for human consumption. However, high chlorine levels in tap water and other chemical additives such as fluoride can quickly poison your sugar glider and cause sudden death. Other naturally occurring chemicals in tap water can cause harm to your sugar gliders, such as lead from the plumbing systems and nitrates from fertilizers. Bottled or filtered drinking water is safe for your sugar glider. You can use a purification machine to make the tap water safe for your sugar glider or use the less expensive bottled water. Replace the water filter regularly to ensure it removes all the chemicals properly. If you are using a water bowl, make sure you replace it daily and regularly clean the bowl. If you notice your sugar glider shows signs of illness after drinking water, take it to a vet immediately. How Do I Get My Sugar Glider to Drink Water? Water is very important to all pets, and, sometimes, they can refuse to drink water for a long time or drink very little. Here are some of the ways you can use to get your sugar glider to drink water. One way of making your sugar glider drink water is to use a water bottle. You can hang the water bottle in the enclosure, and the sugar glider will drink water when it is thirsty. Sugar gliders do not drink a lot of water; therefore, you should not worry if you find the water level is the same after a few hours. You can also add a water bowl in case your sugar glider ignores the water bottle to increase the chances of your pet staying hydrated. Keep the water bottle and water bowl in a separate area inside the cage to reduce contamination. If you notice your sugar glider has not been drinking water for a few days, you can use a syringe to get it to drink water. Pull some water into a needleless syringe, carefully hold your sugar glider and open its mouth. Place the syringe in its mouth and push the water into the mouth to ensure its swallows most of it. You can use the syringe method once a day until your sugar glider learns to drink water from the water bottle or water bowl. How Long Can Sugar Gliders Go Without Water? Sometimes, we leave our homes for a few days, but we cannot find someone to care for our pets. Food and water are critical to your pet's survival; therefore, it is essential to know how long your pet can go without drinking water. A sugar glider can go without water for more than twelve hours. If you leave your sugar glider alone for a few days, you have to ensure you leave plenty of water in its enclosure. Sugar gliders may not drink a lot of water in a day, but they cannot go without for many days. You should also leave plenty of fruits with lots of juices such as bananas, mangos, and grapes. When you get back, check on your glider for any signs of dehydration and act accordingly. Extreme dehydration can cause death to your sugar glider. If you find your sugar glider is dehydrated, you can give it water immediately, or you can take it to a vet. Dehydration can also be caused by illness or injury, making your sugar glider too weak from reaching the water bottle. You should also check if the water ball is working because sometimes dehydration in sugar gliders is caused by the ball in the water bottle sticking, preventing water from flowing. How Can You Tell if a Sugar Glider Is Dehydrated? It is vital to ensure that your sugar glider stays well hydrated throughout the day. It is also important to know the signs of dehydration so that you can take the necessary steps to ensure your sugar glider's health is not compromised. If you want to know that your sugar glider is dehydrated, you should do the skin test. Pinch and pull your sugar glider's skin, and if the skin stays up for a long time, your pet is dehydrated. If the skin goes down immediately, then your sugar glider is okay. Other signs of dehydration include sunken eyes, lethargy, dry mouth and nose, seizures, diarrhea, labored breathing, among others. In case you spot any of these signs, you should give your sugar glider water immediately. You can use a water bottle or a bowl to give your pet some water. If your sugar glider is extremely dehydrated, you have to use a syringe or dropper to make it drink water. You can also take your sugar glider to a vet if you are unsure of what to do. You should also ensure you find out the cause of dehydration to avoid falling into the same predicament in the future. Where Do Sugar Gliders Go To the Bathroom? Every pet owner must clean up after their pet. It is easier if the pet is trained and only goes to the bathroom in a specific place. If you decide to keep a sugar glider in your house, you might be concerned about where your new pet will be going to the bathroom because if you do not clean it, the house will smell bad. Sugar gliders go to the bathroom in their enclosure but not in the same spot that they sleep. Like most animals, sugar gliders will relieve themselves whenever they feel the urge and wherever they are at that particular moment, like poop and pee on the floor, furniture, or even on your lap. Unfortunately, you cannot train your sugar glider to go to the bathroom in a litter box like a cat. Sugar gliders usually poop and pee when they wake up, so you can watch their sleeping habits and take them out of the enclosure when they wake up. Sugar gliders are small marsupials; therefore, cleaning up their poop and pee will not be a huge task. You do not have to bathe your sugar glider because they are not messy. You will not find them covered in poop or pee. You should not put diapers on your sugar glider because it can damage their patagium. The patagium is the membrane between their feed and body that gives your sugar glider the ability to glide. If you learn your sugar glider's bathroom habits, you will enjoy its presence. Wrap Up Sugar gliders are cute exotic pets, but you need to be vigilant when taking care of them. Water is very important to sugar gliders, and if you let your pet get extremely dehydrated, it will not live long. You can use a water bottle or water bowl to serve your sugar glider water. You also need to ensure that the water is clean and fresh, do not use tap water unless you have a working filter system installed in your house. Always give your sugar glider bottled water, and if you are using a water bowl, change the water daily and clean the bowl too to avoid contamination. Keep an eye on your sugar glider if you suspect it is dehydrated. Sugar gliders are not excellent swimmers; therefore, ensure the water bowl is not big enough to cause drowning. Sugar gliders are clean animals, but if cleaning animal poop and pee bothers you, then a sugar glider is not a pet for you.