Sugar Glider Safety Part 6

Outside hazards: Some sugar glider owners take their sugar gliders outside with them. If the glider is simply riding on your shoulder or in your pocket, there is a chance he could escape and never be found again. Sugar gliders generally do not take kindly to harnesses (they do not like the feeling of being bodily restrained), although some owners report success with them. A leash and collar is not a good idea, because the sugar glider can slip out of a collar. There are all sorts of hazards outside: poisonous plants, wandering dogs and cats, cars, etc. It seems best to either leave your sugar glider inside, or carry it in a safe enclosure from which it cannot escape.

Although I have brought many potential hazards to your attention, the discussion of sugar glider safety in these posts is not exhaustive nor all-inclusive. Rather, it is meant to get you thinking about how you can keep your glider safe in your home. Most tragic sugar glider accidents can be prevented if you only let your glider out into safe areas and you or some other trustworthy person always strictly supervise the glider’s “playtime.”

A note about human safety around sugar gliders: While this section has mainly been concerned with sugar glider safety, there are a few precautions humans should take. The first precaution is to properly wash and disinfect and observe any bite wound or scratch a sugar glider inflicts on you. Any sign of infection (redness, swelling, etc.) should prompt you to seek medical attention.

The second precaution regards general hygiene around sugar gliders. Because sugar gliders have the potential to pass on parasitic illness such as giardiasis, you should take certain basic precautions. (There has been some speculation about the possibility of sugar gliders transferring salmonella, toxoplasmosis and/or trichomoniasis to humans, but there seems to be little evidence thus far. However, both salmonella and trichomoniasis are both very common organisms, found in many animals. Always err on the side of caution and assume that sugar gliders are capable of transmitting various bacteria, parasites and/or fungi.)

Always wash your hands with soap and water both before and after handling your sugar glider, its food bowls, its waste matter or its cage. Do not wash your glider’s food and water bowls in the same place where you prepare food. Do not permit children to put their fingers in a sugar glider’s mouth.

Use simple common sense. Any time you may have been even remotely exposed to an object or creature that could harbor bacteria, parasites or fungi, wash with soap and water. This is not to make you unduly concerned. Sugar gliders are not known for making humans sick. But these simple precautions will make that possibility even tinier.

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