 Your Sugar Glider's Cage
In nature sugargliders are tree-dwelling animals, meaning that they sleep in small safe places but need large amounts of room to be active in. These animals are able to leap from treetop to treetop and can hold onto and climb almost anything. Their eyesight is keen enough to be able to see far distances and judge whether they can make a jump or not. Typical off-the-shelf cages are not designed well enough or large enough to house these animals. They need enough open air space to be able to run around freely and jump and climb. It is a very bad idea to keep a glider in anything resembling a hamster cage or aquarium. Also, clear glass or plastic atrium type cages are bad in that they do not allow for ventilation and the animal might try to leap through the glass and injure itself. A good cage design for a pair of animals would be an aviary with walls at least 2'x2'x3' made from small enough mesh material that the animals cannot escape. You may find something like this from a company that specializes in Sugar Glider housing, or you can use the directions below to build your own!
How to Make a Sugar Glider Cage
(step by step pictures coming soon!)
These are instructions on how to make a 2'x 2'x 3' cage. Making a larger cage is basically the same. You should be able to find all the materials in a hardware store or from an animal cage equipment company.
Things you will need:
18 feet of 24" wide 16 gauge vinyl coated wire mesh with no larger than 1"x 1/2" spacing.
Two packages of 100 nylon cable ties or J clips (cage clips) and J clip pliers.
Two lengths of 8 foot plastic trim.
Sharp wire cutters and pliers.
Silicone sealant or hot glue.
Door latch.
Instructions:
Cut the wire mesh into:
Four 3 foot by 2 foot pieces (the sides)
Two 2 foot by 2 foot pieces (the top and bottom)
Two 6 inch by 2 foot pieces (shelves)
One 12 inch by 2 foot piece (door)
Take one of the 3 foot pieces and cut a 10 inch wide and 22 inch tall hole in the center. This is the door opening. Glue plastic trim on the inside edges of the opening and on three sides of the door (leave the side you attach bare.) Secure the door one inch from the edge of the hole with clips or ties so that the door overlaps the hole on all side by one inch. Attach the door latch on the opposite side. Lay the four 3 foot pieces side by side in a row. Make sure the door is facing outward (towards the floor.) Attach the long edge of each shelf to the sides of the cage where you want them. Glue plastic trim to the edge that will be facing out when you are done. Attach one edge of the top of the cage to one of the sides. Attach the bottom in the same manner except make sure to raise it an inch or two so that the bottom will not touch the bedding. If you want to have a sliding tray instead of placing the cage in a pan, raise the bottom high enough to accomodate the tray and remove the extra wire on ONLY one edge of the bottom. Attach the sides together and finish adding ties to the top and bottom. You should now have a cage. If you used silicone sealant to attach the plastic trim, allow the cage to sit for 24 hours before introducing your gliders.
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