HOUSING: CAGES, WHEELS, TOYS, CAGE SETS
CAGES:
Cages for sugar gliders need to be somewhat specific. Very large (always said that the bigger
the better), no more that 1/2” bar spacing, wire should be powder coated or epoxy coated
(not galvanized wire), have a pull-out tray for easy cleaning, a grate that comes out for easy cleaning. After 8 years of researching cages I have come up with several that I would recommend:
All HQ cages are well made and sturdy and will last forever. Not flimsy as some others are that have small slide-up doors you cannot fit a good exercise wheel in. They have large doors with well made locks making it easy to put things in and out.
The normal HQ cages are 36” tall X 32” long X 21” deep. 61” tall with stand. That is considered the minimum size for a pair of sugar gliders. You can buy the HQ sturdy cage from Suncoast Sugar Gliders and Glidernursery. But I think much larger cages are needed to ensure your sugar
gliders are happy and healthy!!
A new HQ cage that is taller is the Large Sturdy Sugar Glider cage. It is 52” tall X 32” long X 21” deep. 67” tall with stand. Very roomy. This is my personal choice and I am in the process of replacing all of my old cages with these. This is the cage pictured. You can buy the Large Sturdy cage from Suncoast Sugar Gliders.
Another popular choice is the PVC Cage made with landware cloth. The plans are on the website justforfuzzies.com. Plans are for a 5 or 6 ft. tall cage but you can modify it any way you like.
WHEELS (EXERCISE):
There are several good quality and safe exercise wheels used by the glider community:
Stealth Wheels: sold at Atticworx.com
Custom Cruiser Wheels: sold at customchoicecruiiser.all4gliders.com (sold by Bourbon)
Raptor Wheels: sold at mygliderwheelsandmore.com (sold by David Watkins)
Fast Track Wheels: sold at http://go-fast-track.com
Just FYI: the Woodent Wheel has been around forever and has been proven to not be glider safe. It has a center bar that can cause tail injuries plus the gliders cannot leap and jump around and are limited. It is sold by many vendors but it is really suggested to choose a wheel from the others for your sugar gliders to enjoy!
TOYS:
Sugar gliders enjoy many many types of toys, Enrichment toys, fleece toys, rubber ducks are popular, some bird toys such as swings, rings, and ladders, all kinds of toddler toys (baby rings, plastic blocks, plastic trucks and cars of all kinds, etc.), cat feathers (no catnip!). They love to climb and jump. Many vendors sell wonderful toys. Ball pits (plastic baskets with small ping pong balls, wiffle balls, jacks, army men, small animal toys, pom-poms, etc. can be hung from the top of the cage or put on the floor of the cage and the suggies really enjoy these. A couple of good toy vendors are: SarahSuggieShoppe, spoiledrottensuggies.com, cozyflowers.weebly.com, and naturalgliders.weebly.com. These vendors make wonderful hanging toys of all kinds. I can supply you names of other vendors if interested.
CAGE SETS (FLEECE):
Gliders need fleece cage sets to play on and fleece pouches to sleep in. Fleece is virtually the only safe material for their little hands and toes. Even with fleece they need to have their nails trimmed regularly. A trimtracks for your wheel can help but doesn't take the place of regular nail trimmings. Many vendors do all different kinds of fleece cage sets in all different colors or make custom cage sets. Just ask me and I will show you different vendors. I also have a vendor that does special custom made cage sets for me (which I give one out to customers). They are a 6 piece fleece cage set. 1 oversized pouch (14” X 14”), 1 fleece bridge, 2 hanging fleece vines, a corner hammock, and a “parachute” that hangs from the top of the cage. I can give you her contact information if you like.
You can also get manzita branches and eucalyptus branches to put in your cage. Your gliders will love you!
You will also need feeding bowls or glider kitchens to use. Also water bottles. I prefer the 8 oz. Glass Lixit Water Bottles. Petsmart sells them.
CLEANING CAGE TRAYS:
You can use newspaper, fleece, or Jana's Custom Cage liners to line your cage trays. But I have found the best method, the quickest and easiest method, and the most odor-free method to be the following:
Every other day spray with Clorox Greenworks and scrub under running water. Then wipe down with Essential Disinfecting Wipes under running water and rinse. Trays are spotless and no smell!!
CLEANING CAGES:
My cages are power washed each month. In between they are wiped down regularly with a bucket of hot water and vinegar. Cages can also be cleaned by using steam cleaners.