Sugar Glider Pictures - Information - Supplies

Sugar Glider Breeding

Below is my girl Tasha with babies in pouch for 3 weeks.  She is licking the pouch and babies by sticking her nose into the pouch.  She is doing this while being nice and cozy next to her mate in my top with a built-in bra.  I don't leave home without them!

Click Image below for larger view.

Breeding, Gestation and Birth

When gliders breed, they make a lot of noises which are a combination of hissing, crabbing and squeaking/chirping.  Shortly after this noise you will notice that she is cleaning herself a lot and he is helping.  She will be putting her head in her pouch and licking to prepare the pouch for the baby, or babies, that are to arrive 16 days after fertilization occurs.  Once the 16 day gestation is complete, the small baby is born live and makes a trip up mom's fur to the pouch.  At this time, it is the size of an uncooked grain of rice.  She will lick a path for the baby because the baby is sticky from birthing and has only little nubs for arms and feet to work their way into her pouch.  Once they arrive inside the pouch, the babies find and latch onto one of her nipples to start nursing.

Nursing

The baby, once born (as in coming out of the birth canal as an undeveloped fetus) and has made it's way into the pouch, the baby is very underdeveloped, including it's jaw.  It is able to latch onto one of her nipples which swells to "lock" the baby in place and keep the baby attached.  Should the baby detach, it will die because the baby has no way to open it's mouth to re-attach itself to the nipple due to the underdeveloped jaw.  The mom glider has 4 nipples within the pouch and can feed up to 4 babies at once.

In Pouch life

5-7 day old newborns haven't grown much at this point and are difficult to see or find if you don't know what you are looking for. They look a lot like mouse pinkies, and are hairless. New glider owners often panic that the baby might be lost, when it was just hidden in the back of the pouch by mommy glider.  You will mostly notice the pouch seems a little more open and she is a bit puffy in the pouch area, but the change is so slight that only if you know your glider well will you notice the subtle changes at this stage.

2 week old newborns have only slightly changed from birth.  Their legs are more formed, as is their tail which are no longer just unusual looking bumps.  You can possibly see the babies as small lumps by this time, but it is also still possible for the mommy glider to hide them in the backside of the pouch.

3 week old newborns are growing rapidly now.  The appearance of one or more lumps should be very obvious at this stage.  The eyes have gotten larger, the ears are formed and still attached to the baby's head, the feet are forming little toes and the tail looks like a tail but is not very long yet.

1 month old babies have grown to a point where they are very obvious to see.  This is also the stage where problems can occur.  If you find suddenly that there are no lumps, then one of two things has happened.  Either cannibalization, or rejection by the mother.  This can happen when there is something wrong with the baby, or if something is lacking in the diet, or even if the mother is not old enough to know what to do with young. *** It has been found that if the glider mom is carried in a pouch (preferably with her mate), particularly a bra pouch that there is less of a chance of the babies being cannibalized or rejected.

40 day old babies have grown to where they will look like a peanut in the mother's pouch.  The head and back causes that appearance, and it is very easy to see them.  The skin at this point is transparent and you can actually see their internal organs and bones.  The eyes will be quite large and will have some skin over them, the nose appears very large and the whiskers have started to form,  and the ears are more developed yet still attached to it's head.  The legs and toes are better formed and the toes have developed nails and the tail is now about the same length as the body.  The babies at this stage are very entertaining if you can coax your mommy glider to lay on her back and expose them a bit for you.  It's great to watch them wiggle around and periodically see a tail or an extremity make it's way out of the pouch.

60 day old babies are at the stage where they come out of pouch, also known as OOP.  Their jaws have developed to where they can detach and reattach themselves onto the nipples.  When a baby first comes out of the pouch is when I consider it their birthday!  Now you might find that you will have one come out of pouch, and then two weeks later another one come out of pouch.  There is nothing wrong with the second one, it was probably born after the first one was and they are at two different stages of development.  They can come out 2 days to 2 weeks apart, so don't let this concern you in any way because it is normal.  The babies will have a small covering of fur on their upper part of the body, and the underside is void of fur and very pink.  Their eyes are more developed but still covered with skin, and their ears are releasing from their heads and starting to stick up more.  At this stage, it is also possible to tell if it's a male or female baby, and what a perfect way to celebrate a birthday by giving him or her a name!  At this time it is good to handle them in small increments of time and work up slowly.  Start with maybe 3 minutes and then work up by adding a minute or two daily.  Play it by ear and see how they react and use that as your guide. 

OOP (Out Of Pouch) life

3-7 days out of pouch, the babies will make little fussing and crying noises when the parents aren't nearby.  Sugar Gliders are such wonderful parents that they will come running to their babies when they hear them crying.  They are usually too big to fit into the pouch now, and so they will only tuck their head in to nurse while the rest of their body is on the outside.  They also will ride around on mom similar to possums.  By the 7th day, they can be handled for about 10 minutes and are a real joy to touch, watch and talk to.

2 weeks out of pouch and the changes are showing!  The eyes are starting to open and their ears are much more developed as is their hearing ability.  The fur on their body is a little thicker and their tummies are starting to get a little hair now too.  The lower teeth are growing and the start of the upper ones are evident as a bump on the front gum area.  The babies are now riding on the back of mom or dad whenever they go for a journey, and the babies are also vocalizing more at this point and making lots of sounds for us to enjoy!  The joeys love being held and will fall asleep easily in your warm hand.  Because of the small amount of fur they have, they appreciate any warmth and love being held.  They are starting to move around on their own and any precaution to avoid them falling should be taken.  Move nests, or sleeping pouches, or any other habitat to the bottom of the cage so that the baby won't get injured by falling.

1 month out of pouch babies are starting out to have short adventures.  Their eyes and ears are fully functional and they don't miss a thing.  They are completely furry (with the exception of the scrotum and pouch) and they are tasting and biting fingers with their newly developed teeth. 

45 days out of pouch the babies are really out for some fun.  They tend to go out on their own more now instead of on the backs of the parents.  Playing with them is really fun now, their personalities are coming though and showing you what characters they are.  They jump and swat and love playing with various toys and with you in general.  They will be starting to try solid foods and tasting what is in the bowl for the parents.  They tend to eat fruits and they really like baby cereal with fruit juice as a bit of a treat and to get them used to more solid food.

2 months out of pouch is when the babies are completely out of the pouch.  They are no longer nursing and they are eating solid foods and going to the bathroom on their own.  They are very playful and the parents will rough-house with them and wrestle and they are making all kinds of noise.  They are a lot of fun to play with and do so many adorable things that are too numerous to mention. *** IF you are going to take them away from the parents, please be absolutely sure the babies can eat and go to the bathroom on their own.  They will not survive if they are taken away too soon.

How many babies

Most gliders have 1-2 babies in the pouch at once, but at times they will have 3 or 4, but that is pretty rare.  What is more interesting, is that due to the female gliders' having 2 uteruses and 3 vaginas, she can "hold" the babies in one uterus and "release" the first ones.  Once the first ones are almost completely out of pouch, she can release the second set while being pregnant again in the first uterus.  This allows sugar gliders to reproduce frequently.  And to make it more confusing, she can have two different sets of babies in different stages of development in her pouch at the same time, while being pregnant in both uteruses.  Due to the sugar glider being a marsupial, the babies are most always referred to as joeys.

http://www.isga.org/informationcenter/HealthIssues/babies.htm