A sugar glider is a small marsupial. This means that in addition to getting pregnant and carrying their young for a short time, they have a pouch that their newborns will crawl into for several weeks before they fully emerge. This combination means that sugar gliders have a short gestation period of only about 16 days. Since this is such a short time, it can be difficult for owners to notice that their little pet is pregnant until the pouch is full.
However, if your unspayed female sugar glider has come into contact with an unneutered male, there is a good chance that she got pregnant, and you will need to start preparing accordingly. Fortunately, there are a few signs you can look for that will help you determine whether your glider is pregnant.
Please note that in many countries (including the United States), owners attempting to breed sugar gliders require a breeding license.1 If you are keen on breeding these animals, first check with the United States Department of Agriculture office in your region to get a license. If you reside outside the United States, check the laws where you live before attempting to breed sugar gliders.
Sugar Glider Pregnancy
Sugar gliders are sexually mature when they reach 8 to 12 months old, and they can have litters two or three times a year. A litter will typically consist of two pups but could be up to four. The gestation period, which is the length of time that the female is pregnant, is approximately 16 days.
At this point, the young are born and climb into their mother’s pouch. At 3 weeks, the baby sugar gliders, or joeys, are visible, and at 5 weeks, they start to stick out of the pouch. They will emerge from the pouch at around 6 or 7 weeks.
The 5 Signs to Look For
With such a short gestation period, it can be difficult to determine when a sugar glider is pregnant. Some owners only notice once the joeys are visible in the pouch. It is generally difficult to ascertain if a female sugar glider is pregnant, and the best sign is catching her mating with a male.
Other subtle signs to look for include the following.
1. Swollen Abdomen
Joeys are the size of small beans when they emerge from the mother’s cloaca and climb into the pouch. As such, they don’t take up a lot of room, but the mother’s organs must still move around to accommodate the young and prepare for the birth. She may also eat more while pregnant, so you may notice a swelling of the abdomen.
2. Prominent Nipples
The nipples of your sugar glider may become easier to spot. However, they are generally not easy to see, even during pregnancy, so this is not a reliable method of determining or predicting pregnancy.
3. Nesting
Like many pregnant females, the sugar glider will start to prepare a nest for her young. She may gather nesting materials, look for a dark and secluded area in her enclosure, and start building a spot. Considering that the joeys will live in the mother’s pouch rather than in a nest, the nest building is done so she has somewhere comfortable, clean, and safe to give birth rather than for the babies once they emerge.
4. Mood Changes
Behavioral changes are common in pregnant sugar gliders. It may become uncomfortable for them to be held or picked up, and an otherwise bright and energetic glider may become more lethargic and unwilling to be handled. She may not tolerate the presence of the male too close to her either.
5. Eating Habits
A pregnant sugar glider may start to eat more and forage food away to get ready for the birth and to ensure that she has sustenance when the joeys are born. This increased appetite can also lead to weight gain.
Conclusion
Sugar gliders are marsupials, which means that when the joeys are born, they will spend several weeks attached to the mother’s nipples inside her pouch. This time in the pouch means that sugar gliders have shorter pregnancies than you might expect from an animal of this size, which can make it difficult to identify when one is pregnant.
So, here, we included five possible signs that indicate that your glider might be expecting a litter of pups within the next couple of weeks.
Featured Image Credit: Arif Supriyadi, Shutterstock
