Q: My fiance and I have recently acquired 2 sugar gliders, one is 10 months and the other is 11 months. We got them given to us as a bonding pet for our baby that is due in June. Any advice as to get them bonding better with us because weve noticed they tend to bite now and again. It doesnt hurt or break skin but it wouldnt be good for our babies new ‘little friends’ to be biteing him.

Oh and another question about my cage. It’s about 3 – 3 1/2 feet tall, 2 feet long by 18 inches deep. Is that a good size for them?

A: This is an interesting question.  I have heard of sugar gliders bonding well with children, but I don’t know anything about babies.

What I do know is that there is no sure-fire way to make sure your gliders do not bite.  Gliders bite for different reasons, being out of fear or curiosity.  When they give you little nibbles, it is their way of checking you out (my sugar glider does this to me even after 5 years of bonding).  They will want to do this with a baby, I imagine.

Another thing I would be concerned about is that you cannot control what your baby does, either.  If your baby goes to grab the glider or does something frightening, the glider could bite your baby out of fear.  I would be more worried about this because this will be a hard bite.  Also, depending on how well you can groom your glider, I’d be afraid of their sharp nails.  If you are going to let the gliders crawl on your baby, your baby could get seriously scratched.

After having said this, I will say I don’t think it’s impossible to have a baby and sugar gliders at the same time.  But I would recommend you keep them separate at least until your baby is old enough to understand the dos and don’ts with sugar gliders.

Check out my post about bonding with sugar gliders.  I talk a lot about how I bonded with my glider and you can get ideas on how to bond with yours.  I have a single glider so my bonding experience will be a little different from yours, but in general the idea is the same.  The more time you spend with your gliders and interact with them, the better and faster you’ll bond with them.

I think for now, because your gliders are young, your cage is a fine size.  But in a couple of years, you might want to look into getting them something a little bigger, especially if they spend a lot of time in their cage.

I hope this is helpful.  Please keep us all updated on how it goes over with your gliders when your baby arrives.  Good luck!