What is the life cycle of the sugar glider?

Answer 1

The sugar glider, a native marsupial of Australia, belongs to the order Diprotodontia. These are the essentially herbivorous marsupials, with some being omnivorous or insectivorous as well.

Answer 2

Sugar gliders breed during Winter and Spring (July to November). The sugar glider is a marsupial, so the babies are born undeveloped, after a gestation of only about 16 days. At birth they are blind, hairless and about the size of a bean, weighing around 0.19 grams. Usually one or two young joeys are born at the same time, although sometimes three joeys are born. They then crawl into their mother's pouch where they latch onto a teat and remain there, attached to a teat where they obtain all their nutrients from the mother's milk.

Sugar glider joeys emerge from the pouch after about 70 days. They only emerge bit by bit, sometimes just a foot at a time, never letting go of their mother's teat fully until about a week has gone by. They then spend time in the nest with the father, or they come out for short periods, attached to the underside of their mother. After another ten days or so, the joeys open their eyes fully. The father sugar glider helps take care of the joeys, and both parents teach the young how to forage. They are fully weaned by about 16 weeks.

Young female sugar gliders are ready to reproduce by the time they are 8-10 months old, whilst male sugar gliders reach reproductive age at 4 months. Gliders live in colonies which may house up to a dozen gliders. Sugar gliders have a life span of around 8-12 years in the wild, and 10-15 years in captivity if they are treated properly.