Hello!
My name's Laura and I just set up this account. I'm sure many of you have seen this type of post (I already read a couple others) but I needed some help making a decision.

I've been contemplating getting a sugar glider (probably two) over the past year. I have a couple friends that own sugar gliders and from their feedback and the research I've done online they seem like really fun and interesting family members! I'm not 100% whether these are right for me, though.

I have no doubt in my abilities to take care of them. I've worked for an animal rescue and spay/neuter clinic for five years and am getting a job at my vet's office. I've talked to my vet and she has dealt with sugar gliders, so ...

a. I have experience behind me
b. I have a really awesome vet
c. I am financially stable to own them
d. I've been around them and have friends to help me through the bonding process

But here comes my problems... I am going to start my first year of college this fall. I will be in a dorm but I have my own bedroom, I'm pretty sure my roomate is ok with a small pet (she has a service dog). Obviously, I am going to wait a couple months to get to know my college situation/roomates. I know I will have enough time and I do plan to get my own place as soon as I can. My mom will be watching my dog but she really wants me to move to an apartment or rent a condo with a friend and take my dog with me. My dog is only 1 and half years old, she's very mellow and thinks she's the size of a chihuahua (she's a german shepherd/mastiff). She is also well behaved and well trained, I'm working with her to be a therapy dog.

Here's my biggest problem...I am an international studies student (asian studies, specifically) and I do plan to travel in the future as an ESL teacher. How well do sugar gliders do traveling/adapting to a new home? I would live for a year or two in either Japan or South Korea about every other year I live back here in the states (is my goal). I have friends in both Japan and Korea who have pets and would help me find the right vet. I'm worried it might be too stressful for a sugar glider. I hate it when people 'impulse buy' and rush into getting pets without thinking of potential consequences and future situations. I don't want to get a sugar glider or two only for them to end up depressed/or having to find a new home. It's not fair to them. I have also looked into getting a hedgehog or chinchilla, but I'm very partial to sugar gliders.
Sorry for the long post but any feedback would be really appreciated!

Thanks!
Laura

Thank you for the reply!

I am definitely going to keep researching and make my decision in a couple months but this is very helpful. I'm wondering that if I were to get two, being together would help reduce the stress a little bit, or am I wrong? Is it better to get even pairs, or is it okay to do odds (maybe 3?). And how difficult would it be to leave them here in the states with a sibling/someone I could trust and let them get used to before my travels if I decided to travel without them. I'm still worried about the stress on them, but how stressful is too much? I know with dogs, the more you expose them to new things the calmer and less stressful it is for them in new environments/situations. Would it be the same idea for a sugar glider? Or do they actually suffer a lot from stress...sort of like rabbits can have heart attacks from being frightened.
And do you think it would be better to buy younger joeys (from a reputable breeder, of course) versus adopting an older glider?

Sorry for so many questions!

Where are you going to college? I have never heard of a college/unviersity allowing pets in the dorm other than fish in a small aquarium. I lived on campus my first year and the people across the hall tried to sneak in a cat and were fined and almost kicked out of the dorms due to a violation in their housing contract. So, you definately need to make sure that they even allow pets (a sugar glider will be hard to hide especially since they can be quite noisy at night). A pet friendly apartment or condo would probably work best (and it's normaly A LOT cheaper than a dorm).

I am also curious about the college situation. Linda basically told you all of your answers (How are you always first to everything?!), but if your roomie has a service dog, is he/she FOR the roommate? I think that a college HAS to make an exception to those with physical disabilities, especially if they require that students live on campus.

Though some places DO allow animals, you have to make sure that sugar gliders are allowed specifically. Many places that normally will accept pets won't accept gliders because they're exotic.

Great job on doing all of the before hand planning though! It's awesome to see when people are thinking about getting gliders but really go through all of the possible scenarios, rather than seeing an ad for sugar gliders that someone JUST bought less than a month before saying that they figured out that they require too much work or don't have enough time.

Thank you for all the help! My dorm actually does not accept pets. However, they are very thick walled and a lot of students I know there have pet rats/bunnies. They only do one room check a semester and give you three days notice with the time they will be in the room, so I was thinking about just having a friend watch him for that ten minutes. They just poke their heads in sort of deal. As I type this I realize it sounds selfish, but the fact its so easy and the number of people who get away with it astonish me. I mentioned my roommate's service dog because it means that I'm sure she is an animal person and will understand. Again, I will wait a few months to talk with her and think about it thoroughly. I plan on getting an apartment by fall 2010, so it probably would be best to wait. I'm sure many of you know what I mean when I say I can't imagine myself going that long without an animal companion...which is why I'm considering one in a dorm.

I've also gone in to a pet store to look at hedgehogs today and I'm thinking that they might be more practical for my situation. I don't plan on buying from a pet store, but needed to get a feel from them. They are pretty quiet, don't take as long to bond, litter-box trained, and travel rather well. I will one day try and get a sugar glider because they are such amazing little animals, but I'm beginning to feel from my research and all of your feedback that I probably really should wait until I am 100% sure in myself. I'm very worried about traveling and the stress that would cause on them.

I'm really glad I posted on this forum! Replies are incredibly fast and every post actually has relevant information, haha! All of this has been a huge help and I will definitely be back when the time is right for me.

Thank you for everything!
Laura