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sexual maturity misinformation #216005
02/10/07 05:11 PM
02/10/07 05:11 PM

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Didn't know if I should post this in the Breeding and Babies forum or here.

I am relatively inexperienced with sugar gliders. I have only been a glider owner for 5 months. But although, I'm fairly inexperienced, I have read everything I can get my hands on about them. I am annoyed by the overwhelming variation in information about these animals. There are so many misconceptions. Here is one thing that I have been noticing a lot lately. -The variation in age of sexual maturity. Now for me, this topic is very important becuase I have a male and a female which I do not intend to breed. A quick internet search on sugar glider sexual maturity will give you answers like this:

Sexual maturity varies from Sugar Glider to Sugar Glider and it seems to manifest around 7-15 months of age with some waiting up to 2 years.

Sugar gliders reach sexual maturity at 7-10 months.

About 9-10 months

Sexual maturity in sugar gliders occurs late in the first year of life for females and early in the second year for males.

Sexual maturity is reached at 8 to 12 months in females and 12 to 15 months in males.

When I adopted my male I was told that he should get his bald spot around 4 mos. and that is when I would know that he had reached sexual maturity. But what actually happened was that he got a faint outline of the appearance of a bald spot at 3 mos. and then immediately following that began mating with my female who is now 7 mos.

He will be 4 mos. this week. And the spot is mostly visible, but still sometimes remains covered.

I have read other posts by people who are saying similar things about their 3 month old gliders mating. But, no vets, websites, or breeders that I have talked to ever mentioned this as a possibility. And of the two vets that I have seen (who both claimed to be knowledgable about gliders), neither would seem to believe that it is possible for him to be sexually mature yet.

I guess I am just frustrated with all of the differences in what should be "facts". Or maybe, the "facts" need to be updated. Perhaps due to their captivity, they are becoming sexually mature earlier. I don't really know...

Re: sexual maturity misinformation [Re: ] #216013
02/10/07 05:22 PM
02/10/07 05:22 PM

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I have found a lot of that frustrating as well. But I think that the general consensus around here is that males reach maturity around 3-4 months, and females anywhere from 5-8 months. At least that is what I have been told by many breeders.

I just take what I read from several sources, blend it all together and use it as a reference, not necesarily fact. Everything comes with experience, and each glider is different, so you can't really use anything you read as cold hard fact.

Re: sexual maturity misinformation [Re: ] #216041
02/10/07 06:15 PM
02/10/07 06:15 PM
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 14,788
Cleveland, Ohio
sugarglidersuz Offline
Glideritis Anonymous
sugarglidersuz  Offline
Glideritis Anonymous

Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 14,788
Cleveland, Ohio
On my web page about Breeding Sugar Gliders and also my chapter on Breeding in Peggy Brewer's new book Sugar Gliders: Living With and Caring for Sugar Gliders is this the Right Pet for You? I do state that for males, maturity can occur between 3 and 12 months old; for females, it can occur between 5 and 18 months old. (Of course, there are always variances; however, these are the norm.)
One of the reasons for Peggy getting this new book published is exactly because of the wide variety of misinformation that is out there today. You have to remember that until her book was published at the beginning of this year, the most recent book about gliders was published in 1996 - that's over 10 years ago! Gliders have only been in the States for about 20 years and there has not been a great deal of research done about them in that time. They are still a relatively new pet available on the market and so facts are not truly established yet. We are all still learning as we go along.
Personally, I was a victim of the misinformation about sexual maturity and my first female glider ended up impregnated by her brother when she was just 5 months old. You have touched on a subject that is very near & dear to me for this reason... one of the reasons why I wrote the chapter for Peggy, in fact! I wanted to make sure that up to date, accurate information is available to those who need it.

Moving this over to Breeding & Babies now, since that's where it really does belong thumb


Suz Enyedy
:bb: Carina & Coobah
Allira & Gizmo :grey:
:grey: Picasso, Trinity Joy & Luna
:rbridge: DaisyMae; Darwin; Mareki; Mambo; Pika; Cricky; Reggie & Bobo, Pepe & Bittah


Suz' Sugar Gliders
Re: sexual maturity misinformation [Re: sugarglidersuz] #216068
02/10/07 07:18 PM
02/10/07 07:18 PM

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I do understand that because sugar gliders are a relatively new pet, there is still much to be learned and understood about them. That's why I'm so grateful to have a resource such as this website. And it is also great to hear that there is a new book coming out (or is it out already?) with up-to-date info. Kudos to you Suz, and others like you who are helping to get better information out to people.

I just needed to vent a little I think... And I need to find a vet who won't imply that I am wrong when I say that my little man is all sexually mature, because that is what is really truly bothering me. When I go to see a doctor, I want them to know more than I do, and not the other way around.

Re: sexual maturity misinformation [Re: ] #216091
02/10/07 08:02 PM
02/10/07 08:02 PM
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 9,910
Phoenix, AZ
KattyM Offline
Serious Glideritis
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Serious Glideritis

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 9,910
Phoenix, AZ
Unfortunately, when egos get in the way, it's hard for folks (experts in the field as well as your kid brother) to admit when they're wrong. My little Tomoki showed signs of sexual maturity (bald spot developing and dropped poms) at 11 weeks, and that's when I took him to the vet to get neutered. I definitely did not want to risk him mating with his mom.

Peggy's new book is already out: Sugar Gliders: Living with and Caring For Sugar Gliders Is this the Right Pet for You?.


Forever owned in my heart by my :grey: "Eight is Enough" colony:

:rbridge:
• 2002: Keiko (F) + 2003: Hiroshi (M) = 2004: joey Tomoki (M)
• 2009: Sammy (F), Charlie (F), Murray (M), Herbie (M)
• 2010: BJ (M)
Re: sexual maturity misinformation [Re: KattyM] #216265
02/11/07 08:49 AM
02/11/07 08:49 AM
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 14,788
Cleveland, Ohio
sugarglidersuz Offline
Glideritis Anonymous
sugarglidersuz  Offline
Glideritis Anonymous

Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 14,788
Cleveland, Ohio
Thanks for providing the link Katty. I didn't have it on hand when I made my post yesterday shakehead


Suz Enyedy
:bb: Carina & Coobah
Allira & Gizmo :grey:
:grey: Picasso, Trinity Joy & Luna
:rbridge: DaisyMae; Darwin; Mareki; Mambo; Pika; Cricky; Reggie & Bobo, Pepe & Bittah


Suz' Sugar Gliders

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