Do sugar gliders bites hurt

Do Sugar Gliders Bite? Understanding & Preventing Biting

Sugar gliders are interesting animals theres no doubt about that. In fact, theres a debate about whether or not sugar gliders should be owned as pets in the first place. These creatures retain most of their wild habits and dont make for good pets for most people. One characteristic of sugar gliders that makes them poor pets is the fact that they have the tendency to bite their owners.

Do Sugar Gliders Bite?

Yes, sugar gliders do bite, and they bite for many reasons. Your sugar glider may bite you because its hungry, annoyed, curious, or just cleaning you. No matter the reason, this is a behavior that should be understood and discouraged when its done maliciously.

Unlike animals like gerbils, sugar gliders rely on biting as their main source of defense whenever they feel trapped or threatened. There are many things that can trigger sugar gliders, ranging from strange scents on your hands to quick movements that they werent expecting.

While defensive bites are certainly prominent in sugar gliders, they also utilize other kinds of bites. Very soft sugar glider bites are actually a display of affection and are commonly combined with numerous licks. Slightly harder bites are more of a warning and are most commonly used by sugar gliders that are more comfortable around their owners. Very hard bites occur when the sugar glider is legitimately scared.

Knowing the many different reasons for a sugar glider bite is important in avoiding and preventing bites in the first place. Bringing the amount of times that youre bitten by sugar gliders down to 0 is actually quite simple to do.

Do Sugar Glider Bites Hurt?

Most sugar glider bites do not hurt. Any bite thats made as an act of affection or is done on accident almost never hurts and ranges from a dull poke to a tiny pinch. However, fear-based bites can hurt depending on the sugar glider and reason behind the bite.

Bites from sugar gliders around 8 weeks old rarely hurt as they simply dont have the strength to put behind a bite. However, a sugar glider around 16 weeks old can pack more of a punch. However, these bites are more shocking than painful as theyre usually quick and unexpected. Older sugar gliders are a lot more capable of inflicting pain and breaking skin with a bite, but they rarely do that.

Sugar glider bites are often equated to being poked with a toothpick. Stronger bites are similar to hamster bites. Neither of those are particularly pleasant, but theyre also nothing serious.

How To Avoid Getting Bitten By Your Sugar Glider

Proper knowledge is the main part of avoiding sugar glider bites. People with proper animal handling and interaction skills rarely get bitten by sugar gliders because they act in ways that arent threatening and dont instill fear in the animal. People that run towards a sugar glider with a finger outreached are basically begging the timid creature to bite them.

Its important to utilize these strategies with your sugar glider as early as possible to avoid biting and to prevent bad habits from forming. It can be difficult to get a bite-prone sugar glider back on track and acting appropriately.

Know That Some Bites Are Normal!

While fear-based biting is what most people are aware of (and what this post focuses on), sugar gliders bite for other reasons, too!

Friendly nibbles are incredibly common and are typically done when a sugar glider is just sitting calmly in the hand of a human that they trust. This is a natural behavior that can hurt a little bit but is mostly harmless.

Sugar gliders can also nibble when theyre hungry! This is a sap sucker animal, often resulting in them biting items (and humans) in search of food due to their tendency to strip away the bark on trees. When this is done, just offer your sugar glider some food most of the time this stops the nibbling once theyre no longer hungry.

Move Slowly & Dont Disturb Your Sugar Glider

First things first: always move with purpose around your sugar glider. These creatures are small and fragile, meaning that theyve evolved to be quite timid and nervous. Even if your sugar glider is safely kept in their cage and youre the only one around, quick movements can cause them to become stressed out and bite in retaliation.

Making sudden movements towards your sugar glider to grab them is a great way to scare them and cause them to bite you in retaliation. Additionally, if you go to grab your sugar glider and they actively avoid your hand, dont try to chase them around. This will stress them out immensely and cause them to bite in hopes of stopping you.

Moving slowly around sugar gliders does wonders for keeping them calm and keeping their teeth from puncturing your skin.

Dont Be Restrictive In Holding Them

Its important to note that sugar gliders really dont enjoy being held. However, as they become bonded to you and feel more comfortable in your presence, theyll gladly hold onto your body themselves. Therefore, handling your sugar glider should be something that you slowly work up to as you prioritize their comfort.

When a sugar glider is in your hands, you should mostly be prioritizing freedom of motion. Dont hold your sugar glider restrictively, as this will make them feel trapped and will cause them to lash out. You should also not move them around quickly, as this will cause them to fear for their lives.

Note that since you wont be holding your sugar glider tightly, you need to make sure that theyre safe. Always handle your sugar glider either over soft surfaces or barely above the ground. If your sugar glider bites you and you react to it, you dont want them falling several feet to a hard surface and hurting themselves.

Give Them Time To Trust You

Sugar gliders bond to their owners, and will become much more trusting of them as time progresses. As this trust increases, fearful bites will decrease dramatically, and they may be replaced with some of the biting behaviors described above.

When you get a new sugar glider, its recommended that you take things slow. Keep handling to a minimum, and let the sugar glider become comfortable in its surroundings and in your presence. Make brief contact with them during feeding periods and while playing, but dont jump into things too fast.

Over time, youll start to notice your sugar glider becoming more comfortable around you. They may even actively try and climb onto you! If you go to handle your sugar glider and it bites you, simply put it down and wait a bit longer. All sugar gliders are different, so yours may become comfortable quicker or slower than others.

Why Do Sugar Gliders Bite? Everything You Need To Know About Sugar Glider Bites

How can such a small creature be so feisty? Sugar gliders are usually very docile once bonded to their owners; however, if you own sugar gliders, you may experience a bite on the odd occasion.

To understand why your sugar glider may be biting you, it is essential to understand their natural behavior. First, as a small prey species, sugar gliders often bite due to stress or as a defense mechanism when feeling threatened. The second most common reason sugar gliders bite is territorial aggression.

This article aims to explain why sugar gliders may bite, the risks of a sugar glider bite, and what you can do to reduce the likelihood of getting bitten.

Sugar gliders, although one of the most petite pets, being some 100g in weight, can actually be quite aggressive. Their natural demeanor, or behavior in the wild, so to speak, is surprisingly noted to be relatively aggressive (Booth, 2003).

Their incredibly petite build and cute appearance may be misleading. While they probably can not inflict serious injury on you or another person, their lower incisors (front teeth) are remarkably long and sharp. As a result, they can mimic a very painful needle stab or tweezer pinch.

Why Do Sugar Gliders Bite?

As stated above, you need to have a good understanding of your sugar gliders needs and natural behavior. There are things embedded in those genetics that you have to respect, and you can only do that if you understand their instinctive behavior. There are some great books on basic care dos hand donts for a sugar glider; it would be ideal for you to read up on the dos and donts of owning these unique pets.

The following articles may be helpful in this regard:

If it is a new addition to your home, you may need to be patient and perhaps consider spending some non-contact time with it first while it adjusts to its new environment. Consider simply sitting to one side in its enclosure or in a dim, quiet space such as a tent and just letting it check you out a few times before you attempt to hold it.

Non-contact time in close proximity with your sugar glider is also a great idea if you are having an issue with your sugar glider, which has been your pet for a time and seems to be having a bit of a mood swing phase. Go back to basics to earn its trust. Tent time is a great way to build trust and bond with your sugar glider.

Like any other animal, a sugar glider will defend itself if it feels it is in danger from another animal or human. Try not to bring in too many new people when you are in the bonding phase with your pet and if it is not a new pet, consider if you may have brought someone in that your sugar glider does not like and therefore now associates you with them too. In both cases, it is important to start from the beginning with non-contact bonding time.

What you consider biting may just be normal behavior. Around puberty, your sugar glider may attempt to groom you, and this can include the odd little bite. You can let it know that this is not okay by saying no and gently putting pressure with your finger between its shoulder blades. It has been noted that they respond to negative and positive verbal tones (Gibbons, 2006).

Remember that sugar gliders are nocturnal, and therefore if you want to catch your sugar glider at a slightly more docile time, spend time with it in the mornings (Dyer and Cervasio, 2008). The more it becomes accustomed to your presence when it is relaxed, the less likely it is to bite you when you attempt to handle it.

Sugar gliders require a relatively large space compared to their minute size. It has been suggested that about 8m² is a suitable enclosure size for up to 6 sugar gliders, and on that note, groups are recommended or, at the very least, pairs since they are social animals (Cheek, 2017). Perhaps it is time to get your sugar glider a friend?

In short, you need to evaluate whether all the basic needs of your sugar glider are being met, and hopefully, you may identify what is causing a behavioral problem or change. Address its needs and be patient; it will surely warm up to you (again).

What Are The Complications Of A Sugar Glider Bite?

Sugar gliders obviously do not brush their teeth, and so, just as with your average cat or dog, their mouths are full of nasty bacteria. As said, those lower incisors can serve as a pretty sharp hypodermic needle, and an injection of dirt and foreign little micro-organisms under your skin has the potential to fester into a concerning infection.

Sugar gliders are known to carry zoonoses, i.e., diseases that can be transmitted to humans from animals. Some examples of zoonotic bacteria that were isolated from sugar gliders in Italy during a study are Citrobacterspp.,Enterobacterspp.,Klebsiella pneumoniaeas well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Varriale et al., 2019).

The most likely place people get bitten is their fingers when handling or trying to play with their sugar gliders. Signs to look out for which may indicate infection include

• Pain
• Swelling
• Inability to move the finger
• Redness
• Heat

A case of a man bitten by a domestic sugar glider on his finger was diagnosed with flexor tenosynovitis, which is inflammation of the flexor tendon which operates the finger. Surgery was needed in this case to clean the tendon properly, and the bacteria were cultured and identified as Pasteurella multocida and Staphylococcus aureus, which are both normal bacteria found on our skin but which can cause major issues if they gain access to deep tissues (Dominick Siconolfi, 2021). Other complications include cellulitis (inflammation of the subcutaneous tissue) of osteomyelitis (inflammation of the bone).

What Should I Do If Bitten By My Sugar Glider?

As you can see above, it is important to immediately clean the wound if you are bitten by a sugar glider. Irrigate the wound with fresh water or a homemade saline solution which you can find a recipe for at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323842#instructions. It is recommended that you then seek medical attention as you may need antibiotics.

How Should I Hold My Sugar Glider To Avoid Being Bitten?

It is understandable that sometimes you will need to hold your sugar glider even against its will for things such as treatment or to check if it has hurt itself, for example. In such cases, the following may be considered to avoid getting bitten.

Methods Of Restraints

1. Grasping the tail and cupping the sugar glider in your hand (Dyer and Cervasio, 2008)
2. Hold the head between your thumb & middle finger while placing your index finger on top of the head while cradling the body in the palm (Cheek, 2017)

Obviously, it is not advisable to restrain your Sugar Glider for longer than is necessary as you will stress it out, and the negative experience will not be forgotten, making it more difficult to regain its trust. All the more reason to be patient and spend the time domesticating your sugar glider and allowing it to become accustomed to your touch so that it will come to your hand willingly.

References

• BOOTH, R. 2003. Sugar Gliders. Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 12, 228-231.
• CHEEK, B. B. A. R. 2017. Exotic Animal Medicine for the Veterinary Technician, Blackwell Publishing.
• DOMINICK SICONOLFI, J. E., ALAN LUCERNA, RUSSELL MORDECAI 2021. Flexor Tenosynovitis After Bite by Sugar Glider In: ROWAN UNIVERSITY, S. C. R. D. (ed.).
• DYER, S. M. & CERVASIO, E. L. 2008. An Overview of Restraint and Blood Collection Techniques in Exotic Pet Practice. The veterinary clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice, 11, 423.
• GIBBONS, A. 2006. Sugar Gliders Handling.
• VARRIALE, L., RUSSO, T., PACE, A., MEDIATORE, S., BORRELLI, L., SANTANIELLO, A., MENNA, L., FIORETTI, A. & DIPINETO, L. 2019. Microbiological survey of sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) kept as pets in Italy. Letters in applied microbiology, 69, 399-402.