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When preparing to purchase a sugar glider, from whatever source you choose, please make sure you find a knowledgeable veterinarian ahead of time. Don't wait until you suspect injury or illness in your sugar glider, before you start thumbing through the yellow pages! Also, consider the following BEFORE you bring your sugar glider home.
Health Checks
Unless you feel qualified and up to the daunting task of nursing a sick sugar glider back to health, you will undoubtedly want to find a healthy animal to bring home. Again, here is where prior research will be of utmost help. Assessing poor health in a sugar glider can sometimes be difficult to do, especially since identifying certain health problems in sugar gliders often takes years of experience and ample observation of the particular animal in question. Recognizing ill health is often a matter of noticing behavioral changes in the pet over a certain period of time. Yet, there are several physical indicators which may serve as obvious clues that the sugar glider that you wish to purchase is unhealthy. For instance, a runny nose and weeping eyes can indicate that the sugar glider has a cold. These may be symptoms of a minor chill that will subside within a day or two. Or it may be a persistent ailment which will ultimately require expensive veterinarian treatment.
Health Guarantees
Find out what health guarantee is being offered by the seller. Sugar gliders who appear to be healthy one day, can quickly turn sickly the next. So, protect yourself (and your investment) by requesting a health guarantee before you make a purchase. Generally speaking, most reputable sellers will have no problem with this request. And be wary of a seller who is unwilling to give you a health guarantee in writing! Most important: look for a sugar glider who is free of swollen or runny nostils, sunken or runny eyes, and sore or chapped ears. He or she should be socialized to humans, and should show no signs of self-inflicted wounds, intestinal problems, or external parasites.
Good Health
Good health in your sugar glider is fairly easy to identify. A healthy sugar glider has bold, large, round, clear eyes. Not cloudy, running, or sunken. A healthy sugar glider has erect, smooth ears. Not cracked or crusty. A healthy sugar glider has a dense coat of soft fur fully covering its entire body and tail. No bald patches and no speckled clusters of parasite eggs or fecal matter. A healthy sugar glider has smooth skin. No abrasions, cuts, lumps, sores, or swelling. And a healthy sugar glider shows signs of being alert and active.
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