WELCOME TO S.P.I.N. !
Dedicated To Helping Gliders Everywhere
DO YOU WANT TO HELP SUGAR GLIDERS ??
DO YOU WANT TO STOP MILL BREEDERS ??
DO YOU JUST WANT MORE GLIDER INFO ??
THEN YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE !!
OUR MISSION
Here at the Suggie Protection and Information Network, we are dedicated to helping gliders in need and educating their owners about proper care and treatment of Sugar Gliders. We travel to local fairs, festivals, expos and trade shows to provide much-needed glider information to both current owners and those who are or may soon be considering taking on Sugar Gliders as pets, as well as those who are simply curious and would like to learn more about gliders in general.
The new site is the result of much hard work, cooperation, and dedication on the parts of multiple sections of the online sugar glider community, including:
S.P.I.N., The Glider Initiative, The Mill Breeder Project, All4Gliders, Glider Central, Laurie's Glider Gazette, Sugar Gldier Neighborhood, & USGN
The new site can be accessed here: YOUR ONLINE SUGAR GLIDER RESOURCE CENTER
One of Julie's gliders, Scout, as a juvenile
(approximately 12 weeks OOP)
MEET THE FOUNDERS
JULIE: Located in Pomona Park, Florida, Julie is a wife, mother, grandmother, and proud suggie mama to Scout, Gracie, Chili, Honey, Sparky, Shakespeare, Fizzgig, and Soluna. She breeds AKC registered Labrador Retrievers and is currently pursuing her Associate in Science degree in Network Administration. She enjoys paintball, reading, scrapbooking, and her work with the Mill Breeder Project.
PAULA: Located in Jacksonville, FL Paula is a wife and mother, and a proud slave to many sugar gliders. Paula is a licensed USDA and Florida Wild Life Commission breeder of standard grays, Leucistic, white faces and mosaic sugar gliders. Paula is also the president of the NSGRA (National Sugar Glider Registry Association). Breeding suggies is a hobby to Paula as she is a full time IT Project Manager for Crowley Maritime. When Paula is not playing with her two Maltese puppies, April and TinkerBell, she enjoys Taekwondo, UFC and making toys for her suggies.
TOP 20 REASONS NOT TO BUY A SUGAR GLIDER FROM VENDORS AT FAIRS, SHOWS, MALLS, EXPOS & FESTIVALS 1. They lie about where their gliders come from 2. Their gliders are often sick with giardia and/or coccydia which can kill the gliders and is transferrable to your other pets and even to people 3. They lie about proper sugar glider care and nutrition 4. The gliders they sell are often underweight 5. The gliders they sell have often been taken from their parents too young and are not ready to be on their own 6. Their cages are too small to be suitable for gliders 7. Their products, including the cages, diet components, pouches, and the gliders themselves are extremely over priced 8. Their gliders often come from mill breeding facilities where gliders are kept in over crowed, unsanitary conditions 9. They advocate the use of heat rocks which are both unnecessary and dangerous for gliders 10. They took it upon themselves to change the name of an entire species from sugar glider to “sugar bear” just to keep you from finding good care, information, and advice when you look up the animal on the internet 11. They tell you that these are easy animals to care for when they actually have special needs 12. They tell you not to listen to anyone but them out of fear that you will find out they are lying to you about these animals 13. They will not allow you to tour their facility or see in person where their gliders are born and raised 14. Their gliders have often been severely inbred leading to deformities and genetic issues like HLP (Hind Leg Paralysis) 15. They tell you these animals never need vet care when they actually DO need vet care and can ONLY be seen by glider knowledgeable exotic vets 16. They tell you sugar gliders will get along with your other pets, when in reality, it is dangerous to let your other pets near a sugar glider as the glider might be injured or even eaten 17. They tell you sugar gliders can survive on nothing but glide-r-chow, glide-a-mins, bread, and apples… in reality, they need a specific calcium to phosphorous ratio and a specific amount of protein in their diet. 18. They tell you gliders do not smell if you do not feed them meat… first of all, they are NOT vegetarians, they are OMNIVORES and they REQUIRE a protein (meat) source in their diet and second of all, the MALES all have SCENT GLANDS on their heads and their chests… they will always have SOME scent once they hit puberty, and the ONLY way to lessen the odor at all is to have them neutered. 19. They don’t tell you important glider facts like how some are prone to a problem called SM (Self-Mutilation) where if they feel pain they are capable to EATING holes in their own bodies to “dig in to find the pain” and they can KILL THEMSELVES by doing so. 20. They claim the products they sell are manufactured by them… but they are actually PURCHASED by them and then repackaged with a new label, so they are taking credit for someone else’s work. 
(Soluna - A newly OOP female joey owned by Julie)
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ME TO GET STARTED AS A NEW GLIDER OWNER?
The answer is: it depends.
There are several questions to answer first, because the cost of initially getting into glider ownership varies greatly. Here are some sample questions; the answers to which may shed some light on your start-up costs:
How many gliders are you going to start out with?
Do you want all females, all males, or a mix of both?
Are you getting rescues or joeys from a reputable breeder?
Are you going to get standard grays or another color variation?
Below is a sample, based on standard gray glider joeys from a reputable breeder that you can pick up in person. It does not include color variation costs, shipping or transportation costs, or the added cost of neutering multiple males (of course these are estimates and approximations and are intended only as a guide):
$300 for a pair of glider joeys
$150-$250 for a good cage of appropriate size, strength, and composition
$200 for initial vet visits and neutering the male (less if you get a pair of sisters instead, more if you get 2 males instead)
$50 for a Stealth wheel
$200 toys, cage sets, and bonding pouches (you want enough to interchange when one set is being cleaned)
Diet amount spent will be determined by the diet you choose... we estimate $100-$150 for initial diet investment in fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits, meal worms (and their bedding), Glideraide, and diet components (like HPW powder and bee pollen if you choose to feed HPW) plus other treats you may choose (like yogurt drops or dried fruit)
$70 for an Emergency kit plus e-collars
$40 hospital/emergency separation/vet transport/travel cage
$500 savings on hand at all times for emergency vet visits
basically, we'd put the total to have on hand at the time you acquire your gliders to be roughly $1800 - $2000 (to be on the safe side and leave nothing to chance)
Two female sugar glider joeys, about 9 weeks OOP (Out Of Pouch)
(This is Chili and Honey, two of Julie's sugar gliders)
