Monday, November 12, 2007

Male Sugar Glider Anatomy

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Head Scent Gland

Alot of people refer to the Head Scent Gland as "The Bald spot", it is not really a "bald spot", they actually do have a full head of hair,errr um, fur. The scent gland that is present on the top of the head produces an oily substance that slicks down a little patch of hair where the scent gland is, creating that handsome balding look. ;-) The Male Head Scent Gland, one of a few scent glands, develops during puberty. Theywill rub their head all over whatever they think should belong to them. :-) (marking) Soif you get "rubbed", its a good thing! The Head Scent Gland (as well as the Chest ScentGland) will disappear and be hardly/not noticeable at all after a male Glider getsneutered. (Neutering also cuts down on the smell- Males do tend to be a little smellierthan the females.) * Sometimes the Head may appear to get a little crusty or yucky from the buildup of oils from the scent gland. If this should happen, you can take a soft clean cloth or Q-tip and dip it in warm water and gently clean the buildup from the scent gland :)

Chest Scent Gland

The Male Chest Scent Gland, one of a few scent glands, develops during puberty. They will rub their chest all over whatever they think should belong to them. :-) (marking) So if you get "rubbed", its a good thing! The Chest Scent Gland (as well as the Head Scent Gland) will disappear and be hardly/not noticeable at all after a male Glider gets neutered. (Neutering also cuts down on the smell- Males do tend to be a little smellier than the females.)

Male Privates

The Male Glider has a long bifurcated penis...meaning- the tip of the penis is split in two or forked. (So no, your glider's penis is not mangled or disfigured, it is very normal. :-) At times the male will let his penis hang out pretty far and some have even seen what appears to be their Gliders, Ummm, weeell, flossing their teeth with it!!?!! (both of which are very normal) When a male Glider is relaxed the scrotum can hang down further appearing as though the testicles are barely attached by a tiny amount of skin. (this too is normal) If for some reason you see that your Gliders penis is NOT retracting (going back in) for a long period of time, then you can use a water soluble lubricant (IE: KY Jelly, etc...) to keep it moistened until you get them to the vet soon for a check. :-) * Both Males & Females have a Cloaca in which the reproductive, urinary, andgastrointestinal tracts open. (Meaning - (to put it bluntly :-) They use the same hole to urinate/deficate, have sex, and give birth.)

General Male Info

Weight - 4-5 oz (Average adult weight, although some are lighter/heavier.)
Body Length - 6-8 in.
Tail Length - 6-8 in.
Sexual Maturity - 8-15 months (although it could be a little sooner or later)
Heart Rate - 200-300 Beats per minute
Respiritory Rate - 16-40 Breaths per minute
Rectal Temperature - 97.2 F
Scent Glands - Paracloacal (alongside the cloaca), forehead, sternal (chest), surface of the paws, corners of the mouth, inside surface of the external ear.
Life Span - 4-5 Years in the wild. Up to 15 Years in captivity. * Both Males & Females have a Cloaca in which the reproductive, urinary, and gastrointestinal tracts open. (Meaning - (to put it bluntly :-) They use the same hole to urinate/deficate, have sex, and give birth.)

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Article By : donovanssugargliders.com

9 comments:

Suggie_doll said...

Hi!

Could you please post some pictures of the gender of the suggies? I wanted to know the difference between a female and male suggie.

Thank you very much!!!

ko said...

Knowing the gender is quite easy. I also like that you have the right spacing of bars on your cage. I have other sugar glider cage ideas at. http://sugarglidercages.blogspot.com/

Mrs. E said...

When does the male hit puberty? I had a breeder sale me a "male" and it is about a year now...my glider don't have a "bald" spot nor anything "dangling"...could it have turned out to be a female after all?

missmjjeje said...

i think my male sg is hitting his puberty right now..thank god i found ur blog..i thought the hanging testis was abnormal..hahaha..thanks a lot for the info :D

Unknown said...

I was supposed to have been sold a female glider. I'm really upset, because there is no way this glider is female. I saw his lil pink penis that's split at the end.

Unknown said...

Now the scrotum is above the penis right? Like where the female pouch would be?

Unknown said...

It is sad to hear that a breeder would misinform a buyer of the sex of the glider they are selling. But it is eqully sad to hear that a buyer would not have done the proper advance research prior to purchasing an exotic pet, and sugar gliders are nothing short of exotic pets. With the upturn of pocket pets the unfortunate increase in abandoned sugar gliders have also increased. In addition, the number of inexperienced breeders or those who breed simply for financial gains have increased. Sugar gliders are extremely social animals that form a bond with not only their owners but with the additional gliders they home with. New additions have a process in adding to new home and the loss of a glider friend or mate can be devastating to a glider. Also, gliders in many instances will only mate with a glider they have bonded with. Which is why studding rarely works and rejection will often occur. So before running out and getting a sugar glider please take the time to do a lot of research in advance about owning a glider and ask questions from the seller. An experienced breeder would be easily able to answer. Finally, once you make decision to buy remember it's never good to have a lone sugar glider. They will become depressed. But at same time new owners should never take on responsibility of having male and female intact gliders. Especially if they are related, because they will still breed with each other causing inbreeding and sterility issues at very least. As a new owner when I first purchased my gliders I made continuous decision to buy neutered and spayed gliders until I was experienced enough to later purchase male and female gliders for breeding and only first for the joy of breeding itself.

Glider Bizzz said...

what vet spays females? I never known of one to actually spay. Only neuter males.

Cj said...

I just got my first glider late yesterday evening. I was holding him last night and I felt wet. So I looked down and his penis was out and something white with a ball on the end. When I picked him up it all went away. Thus morning I checked him and his penis was out again and ive been checking him off and on all day and its still out but not as far as it was. Is this normal??