F . A . Q .

  • Q. What does 'Kozi' mean?
    • A. Honestly... it doesn't mean a thing! Kozinu has long been my nickname on the internet, I've always loved the name Kozi but it's popular in Japan so it's often taken. Thus I created Kozinu. When thinking of a name for our website I thought Kozi(pronounced cozy) had a cute sound to it.. Cozy Gliders! So, thus.. Kozi Gliders! Silly, I know.. xD; Many people also call me Kozi for short, typically on the glider forums or games that I play.

  • Q. How did you find out about sugar gliders?
    • A. Actually I have a friend in Chicago who has about 14 of the little cuties! He doesn't breed, he just has one HUGE colony in a gigantic cage. After seeing his and hearing crabbing for the first time.. well, I think it was love!

  • Q. Are sugar gliders the only type of animal you have?
    • A. Not at all! Though they are the only ones who have an entire room all to themselves! My boyfriend and I also have two cats, Chi and Moogle! We've got quite enough of a zoo with all those trouble makers, believe me! We love all our critters though! We're both quite big animal lovers.

Questions from new parents!

  • Q. What is required in caring for them daily?
    • A. Honestly, it's best to bring them out of their cages for play time on a daily basis. Most people have pop up tents for them to play in so it's safe/glider-proof. Some people do glider-proof entire rooms, though. -- Along with that you do need to change their food nightly, they need fresh fruits and a staple, I'll explain more in the next post!

  • Q. How expensive is their food?
    • A. It can get a bit costly, especially the fresh fruits and veggies. I feed the Original HPW diet. For 2 gliders it isn't terribly costly at all, it costs a bit to start up, buying a good bit of HPW powder and bee pollen, but once you do that it lasts quite some time. Many people make a single batch and it lasts 2-4 weeks. I think the most we spend on is all the fresh fruits and veggies. We like to visit local farmers markets whenever we can. There's plenty of options for treats/snacks, too. But honestly, it's the same cost as feeding any other animal a healthy diet. They can't survive off pellets alone(they've been shown to half their live span and cause liver faliure) as they're sap suckers by nature so they do need something more complicated. If you can't spend a bit of time in the kitchen then they may not be the right pet for you. Here's the diet we use, Original HPW. And here's a page with a bunch of information on other diets, Gliderpedia - Diets.

  • Q. Are they nasty little biters?
    • A. Oh yes, they can draw blood and some people have gotten serious infections. I've only had blood drawn a few times(typically with rescues I've taken in) and I've never gotten an infection. They don't do this all the time, that's when typically VERY SCARED. (They CAN also 'skunk' you when they're terrified. It smells EXACTLY like a skunk but dissipates much more quickly than a normal skunk's smell.. but believe me, it is STRONG while it lasts. Typically only joeys do this, if your glider is doing thing you're doing something to SERIOUSLY frighten them!) They WILL groom you, they will use their teeth to scrape lightly at your skin, especially scabs and they HATE bandaids. But typically they will 'pinch' lightly to 'taste' you, they're a very taste/scent based animal. They will lick you to groom you, too. But as with any animal, they do have teeth and will bite. If you spend a lot of time with them and get them very friendly/socialized they will be much better about it, though I'd still expect the occasional light 'nip' taste test. (They'll do this if you use an unusual or especially fruity shampoo/body wash, hand soap, etc.. They always have to investigate new smells and tastes. They may be more likely to bite you if your hands smell like another animal or something offensive to them.)

  • Q. How much sleep/wake time do they have?
    • A. They are generally nocturnal. Mine usually wake up between 7 and 10 pm and then go to bed sometime around 8-11am, depends on how much they tire themselves out. (Since you can't be up ALL night playing it's best to have a glider safe wheel, they run like CRAZY. (Most wheels are unsafe, they can break their legs and tails. So paying 30-50 right now for a wheel that will last at LEAST a year or two is nothing compared to the hundreds you'd spend at the vet later.. I've heard a tail amputation quoted at $850. Here's a video of gliders in a wheel! They do NOT run, they kind of hop! Heck, it's worth it to buy the wheel simply because I've gotten hours of amusement just watching them!)
      Safe Wheels; Attix Worx, Glider Wheels And More, Fast-Track, CCCruiser.

  • Q. What do they do other than just sleep?
    • A. Wheel wheel wheel! They LOVE the wheel. They will forage for stuff, many people hide treats in toys or pouches in their cage and they will explore and do their best to find it. They will swing on things, carry things around and of course, they love jumping/gliding, too.

  • Q. Is it true that they never need to see a vet?
    • A. No no no! Not at ALL! They DEFINITELY need vet care! It's best to have a yearly check up and a fecal test done to check for parasites. They don't need any regular shots or anything. But it's still best for them to have a check up to make sure everything is well! Also, they are very small and fragile, they can get injuries and will require IMMEDIATE care if they do. (Often at night, as they're nocturnal. So it's best to have a 24 hour vet that sees exotics/sugar gliders readily available.) They are very small and considered exotics by most vets so their care can be quite costly if something does happen. Keep this in mind when considering adding them to your family, it's best to have a bit of a fund saved up for emergency vet care.

  • Q. Are gliders good for kids?
    • A. No, I definitely would not suggest a suggie. D: They're really more adult pets. They don't typically like to sit still and be coddled. They like to run around, explore, jump, glide.. (They are VERY sneaky and the house has to be infant-proofed, essentially. They can't really swim, they can crawl into small/tight spaces and get stuck/lost, etc.) They are also VERY fragile which is another reason they aren't great for kids. They require big cages, 3-6 feet tall or bigger, a diet that requires work in the kitchen and fresh fruits/veggies nightly, also it's best to get two, and they're nocturnal, to boot. So.. definitely not the best for kids.

¤ T e r m s ¤

OOP - Out Of Pouch. Gliders are marsupials, their young mature in the mother's pouch. The joeys are as small as a gran of rice when they're born, they crawl up into the pouch at that size and attach to the mother's nipple. They stay there and continue to nurse and mature until they're ready to come out of the pouch. (Pretty much when they're too big to fit anymore, you'll see tails and feet start to protrude from the pouch before they actually come out.) That is the date at which most breeders list, the 'OOP' date. So it is not TECHNICALLY a 'birth' date, but it's pretty hard to catch the ACTUAL birth process as the joeys are SO tiny at that point in time. The joeys will be 'out' of the pouch before their OOP date. The mother will stretch the pouch open and take the joeys out to clean them while they're still nursing. The first day they're detatched from the nipple is their technical 'OOP' date.

Phenotype - "Phenotypes result from the expression of an organism's genes as well as the influence of environmental factors and the interactions between the two." This will be where you find the color of the joey as well as any possibly color traits they may carry.

Het - "Heterozygous". This means the joey is 'het' for carrying whichever gene is in question even though it may be standard gray in color. The gene has a chance to carry over from the parents. Leucistic, Creamino, Plat, etc are some examples of what joeys could be het for. That means if you pair up two joeys that are het for the same gene they have a chance to produce that color joey when/if they breed.

Lineage - Lineage is the joey's family tree, essentially. It's a record of the joey's parents, grand parents and so on. It's best not to breed any gliders without this information as many gliders are related to eachother to some extent. (Especially when people breed without lineage and then sell those joeys, there's no way to tell who they came from or who they may be related to.) There are no where near as many gliders in the US as there are dogs or cats for example, so the gene pool is much smaller and thus you have a higher chance of inbreeding if you're not using lineage to keep track of your glider's relatives.

COI - "Coefficient Of Inbreeding". It is the calculation used to determine the level of inbreeding on an idividual glider. The lower the better, it means the glider has cleaner lines. Some breeders won't breed over 5%, 10%, etc. I try to stay 3-4 or less, I strive to produce joeys that are 1-2% if at all possible. Some bigger breeders or 'mills' will breed gliders as high as 15-25% which is VERY dangerous. I would suggest checking lineage and looking for the lowest COI possible when considering pairing up gliders for the purpose of breeding.