sugar glider

noun

: a small, primarily nocturnal, arboreal, marsupial possum (Petaurus breviceps of the family Petauridae) of Australia, New Guinea, and the Moluccas that has soft, silvery gray to brown fur and a bushy often white-tipped tail, that typically feeds on sap, nectar, and insects, and that is sometimes kept as a pet

Note: The sugar glider has a fold of skin extending from the front to rear foot enabling it to make long, gliding leaps.

But while all these saps and juices are a good source of energy-rich sugars, they need to be supplemented by protein, especially at breeding time. So in spring and early summer, the sugar gliders switch their attention to insects.

—John Vandenbeld

Sugar gliders can make good pets. … They are naturally inquisitive and will chew and swallow many things, so it is not recommended to provide toys.

—Alison Riley

Examples of sugar glider in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Fruit bats, sugar gliders, a hedgehog, rat, bearded dragon, geckos, snakes, tarantulas and other animals will be the stars of an outdoor show from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at the Rakow Branch. —Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2023

Soon after, Delta Airlines announced a tightening of regulations for service and emotional support animals, noting that customers were attempting to board flights with turkeys, snakes, spiders and sugar gliders, among other species. —Matt Benoit, Discover Magazine, 15 June 2023

One teacher tells about the wide variety of pets in her home including dogs, birds, a sugar glider and even some cockroaches. —Christina Hyder, baltimoresun.com, 5 Aug. 2020

Actress Betty White, holding a sugar glider, at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s annual Beastly Ball in 2015. —Ginger Adams Otis, WSJ, 19 Jan. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above