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Re: unusual pets
I have a male sugar glider called Ziggy, female is on the way and would just like to say they are VERY complex to care for. You'll read so many articles on different diets your head will start to spin, and they need a lot of attention too...if you want them bonded you need to carry them around in a pouch for an hour or two during the day as well as letting them out at night in a DULL lit room (so as to not damage their eyes). They are terrors for chewing cables and running down the backs of things so you need to "sugar glider proof" any room you let them play in. You need a VERY secure and large cage because they are great escape artists. The males also have an "interesting" smell, a little bit doggy and a little bit fruity, I like it but its strong if he is un neutered. They are also messy, splattering bits of fruit and mealworms about when they eat, and they quite happily poo and pee all over you. But they are ah-mazing pets if you can deal with the work involved...they become so friendly they will sit with you for hours and jump off things and land on you. Please do get a pair though, they get very lonely alone...my Ziggy has been barking all night ever since I got him, he's also lost weight, I'm hoping his new lady friend will cheer him up.
Hedgehogs also make great pets, I have two of them, they are very easy to care for but dont interact with you as much as sugar glider. Other good options are southern flying squirrels (very similar care to a sugar glider except diet), plus there are lots of interesting little mouse and hamster like things such as African Pygmy Dormice.
As for skunks, again they are a lot of work. Descenting is now illegal so you often have to put up with being sprayed whilst taming the skunk...also consider that although a dtame skunk might not spray the glands will become full and occasionally "leak" and if the skunk gets a fright it might still spray you. Their diet is even more complex and the wrong diet can give them serious bone deformities.
I actually know someone with a pair of kinkajou and they are great, very tame, kept in an enormous enclosure and happy enough to breed...they are very fussy and they wont breed unless their environment is perfect. But the care level required for them is like a second job...seriously full time, and they are potentially very aggressive animals.
Sorry for the essay lol!
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