How big does a Sugar glider get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) reaches an average size of 15.2 cm (0′ 6″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). Usually, they reach an age of 14 years. A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 120 grams (0.26 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Sugar gliders have 1 babies about 1 times per year. The Sugar glider (genus: Petaurus) is a member of the family Petauridae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its preference for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its ability to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel. They have very similar habits and appearance to the flying squirrel, despite not being closely related—an example of convergent evolution. The scientific name, Petaurus breviceps, translates from Latin as “short-headed rope-dancer”, a reference to their canopy acrobatics.The sugar glider is characterised by its gliding membrane, known as the patagium, which extends from its forelegs to its hindlegs, one on each side of its body. Gliding serves as an efficient means of reaching food and evading predators. The animal is covered in soft, pale grey to light brown fur which is countershaded, being lighter in colour on its underside.The sugar glider is endemic to parts of mainland Australia, New Guinea and certain Indonesian islands; and it was introduced to Tasmania, probably in the 1830s. It is a popular exotic pet but is prohibited in some regions, including parts of Australia and the United States.
Animals of the same family as a Sugar glider
We found other animals of the Petauridae family:
- Tate’s triok with a weight of 252 grams
- Leadbeater’s possum with 1 babies per litter
- Mahogany glider with 1 babies per litter
- Squirrel glider with 1 babies per litter
- Striped possum with a size of 25.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Long-fingered triok with a size of 23.5 cm (0′ 10″)
- Yellow-bellied glider with 1 babies per litter
- Northern glider with a size of 25.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Great-tailed triok with a size of 22.3 cm (0′ 9″)
- Biak glider with a size of 14.5 cm (0′ 6″)
Animals with the same size as a Sugar glider
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Sugar glider:
- Smith’s bush squirrel with a size of 17.2 cm (0′ 7″)
- Rough-haired golden mole with a size of 15 cm (0′ 6″)
- Sado mole with a size of 16.3 cm (0′ 7″)
- Plains viscacha rat with a size of 12.9 cm (0′ 6″)
- Gray short-tailed opossum with a size of 14.8 cm (0′ 6″)
- Short-tailed Talaud mosaic-tailed rat with a size of 17.2 cm (0′ 7″)
- Big-eared kangaroo rat with a size of 12.7 cm (0′ 5″)
- Long-tailed mountain rat with a size of 15.9 cm (0′ 7″)
- Mohave ground squirrel with a size of 15.7 cm (0′ 7″)
- Hainan gymnure with a size of 13.4 cm (0′ 6″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Sugar glider
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Sugar glider:
- Common brushtail possum
- Pale spear-nosed bat
- Banana pipistrelle
- Pale-throated sloth
- Grizzled tree-kangaroo
- Guatemalan deer mouse
- West Caucasian tur
- Rio Mayo titi
- White-throated guenon
- Black-flanked rock-wallaby
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Sugar glider
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Sugar glider:
- White-tailed mongoose with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Capybara with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Tricolored bat with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Microcebus coquereli with an average maximal age of 15.25 years
- Guinea pig with an average maximal age of 14.75 years
- American red squirrel with an average maximal age of 12 years
- California myotis with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Common pipistrelle with an average maximal age of 16.67 years
- Ring-tailed cat with an average maximal age of 16.5 years
- Red hartebeest with an average maximal age of 15.25 years
Animals with the same weight as a Sugar glider
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Petaurus breviceps:
- Ellerman’s tufted-tailed rat bringing 100 grams to the scale
- Woolly-headed spiny tree-rat bringing 108 grams to the scale
- Tanezumi rat bringing 140 grams to the scale
- Texas kangaroo rat bringing 106 grams to the scale
- Yellow-nosed cotton rat bringing 122 grams to the scale
- Greater tree mouse bringing 105 grams to the scale
- Pygmy marmoset bringing 124 grams to the scale
- Edible dormouse bringing 128 grams to the scale
- Hinde’s rock rat bringing 141 grams to the scale
- Chilean rock rat bringing 130 grams to the scale