Awwww... one of the sweetest things on Earth. Sugar Glider babies are called 'Joeys'. When a Mommy and Daddy Sugar Glider love each other, they will mate. ;-) A Mommy Glider is pregnant for 16/17 days (gestation), then she will give birth through the cloaca to one or two joeys (very rarely three - alot of Joey births seem to happen in the early morning/day). Right before a joeys birth, the Mother will lick a pathway from her cloaca to her pouch, so that the tiny one can make its way to the pouch easier, without getting stuck and tangled in the dry fur. The tiny joey, a little bigger than a cooked grain of rice (around a fourth of an inch), is born blind (eyes stay closed for several days even after coming out of pouch), deaf (born with their ears fused to the sides of their head), and underdeveloped (some organs are still developing). They have arms like little 'flippers', and their legs are joined and give them a 'tad-pole' like look. They use their strong flipper like arms to pull their way up into the pouch. At this stage, they have one continuous arc of cartilage, instead of shoulder blades...as they develop in the pouch, this cartilage breaks apart and forms the shoulder blades. (A rare and primitive structure in the Animal kingdom.) Once inside, the joey attaches itself to a nipple. The nipple swells in the joeys mouth and helps hold the joey in the pouch. The joey will then continue to develop and grow. They usually emerge from the pouch in 60-70 days (give or take a few). Glider Mom's are also quite capable of having different aged joeys IP. They have four teats in the pouch that 'know' what type of milk to feed to what age joey. Cool huh?! After a joey is OOP, it will continue to nurse from its Mother untill it no longer can (whether it be human intervention, or the Mother). It is recommended that the earliest a joey be weened is 8 weeks (although in the wild, they nurse for several more weeks before the Mother Glider no longer allows it). As little ones grow... the parents both play a very important role in the raising. Joeys will learn everything they need to know from Mom and Dad! ;-)

Here are a couple pictures below, of a 'Just Born' joey... unfortunatly Mother nature took its course and this little one did not make it into pouch. :-(   (it's sister did. ;-) When this wee one came to me, it was rather dehydrated, I rehydrated it the best I could with a solution so that it might be better studied and its features more easily seen. (although the pics turned out rather crummy, one can still maybe get an idea. :-)
I must say... these creatures are fascinating, and after seeing a just born up close...
I think of every Joey birth as a little miracle.

Click on a photo to enlarge...

"Mating" (blushing ;-)



A "Just Born" Joey...
     


Developing joey in pouch...
(*Photo from unknown source.)



Pictures of a baby IP (in pouch)...
     


Pictures of a new baby OOP (out of pouch)...
           


* "Glider Stork" artwork drawn for 'Amy' Glider, by the VERY talented Sungmina *
No Un-Authorized use.