What kind of creature is a 'sugar glider?
Sugar glider Health Inspection Service (APHIS) through the Animal Welfare Act. Sugar glider 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 like 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
Sugar glider sugar glider will reduce activity and body temperature normally in order to lower energy expenditure and avoid torpor. With energetic constraints, the sugar glider will enter into daily torpor for 2–23 hours while in rest phase. Torpor differs from hibernation in that torpor is usually a short-term daily cycle. Entering torpor saves energy for the animal by allowing its body temperature to fall to a minimum of to . When food is scarce, as in winter, heat production is lowered in order to reduce energy expenditure. With low energy and heat production, it is important for the sugar glider to