Sugar gliders are a relatively new exotic pet in this country and the most common colour by

far is the classic grey. Over time a select few breeders began importing and pairing sugar
gliders to give a wider variation of colours and characteristics. Detailed below are the colours
available here in the UK and the ethical breeding practises required to produce these colours.
Throughout this summary I will be referring to “genes”. These are what each individual sugar
glider carries and the offspring (joeys) inherit one set from dad and one set from mum, giving
them their own individual make up of genes. There are two types of gene, dominant and
recessive. The dominant gene can be carried by just one parent to make up a colour or trait
in the offspring, whereas a recessive gene needs one from each parent to produce the gene
in the joeys.

Classic Grey
Classic sugar gliders come in many different shades of grey and
they have a dark stripe running from their head to the base of
their tail. They also have dark stripes on their legs along with a
dark bar running from their ears to their eyes. The dark head
stripe is one good way of recognising individual gliders as they
vary widely from glider to glider. The bottom of the tail also has
a dark splodge which often looks like it has been dipped in paint.
The classic grey gene is a dominant gene and this is the natural
colour of sugar gliders in the wild.

Heterozygous or “Hets”
Some sugar gliders take on the classic grey colour but carry the gene for
other colours. This happens when the joeys do not express the colour
but still carry the genetics to do so. These are known as “hets” and can
be very difficult to tell apart from classic greys. One tell tale sign of a het
is that they can appear lighter than a classic grey. The only way to know
if the glider is carrying any hets is through the lineage. Lineage details
the history of sugar gliders and is used by breeders to identify which
gliders can be paired to produce other colours. Lineage also stops in-
breeding and the potential problems associated with it. Because the UK
gene pool for sugar gliders is extremely small, breeding colour to colour
is strictly prohibited. This is where the hets become just as important in
any breeding program as well as the colour gliders themselves. For
example, to breed an albino sugar glider you would never breed albino
colour with another albino colour. The albino colour would be achieved by either breeding an
albino colour with an albino het or by breeding two albino hets. This is extremely important
as it ensures that all current colour breeding lines are kept clean and free from inbreeding.
 Cremino

Cremino gliders are cream in colour with a brown/tawny stripe on

their back/legs and they have garnet eyes. Creminos are produced
with the recessive gene so one gene from each parent is required for
the joeys to show/carry the colour.

Albino

Another colour produced using a recessive gene (one required

from each parent) and the gliders are all white with red eyes.
It is common for these gliders to be born with faint markings
on the head, tail, hands and the lining of the patagium.

Leucistic

Leucistic sugar gliders are all white with black eyes, they have no
stripe or markings around the ears. Leus (as they are often
referred to) are also from a recessive gene (one required from
each parent) and they have a little quirk. When a leucistic is paired
with a platinum or platinum het they can produce platinum joeys
even though they do not carry the platinum gene. A study was
undertaken in America which proved this theory. Therefore, no
colour leucistic glider can be a het for a plat.

Platinum
Another recessive gene (one platinum gene required from
each parent) but this can also be paired with the leucistic gene
to produce the platinum colour. These gliders have light silver
fur with a greyish stripe and markings on the legs. The stripe
is often narrower than other coloured sugar gliders and the
paws can be white.
 White Tip

This is a classic sugar glider which can have a few white hairs or a large
area of white on the tip of its tail. This is thought to be another
recessive gene (one required from each parent) but is yet to be
clarified as they are very rare making it hard to draw conclusions from.

Ruby-Leu

These sugars gliders are double-recessive which means they

are bred from two recessive colours. To be considered a ruby
leu, the resulting joeys must have a solid white body with red
or garnet eyes. Technically, ruby leus are not a true colour,
they are a description of two colours and considered to be a
trait.
Ruby leus can be produced by breeding any the following
combinations: cremino x albino, plat x albino, albino x leu,
cremino x plat, cremino x leu.

Mosaic

Mosaic sugar gliders are strictly not a colour, they are a trait with various
characteristics and patterns. The mosaic trait comes from a dominant gene
which means that only one parent has to pass the gene on to produce
mosaic joeys. Any offspring that do not show the mosaic pattern are not
carriers, they cannot possess the gene if it not shown in their fur. This
means that they will not produce mosaic joeys themselves unless they are
paired with another mosaic. It is generally accepted that these patterns are
random, but some similar markings do run in certain lines that breeders
produce. Gliders with the mosaic patterning will have white hands or
sometimes just a white toe with a variety of white and grey/silver markings
over their body. Below are different variations of mosaics
 Ring Tail

A ring tail mosaic is similar to a standard mosaic but has defined rings on its tail.
The number of rings can vary and so can the colour of them.

Piebald

These mosaics have patches or areas of unpigmented (usually

white) hairs coupled with other areas of pigmented (normally
black or grey) hair. The areas of skin underneath the coat is also
unpigmented under the white areas and pigmented under the
dark areas. This is known as leucism and can produce some totally
random and beautiful coat markings.

White Mosaic

A white mosaic is very similar to a leucistic sugar glider as it has a full

body of white fur and dark eyes but it may have dark spots on the ears.
These spots can vary in pigmentation and size and can appear up to
two weeks after the joey leaves its mothers pouch.

True Platinum Mosaic

A true platinum mosaic (TPM) carries the platinum gene along with
the mosaic gene. They have the same characteristics as a mosaic but
generally lighter.
 White Face
These sugar gliders are generally the same as classic sugar gliders but they
are missing the bar that runs from the ear towards the chin. White face is a
dominant gene and it only requires one parent to carry it. The same
principles apply to white face as they do with any dominant gene, if the
glider is not showing the gene in the coat then it is not a carrier of that gene.

White Face Blonde

White face blondes (WFB) are exactly the same as white face only
they are a lot lighter in colour. WFB are also a dominant gene so
only one parent is required to carry it.

To summarise, recessive genes need one from each parent to produce the colour/gene in the
offspring and dominant genes need only one parent to carry the gene to produce the
colour/gene. If the dominant gene (mosaic, white face and WFB) is not showing in the joeys
then they are not carriers of that gene.

It is extremely important to follow the rule of never breeding the same colour with the same
colour. By doing so could possible taint the clear lines we have in the UK and cause problems
associated with inbreeding. A lot more “breeders” are popping up with cheap colour gliders
which could already be causing issues with the colour lines. Ethical and recommended
breeders will always follow set procedures and practises when it comes to breeding sugar
gliders. They will be able to give you a history (lineage) of the joeys they breed, this is
especially important if you plan to breed yourself. Even if you are not planning to breed,
lineage will prove that your glider will not have any inbreeding issues and should be free of
any horrific complications that are associated with it.

Finally, if you see a colour glider for sale that is “too good to be true” then it probably is. A lot
of approved and other ethical breeders have spent time and money building up their breeding
program and this is reflected in the cost of the joeys. Good breeders and friends of mine are
stopping breeding solely because the market is getting flooded with unlineaged and
unhealthy gliders. It is feared that these gliders will ruin the clear lines we have and destroy
all the hard work we have done to bring up healthy, happy gliders.
Copyright – Jon Fitzgerald 2019