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The marsupial flying squirrel has not only a pretty appearance, but also many names. The animal is known as: flying possum, sugar protein, flying protein. They showed themselves not only as an unusual wild animal, but also as a pet, gratefully accepting human affection. Read more about the marsupial flying squirrel in this article.
External description
Marsupial flying squirrel has small parameters. The length of her body is 15-16 cm, weight - 120 g. In the Northern marsupial flying squirrel, these figures are slightly higher and are 26 cm and 180 g, respectively. On the sides of the body are folds of skin called flying membranes. The marsupial flying squirrel uses them for planning, spreading the membranes in flight. At such a moment, it seems as if the flying squirrel has a wide massive body, which in fact, of course, is not true.
The flying squirrel has a short muzzle, pointed to the nose, and the nose itself is small and pink. The tail is covered with thick hair and its length exceeds the length of the body of the animal. It can be used to carry small items, such as branches. Despite the fact that the marsupial flying squirrel has tenacious legs, it cannot hold anything during the planning, and then the tail comes to the rescue. For this purpose, the animal twists it in the form of a spring. Flying squirrels have rather voluminous ears, which she bends to the head in case of danger. Good hearing helps the squirrel hunt in the dark. In this they also help huge eyes, catching any photon of light.
The marsupial squirrels have five-fingered limbs. The second and third fingers on the hind legs of the animal partially grew together over the years of evolution. These are two separate bone formations enclosed in one skin flap.
Habitat
The marsupial flying squirrel lives in the North and East of Australia, as well as on the island of New Guinea and in the Australian state of Tasmania. The animal was introduced to Tasmania in the middle of the 19th century, so it does not have any local name. Marsupial flying squirrels prefer to settle in eucalyptus forests, but in the absence of such trees they can settle in any other. The main priority when choosing a habitat is an abundant amount of food. Due to its high adaptability, the animal is not on the verge of extinction, even though the number of eucalyptus forests has been declining in recent years.
Wildlife Lifestyle
Like many other representatives of the Australian fauna, marsupial flying squirrels lead a twilight lifestyle. In the dark, they go out to get food. The food of marsupials is acacia and eucalyptus liquids, fruit juices, and also the pulp of the fruits themselves. Eating insects and worms helps them replenish their supply of protein. Depending on the season, the ratio of a particular type of food fluctuates. For example, in winter, when there are almost no insects, the flying squirrel switches to eating plant food. And in the summer there are more insects, and they make up the vast majority of the animal’s nutrition. With a prolonged lack of food, flying squirrels can fall into a state close to lethargic sleep, and spend almost all the time in it.
The flying squirrel has a highly developed social structure. They stray into groups of not more than 7 males, not including young growth. The whole family lives on one territory and protects it. They are not afraid to show aggression towards relatives. To warn the enemy and scare him away, the marsupial flying squirrel carries odorous glands under the skin on its forehead, through which it ejects a fetid secret. The same technique is used to mark the boundaries of the territory.
One group occupies a space of 100 acres. The marsupial squirrels have an alpha male leader. Despite the fact that flying squirts are aggressive towards groups from other territories, there are practically no open conflicts within the family.
Home Content
For their unpretentiousness and the ability to breed in captivity, marsupial flying squirrels have gained popularity not only among lovers of exotic animals, but also among people who just want a small pet. Living in an apartment does not bring flying sands much stress if the animal has enough space for planning. Another prerequisite - marsupial squirrels can not be kept alone. These are herd animals, and they definitely need a company. Therefore, it is better to immediately buy 3-4 animals. This somewhat complicates the care, but prevents the death of the animal from the spleen.
Walking outside the cage should be done with caution. And all because of the odorous glands of the flying squirrel: if possible, the flying squirrel will try to mark the apartment, considering it its territory. It will be difficult to get rid of this smell.
How to feed a flying squirrel at home
In nature, marsupials fly eat insects to replenish nutrients. When kept in an apartment with the same purpose, you can give sour-milk products, cottage cheese will be especially useful. Also, her diet should include fruits, vegetables, cheeses and food for rodents (even a wet cat is suitable). In the summer, you can dilute the menu of marsupial flying squirrels with crickets or worms. In the absence of aversion to insects, you can freeze them for the winter, so that flying squirrels have access to them all year round.
If the home diet of the marsupial flying squirrel is similar to the natural one, then the animal will live longer and be less likely to get sick. And these animals are notorious sweet tooth. In nature, they drink fruit juice, but at home it can be replaced with syrup.
Purchase and care
Marsupial flying squirrels are not a rare occurrence for pet stores and cost around 6,000 rubles. If the animal still did not appear in the pet store, you can make an order with the people involved in their sale, or buy a flying squirrel via the Internet. Special sites are full of advertisements for the sale of individuals of different ages, and the price for them is sometimes even lower than in a pet store.
Before buying a marsupial flying squirrel, it is necessary to attend to the arrangement of the aviary. Flyers need a lot of space for jumping and planning. The cage should have branches, hills and ropes. These animals are poorly trained and hardly develop habits. Therefore, once outside the cage, a flying squirrel can get stuck in some hole, for example, under furniture. It will be very difficult to get it back, and the animal, most likely, will violently resist these attempts. And when the extraction process is over, the squirrel does not interfere with marking the savior with his secret. And being free the next time, she, not taught by previous experience, will again try to get into the same hole. Therefore, flying squirrels cannot be walked without supervision.
Also, do not forget that marsupials are pretty shy animals. If there are other pets in the house, then it is necessary that the dating process takes place gradually, otherwise the animal is stressed. Marsupial squirrels have a very high heart rate - 200-300 times per minute. Any nervous tension will affect their heart system not in the best way.
Additional facts
- Flying squirrels have a leather bag on their abdomen, because of which the animals got their name.
- The female feeds the cubs for 4 months, until they begin puberty.
- Marsupial flying squirrels can become depressed just like people. The causes of the disease are most often loneliness, lack of space and the fact that they have no one to communicate with. Therefore, the animal will be a bad choice for people spending all time outside the house.
Video: marsupial flying squirrel (Petaurus breviceps)
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