Can sugar gliders be bathed? Do they enjoy swimming?

As a rule, sugar gliders are very clean animals. They are very meticulous about their grooming habits, and usually bathing is not necessary. To my knowledge, they do not like to swim, and this is not a natural activity for them.

I would worry about aspiration, myself. And if they get sick, they go down fast.

I would agree, they are normally not bathed, and if they do get wet people tend to be very vigilant about making sure they are dried off as soon as possible and kept in a warm place until they are back to a normal state. Their small bodies lose heat very quickly and it can be fatal.

There are times a good cleaning from you might be needed if they get into something sticky, but it is recommended to use a damp soft cloth to do that. And even then you want to keep a close eye on them until they are fully dry and able to maintain their own body temp.

It is not recommended to clean them on a regular basis, they will do a fine job of then.

Phil

Okay thank you so much! Ill definitely keep this is mind! NO BATHING ! Im gonna avoid that

And NO swimming

This is what I tell people:

Sugar gliders when healthy do not need a bath! Unless.....:
They get into something that would make them sick if they cleaned themselves up, examples are as follows:
1. They get into oil or butter.
2. They get onto a sticky fly tape. Then you must use mayo or peanut butter to get the sticky off first.
3. They fall into the toilet, a toilet is either a cesspool of bacteria or chemicals if you use drop-ins.

To bathe a glider, do it in the bathroom sink with the door closed.
Use Original Dawn dish soap.
Do not run water over their face, use a wash cloth to do their face and head.
If the substance is oily apply the soap first.
Use warm water.
Rinse well.
Dry with a towel.
Keep the glider in a bonding pouch, under your shirt until totally dry.

A bath will not kill a glider, but getting a chill after a bath will.

If you want to get them done fast....

1) Get two sealable Tupperware tubs of approx 1/2 gallon sized
2) Fill both with bath-warm water. Put some soap in one.
3) Take a small sandwich bag and rubber-band it over the gliders head--trapping air.
4). Place glider in soapy tub of water. Seal and shake vigorously for 30 sec.
5). Transfer glider to rinse tub. Seal and shake vigorously for 30 sec.
6). Fabric softener or bleach may be added to the rinse water if desired.

Fresh, sterile, fragrant, static-free gliders! Who PROMISE never to get dirty again.

Sorry...clearly that was a joke. Maybe I'm still mad at mine for peeing into the computer...

Was it? Ummm, oops. Sorry Gwyn.

OMG! Are you trying to kill me? I am sick and trying to cough up a lung and you go and post that. Crap now I am really coughing.