Sugar gliders are wonderful and
beautiful animals no matter what color they are on the outside.
Recently there has been a huge number of new colors and color
variations. It is hard with out a large amount of money to be sure
about sugar glider genetics. Most of what we know about sugar glider
genetics comes from the basic understanding of Mendel's laws of
heredity and the trial and error of well documented breeding
programs.
Vocabulary
Here are some common abbreviations, words, and terminology used when
speaking about sugar gliders, their colors, and genetics:
Alleles- Each alternate form of a gene. The alleles are
represented by letters on a punnett square.
Dominant- Refers to an allele of a gene that is always
expressed in heterozygotes. Shown with a capital letter in a punnett
square.
Gene- Section of a chromosome that carries the information
for a specific trait.
Het- Short for Heterozygote.
Heterozygous- Having two different alleles of a gene pair.
(one dominant, one recessive example Aa or Bb).
Homozygous- Having the same allele at the same locus on a
chromosome; two recessive genes are paired, or two dominant genes
are paired. (either one dominant, one dominant ~0R~ one recessive,
one recessive example aa or AA).
Punnett square- A diagram shows possible gene combinations of
offspring to a mated pair.
Recessive- In order for the trait to be expressed, there must
be two copies of the allele. The gene or trait is hidden in the
presence of a dominant one. Shown with a lower case letter in a
punnett square.
WF- White Face, a sugar glider lacking the bar under it's
ear.
WFB- White Face Blonde, a sugar glider lacking the bar under
it's ear, plus the blonde coloration.
WT- Wild Type or Normal this refers to the color most often
found in the wild.
 White
Face
White Face is not a color, rather a mutation of the stripes. On a
white face sugar glider the bar that is under the sugar glider's ear
is missing, giving the appearance of a white face. There will be no
dots or traces of the bar at all. It also appears that the eye rings
are lighter and/or broken. It is important to note that some joeys
will not get the bar under their ear until they are about 5 days out
of pouch. There are currently 2 theories that can explain the white
face variation.Theory #1- It is possible
that more than one gene controls the white face variation. Due to
the lack of studies in sugar glider genetics, we can only
hypothesize how the gene(s) work. White face may in fact be a
dominant gene, with a seperate modifier gene that acts similar to a
switch to determine if the white face variation will be shown in the
offspring. When the modifier gene is "on", the het for white face
will show white face. When the modifier gene is "off", the joey will
be normal in appearance, but still may carry the white face gene. If
the "switch" is on the same chromosome as white face mutation, and
very close, the "on" could almost always be inherited with white
face, and the "off" almost always with normal/classic or wild type.
This would explain why some "larger" breeders have claimed to
produce white faces from two hets.
Theory #2- White face is dominate. If the white
face is not showing, the glider does not carry the white face gene.
This would mean that there are NO white face hets. It is believed by
pairing several generations of solid white face gliders together,
that you can "breed out" the gray gene. For example, if the sugar
glider has 3 or more generations of solid white faces in his
background, then those sugar glider will only produce white face
offspring. So far this has proved true with 3rd generation pairing
that have documented lines. White faces that only produce white
faces no matter what they are paired to are considered "super white
faces" or "super blondes". We have seen the white face mutation
appear with many sugar glider colors, such as gray/classic,
cinnamon, blonde, champagne, mosaic and white tip. So the white
face does not always appear with the blonde coloration. As of
December 2007, first generation white face blonde and white face
gray sugar gliders are starting at around $350.00. Colors with white
faces and white face gliders with consecutive full white face
generations usually sell for more depending on the color, breeding,
and number of white face to white face pairing in a glider
background.
White Tip
 A white
tip sugar glider has a white tip at the end of it's tail. This
amount of white varies from just a few hairs to 2 inches or more.
The average white tip seen in captivity at this time is about 1/4-1
inch long. It is believed that the white tip tail we see showing up
in captive bred gliders is a sign of the subspecies Petaurus
breviceps ariel. Most white tips born in captivity have come from
normal color parents, with no documentation of white tip in their
histories. There are few long standing and documented breeding
programs working with this color at this time. As a result, there is
almost no information available as to how this gene is passed on. It
does appear to be recessive to normal, but it is not known if other
genes are involved in producing this color. We do know that white
tip is NOT a single recessive gene. IF white tips were a single
recessive trait, all offspring from two what tip parents would have
been white tipped. A handful of breeders have paired white tips
together. Most of these pairings have produced "normal" gliders,
while a small hand full of white tip to white tip pairings have
produced white tip joeys. Even those pairings that did produce white
tips did not produce white tips 100% of the time. This means that
even though the parents are white tips, it is unknown if their
offspring is a "het" or not since we do not know how the trait comes
to be expressed. White tips can appear on any color variation or
mutation. As of November 2006, standard colored gliders with white
tips are starting out at about $300.00, and going up from there
depending on the amount of white on the tail. Colored sugar gliders
with white tips do sell for a more depending on the color of the
sugar glider.
Leucistic
 Also
known as a Blacked Eyed White (BEW), a leucistic sugar glider is all
white with no markings and black eyes. Some leucistic gliders to
have faint yellowish markings. The leucistic gene is believed to be
recessive to normal (WT). This means that both gliders must carry
the gene in order for them to produce a white offspring. Any glider
from the leucistic lines is considered a possible het until it has
produced white sugar glider. The only exception is the first
generation from a white parent. If one of the parents is white, the
joey will carry the leucistic gene. Leucistic sugar gliders are
still quite rare and waiting lists can be long. Most breeders will
require a USDA license to purchase a leucistic or a 100% het. This
is not a law or a requirement of federal or state authorities, this
is purly a preference of the breeder for their own reasons. As of
April 2007, expect to pay around $2,000.00 for a white female, and
$2500.00 for a white male. First generation hets, normal color
gliders with one white parent, generally start at about $1000.00.
Red Series
- Chocolate/Brown (Brown coat, Brown or Black
Markings)
- Buttercream (Brown coat, Cream and/or yellow
highlights, Brown to Red Markings)
- Lion (Honey Coat, Deep Red Markings)
- Red Cinnamon (Red coat, Red and/or Brown
Markings)
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Red series gliders can be broken
down into 4 basic colors. Some breeders recognize all four colors,
some may only recognize a few. What we do know for sure is that most
of these colors can be bred to "standard" or "wild type" gliders,
and still produce some color. It seems with most gray to "red
series" pairings, the color will fade each time it is bred to a
standard becoming diluted each generation, and eventually being bred
out. However, this isn't always the case. To produce truer "red
series" colors it is best to pair similar colors together . The more
"red series" gliders in the background (or "pedigree"), the better
your chances at producing deeper and truer color. Gliders from the
"red series" usually sell for 150.00-300.00 depending on the color
and background of the glider. (November 2006)
There is a lot of debate on what a true "red series" colored glider
will look like upon coming out of pouch, and even how to identify
the colors among gliders that are just scent stained or affected by
dietary issues. Some believe that they are born colored, and remain
colored through out their lives. Others believe that "red series"
gliders are born with the variation, ultimately "graying out" during
adolescence, only to "come into" their true color around puberty.
From my personal experience, I do believe that this is the case. I
have spoken with quite a few breeders working with "red series"
variations and most do agree. However, this leaves a problem. Since
most gliders that are thought to be "red series" gliders are usually
misidentified, how do we tell who are the true red cinnamons, and
who is just scent stained? Unfortunately there is no easy answer.
Since habitat, care, and even diet can affect the color of a sugar
glider, the only way we know for sure is to breed gliders from known
"red series" lines from trustworthy and experienced breeders.
Mosaic
(includes Ring Tail)
 A
mosaic is classified by random white patches on the body, feet,
and/or tail. Often times you will hear the term "ring tail
mosaic", which refers to a pattern of mosaic rings on the tail,
although not all mosaics are ring tailed. The mosaic trait can
appear with other "variations" such as platinum, and white face.
This trait is co-dominate to the wild type coat (classic gray).
This means it is almost certain there are no hets for mosaic. If
the color is not expressed, the glider will not be able to
produce mosaic offspring. There has been some speculation
that standard color gliders (gliders that do not display the
mosaic trait), from mosaic lines may increase the frequency of
producing mosaic offspring when paired with a glider displaying
the mosaic trait.
Some lines of mosaics will produce sterile males
(females will produce). While other lines will produce males
that can be bred. It has been proven that sometime between the
4th and 5th generation bred out from the original sterile line,
the males will begin to produce. As of April 2007 mosaics and
ring tailed mosaics start at around 800.00 to 4,000.00 depending
on the chances of sterility in the glider, sex, and the gliders
line. Rarer genetic combinations do usually cost a bit more.
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