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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