
They are even observed pouncing at small-sized birds for a meal! Minimal Differences Between White Sugar Gliders and Other Sugar Glidersĭoes being blindingly albino white mean that a White Sugar Glider will be radically opposite in everything a mosaic or brown-colored sugar glider does or is? Will it suddenly be diurnal instead of nocturnal, meaning active in the day and night respectively?įortunately, the answer is no. Speaking of being fooled, do not let its cuddly appearance deceive you as to the benevolent nature of this animal, as being an omnivore, it eats both plant and other beings, from insects to even lizards. While adorable, they are given negligent care as Gatorade can lead to teeth decay, and spinning wheel toys are notorious for damaging sugar glider’s tails. In fact, the only visually (not genetically) differentiating thing between albino and leucistic sugar gliders is that the albino has red eyes.Īnd speaking of eyes… They Can Only See in Greys and Reds!įrom inferring from the amount of cones and rods in a sugar glider’s eyes, scientists believe they can only see in the colors grey and red, and white sugar gliders are no exception to this. The only non-white aspect of a Leucistic sugar glider will be its eyes (it would be quite troubling if they were a milky white, which could indicate blindness instead!), and their insides of their ears and nose. This can result in either a totally white, albino look or patches of irregular color in the individual animal. On the cellular level, how the white color develops is a result of cells failing to produce the pigmentation responsible for the “regular” color of its species. We see the term “Leucistic” applied to all kinds of species in the animal kingdom, from Leucistic Robin Birds to Leucistic turtles. “Leucistic” is a term meaning a lack of pigmentation as a result of the inheritance of recessive traits from an individual specimen’s parents. It’s All in the NameĪs “White” Sugar gliders can simply denote either an Albino or leucistic sugar glider, we will refer to the specific type of sugar glider when necessary throughout this article. To learn more about this fascinating creature, from facts about its potential differences compared to its “regular” colored brethren to information about this recessive trait, read on.

The White Sugar Glider can either be an Albino Sugar Glider or a “Leucistic” Sugar Glider, and these endearing and perky animals make their already eye-catching appearance as a species all the more salient with their nearly pristine whiteness.

If you focus on the blur flittering amidst the trees in Australia, you notice a startling whiteness that makes you second guess the winged creature as one of those charming winged squirrel-like rodents, known as a sugar glider.
