Editing Sugar glider (section)

===Reproduction===

Like most [[marsupial]]s, female sugar gliders have two [[Ovary|ovaries]] and two [[Uterus|uteri]]; they are [[polyestrous]], meaning they can go into [[Estrus|heat]] several times a year.<ref name=suckling1 /> The female has a [[Pouch (marsupial)|marsupium]] (pouch) in the middle of her abdomen to carry offspring.<ref name="Hilltop"/> The pouch opens anteriorly, and two lateral pockets extend posteriorly when young are present. Four nipples are usually present in the pouch, although reports of individuals with two nipples have been recorded.<ref name=smith(73) /> Male sugar gliders have two pairs of [[Bulbourethral gland|bulbourethral glands]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Quesenberry |first1=Katherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-_eDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA387 |title=Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents - E-Book: Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents - E-Book |last2=Mans |first2=Christoph |last3=Orcutt |first3=Connie |date=2020-04-24 |publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences |isbn=978-0-323-48434-3 |language=en}}</ref> and a [[marsupial penis|bifurcated penis]] to correspond with the two uteri of females.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morges |first1=Michelle A. |last2=Grant |first2=Krystan R. |last3=MacPhail |first3=Catriona M. |last4=Johnston |first4=Matthew S. |title=A Novel Technique for Orchiectomy and Scrotal Ablation in the Sugar Glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') |journal=Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine |date=March 2009 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=204–206 |doi=10.1638/2007-0169.1|pmid=19368264 |s2cid=24253225 }}</ref>

The age of sexual maturity in sugar gliders varies slightly between the males and females. Males reach maturity at 4 to 12 months of age, while females require from 8 to 12 months. In the wild, sugar gliders breed once or twice a year depending on the climate and habitat conditions, while they can breed multiple times a year in captivity as a result of consistent living conditions and proper diet.<ref name="Hilltop"/>

A sugar glider female gives birth to one (19%) or two (81%) babies (joeys) per litter.<ref name=suckling1 /> The gestation period is 15 to 17 days, after which the tiny joey {{convert|0.2|g|oz|abbr=on}} will crawl into a mother's pouch for further development. They are born largely undeveloped and furless, with only the [[olfaction|sense of smell]] being developed.  The mother has a scent gland in the external marsupium to attract the sightless joeys from the uterus.<ref name = "Tynes(2010)">{{cite book|editor1-last=Tynes|editor1-first=Valarie V.|title=Behavior of exotic pets|date=2010|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell|Blackwell Pub.]]|location=Chichester, West Sussex|isbn=9780813800783|edition=1st|chapter=Sugar gliders}}</ref> Joeys have a continuous arch of cartilage in their [[shoulder girdle]] which disappears soon after birth; this supports the forelimbs, assisting the climb into the pouch.<ref>{{cite web|last=Antinoff |first=Natalie |title=Practical anatomy and physical examination: Ferrets, rabbits, rodents, and other selected species (Proceedings) |url=http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/avhc/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=638213&sk=&date=&%0A%09%09%09&pageID=5 |date=August 2009 |publisher=CVC in Kansas City Proceedings |access-date=11 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724140555/http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/avhc/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=638213&sk=&date=&%0A%09%09%09&pageID=5 |archive-date=24 July 2013 }}</ref> Young are completely contained in the pouch for 60 days after birth, wherein [[mammae]] provide nourishment during the remainder of development.<ref name="Tynes(2010)"/> Eyes first open around 80 days after birth, and young will leave the nest around 110 days after birth.<ref name=smith(73) /> By the time young are [[Weaning|weaned]], the [[Endotherm|thermoregulatory system]] is developed, and in conjunction with a large body size and thicker fur, they are able to regulate their own body temperature.<ref name=holloway(2000)>{{cite journal|last1=Holloway|first1=Joanne C.|last2=Geiser|first2=Fritz|title=Development of thermoregulation in the sugar glider Petaurus breviceps (Marsupialia: Petauridae)|journal=Journal of Zoology|date=November 2000|volume=252|issue=3|pages=389–397|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00634.x|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Breeding is seasonal in southeast Australia, with young only born in winter and spring (June to November).<ref name=suckling1 /> Unlike animals that move along the ground, the sugar glider and other gliding species produce fewer, but heavier, offspring per litter.  This allows female sugar gliders to retain the ability to glide when pregnant.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fokidis|first1=H|last2=Risch|first2=T|date=2008|title=The burden of motherhood: gliding locomotion in mammals influences maternal reproductive investment|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=89|issue=3|pages=617–625|doi=10.1644/07-MAMM-A-116R1.1|doi-access=free}}</ref>