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The following is a basic breakdown
of everything a new “mom” or “dad” needs to know about
Sugar Bears.
EYES:
The eyes of a Sugar Bear are large and protrude from
each side of the head. This gives them an extremely
large field of vision.
As nocturnal animals by nature, they have excellent
night vision. Although their eyes look black in color,
they are actually a dark brown.
Due to the number of rods and cones in their eyes, it is
believed that Sugar Bears see in only shades of gray –
and the color red. They can excrete a white-milky
substance from their tear ducts to help them with
grooming.
EARS:
The ears of a Sugar Bear are velvety-soft and
relatively large compared to the rest of its head.
Each ear (pinna) can move independently – like a “radar
dish” – allowing the animal to quickly identify the
source of even the slightest sound.
When bonded properly, Sugar Bears will recognize their
owner’s voices and exhibit similar intelligence to many
cats & dogs.
FUR:
A Sugar Bear’s fur is short, dense and extremely soft.
They regularly groom themselves and others in their
“colony”; keeping each other impeccably clean.
The standard color is platinum gray with a black stripe
running along the length of its body. Generally
speaking, the female’s dorsal stripe is usually thinner
than the male’s. The underside of both genders is
typically a light-cream color.
Over the years, several rare and beautiful color
variations have been domestically bred; ranging in price
from a few hundred - to several thousand dollars. When
considering the purchase of an “exotic color”, be
extremely careful to only work with a USDA licensed
breeder who can provide a written certificate of health
and lineage.
HANDS:
One of the most interesting things about Sugar Bears
in general is that they don’t have “feet”. Instead they
have 4 little hands, which are much like ours.
Each hand has 4 fingers and an opposable thumb – just
like humans. This makes it easy to grasp and hold onto
things. Each finger has a sharp claw which allows it to
“cling – almost like Velcro – wherever it lands.
The lower hands are especially interesting, in that the
2nd and 3rd fingers are partially fused together (Syndactylous).
This acts like a “comb” when grooming themselves. In
addition, each lower hand has a large, padded “thumb”,
(known as the hallux), which is used for gripping and
holding onto branches.
NOSE:
Sugar Bears have a highly developed sense of smell.
This is used to help them find food, sense predators,
and also recognize other members of their “family”.
As babies (Joeys), they primarily use smell to identify
and “bond” with their family.
MOUTH:
Sugar Bears are “diprodonts” – meaning that they have
two upper front teeth – and two much longer lower
incisors that point forward. In the wild, they use their
teeth to “scoop out” fruit and pry open tree bark to
access sap and insects.
Unlike rodents, a Sugar Bear’s teeth do NOT constantly
grow. Since they don’t instinctively need to chew on
things, they aren’t “destructive” by nature. A Sugar Bear’s teeth should never be “ground-down” or
“clipped”.
Sugar Bears have a long tongue. In addition to being
used regularly for cleaning and grooming, it’s primary
purpose is to lick things like juice, water and other
sweet things. Sugar Bears often “suck” the liquids out
of their fruits & veggies; spitting out the remainder in
small half-moon shaped chunks.
TAIL:
Sugar Bears have a “semi-prehensile” tail – meaning
that they can carry lightweight objects with it (like
twigs, leaves, etc..), but they cannot hang from it like
a monkey.
The tail is approximately half their body length –
usually about 6 inches fully-grown - and is used
primarily as a steering mechanism (ie. rudder) to guide
them while gliding through the air. Never hold a Sugar Bear by its tail
“WINGS”:
Similar to a flying squirrel, Sugar Bears have a thin
flap of furry skin that stretches from their wrists to
their ankles – called a Patagium. They also have tiny
webbing between their fingers.
In flight, this skin spreads out into a rectangular
shape – basically transforming them into a tiny “kite”.
When not gliding, this extra skin “retracts” up against
their body, and looks like a rippled dark line along its
sides.
Sugar Bears are extremely intelligent “aviators”, in
that they can accurately triangulate distances and
glide-ratios by “bobbing” their head from side-to-side
just before launching. Once in the air, they “steer”
themselves to their target by tilting their hands &
arms, adjusting tension in their “wings”, and using
their tail as a rudder.
MALE ANATOMY:
Male Sugar Bears have several distinctive features as
they begin to mature. The first is a large testicle sac
(sometimes referred to as the “pom-pom”). The testicles
are attached to the main body by a single “chord” which
contains no nerve endings. This makes the neutering
process very simple and virtually painless to the
animal.
When an un-neutered male begins to reach sexual maturity
(approx. 6-8 months), it will develop two noticeable
scent glands. The first is a diamond-shaped a “bald
spot” on its forehead - and the second is a similar,
smaller spot in the center of their chest. The reason
these areas appear to be “bald” is that the oils
secreted by these glands mats down their fur and often
has a “crusty” appearance.
Unlike other mammals which have separate rear “openings”
for pooping, peeing, and reproducing - Sugar Bears use
the same area at the base of their tail for all three.
Males will sometimes experience an extended penis, which
looks similar to a pink “worm” extending from their
rectum. If you experience this, don’t worry, it will
retract on its own after a few days. Males also have a
“birfurcated” penis, meaning that the end has two
distinct “branches”.
FEMALE ANATOMY:
Female Sugar Bears have a pouch where they carry their
young – similar to a Kangaroo. .
It is located in roughly the same area where you would
expect to see a “belly button” on other mammals. .
Female Sugar Bears will “cycle” twice a year, and
there are normally no outward signs of it. When babies
are born (usually one or two at a time), they are about
the size of a grain of rice. Upon being born, they crawl
into the pouch and “attach” themselves one of their
mother’s 4 nipples for approximately 8 weeks.
GROWTH STAGES:
When baby Sugar Bears (Joeys) are born, they are about
the size of a grain of rice. Upon giving birth, the baby
will crawl into the pouch and attach itself to one of
the mother’s 4 nipples. .
Joeys are usually born in “litters” consisting of 1 or 2
babies. They will remain in the pouch and attached to
the nipple for about 8-10 weeks.
Once the Joeys begin exploring outside the pouch, it
will usually be another 6-8 weeks before they are
fully-weaned and ready to leave their parents.
NOTE: Baby Sugar Bears are much like human children
in that it’s impossible to judge their age by their
weight. With human infants, newborns can range from a
couple pounds –to 12lbs or more. Joeys are the same way
– and can often weigh 3-4 times as much as other babies
their same age.
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