Flying squirrel or sugar glider?
How to tell them apart
The sugar glider looks and glides much like a flying squirrel, but it is a marsupial, not a squirrel.
Quick answers
They differ on 1 of the 8 quick answers: kept as a pet.
| Question | Flying squirrel | Sugar glider |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | Mammal | Mammal |
| Carnivore? | Omnivore | Omnivore |
| Dangerous? | No | No |
| Domesticated? | No | No |
| Awake when? | Night | Night |
| Hibernates? | No | No |
| Kept as a pet? differs | No | Sometimes |
| Do people eat it? | No | No |
At a glance
| Question | Flying squirrel | Sugar glider |
|---|---|---|
| Found in differs | North America, Asia, Europe | Australia |
| Habitat | Forest | Forest |
| Size | Tiny | Tiny |
| Length differs | – | 24–30 cm, nose to tail tip |
| Weight differs | – | Males about 140 g, females about 115 g |
| Legs | 4 | 4 |
| Covered in | Fur | Fur |
| Lives | In colonies | In colonies |
| Lives for differs | 5–10 years | 10–15 years |
| Can fly | No | No |
| Swims | No | No |
| Lays eggs | No | No |
About each
Flying squirrel
About 50 species of squirrels that glide between trees on a furred membrane stretching from wrist to ankle, steering with their limbs and tail. Most are nocturnal. They cannot truly fly, but can cover a forest faster than tree squirrels.
Everything on the flying squirrel page
Sugar glider
A small, nocturnal gliding possum named for its taste for sugary sap and nectar. It glides between trees on membranes stretching from its front to back feet, and looks much like a flying squirrel although the two are not closely related.
Everything on the sugar glider page
Sources
Last reviewed . The answers and notes come from each animal's own page, where every source is listed.
How each answer is decided: How we answer. More look-alikes: Side by side.