What Should I Check Weekly?
Regular hands-on checks can help you learn what is normal for your individual sugar glider. This simple routine focuses on weight, nails, general body condition, and a basic look at the teeth, with real-world video demonstrations for both easy and difficult-to-handle gliders.
Published September 20, 2026.
What does a weekly check mean?
A weekly check is a chance to slow down and take a closer look at each glider instead of relying only on what you notice during feeding, play, and everyday interaction.
It does not need to be complicated. A basic routine can include:
- Weight check
- Nail check and trim
- General body check
- Basic dental check
Why does it matter?
Regular checks help you become familiar with what is normal for each individual glider. A single observation tells you what you saw today. Repeated observations help build a baseline, making changes easier to notice.
Changes in weight, a new lump or sore spot, nails that need attention, or something that looks different around the mouth may be easier to recognize when you routinely pay attention to the same things.
This is not about diagnosing your glider during a weekly check. Observe, record what matters, and follow up with a glider-competent veterinarian when something warrants professional attention.
What if my glider is difficult to handle?
Not every sugar glider is an easy-peasy participant. A newer, unbonded, frightened, or simply less cooperative glider may need a different approach than one who is comfortable being handled.
Stephanie Brazil demonstrates this basic routine in two real-world situations: one with an easy-to-handle glider and another with a difficult-to-handle glider.
Her demonstrations include nail trimming, weighing, a general body check, and a basic dental check.
Watch the demonstration that best resembles the glider in front of you, or watch both to see how the approach can change with the individual glider.
Thank you, Stephanie ❤️
A special thank-you to Stephanie Brazil, who runs Austin TX Sugar Glider Rescue, for offering these videos to the Glider Tome Resource library and helping keepers see what these routines can look like with real gliders.
Reading about routine checks can give you the basics. Seeing someone work through them with gliders who have very different opinions about being handled can make those basics much easier to put into practice.
Sources & references
- Weekly Glider Check: Easy-to-Handle Glider — Stephanie Brazil
- Weekly Glider Check: Difficult-to-Handle Glider — Stephanie Brazil
Sources inform this article. Wording, structure and husbandry guidance are Glider Tome's own, and reflect long-term sugar glider domain experience alongside the published references above.