Despite the popularity of sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) as a companion species in the United States, and a more extensive history of captive management in its native Australia as well as in zoologic institutions globally, a number of health issues potentially related to suboptimal dietary husbandry are still reported.
Nontraditional mammalian species, such as ferrets, lagomorphs, marsupials, hedgehogs, and rodents, are stoic by nature and have evolved to mask their illness to avoid predation.