I could write a book. LOL! For now, I'm just going to hit a few bullet points:
Diet - Regardless of which sugar glider diet you choose to follow, they need a total food refresh every day. It really is not an option to throw something in the cage in the cage for a few days. Pellet style foods will not have the proper complete nutritional value, and fresh fruit/veggies will go bad if not changed out. Which means if you are gone, they will NEED a petsitter.
(FWIW, we use the
Suncoast diet plan. There are several different "diets" out there, only a handful of which are actually good for suggies, so you will have to really do your research in order to find what is best for them that works for you. And fair warning, diet is a HUGE FIGHT in the sugar glider community, so it is very hard to research.)
Cage - They need a very large cage, because they need room to jump and glide. But then the trick to that is that they also need a cage with small bar spacing so they don't squeeze out. They are also sensitive to certain metals and PVC-coatings, so it must be a powder-coated cage. It is hard to find that combination in a cage, and when you do, it's typically expensive, and takes up a lot of space.
Attention - YES. They need lots of attention. They are very inquisitive and curious, and need to use their brains. As Jessie said, the more you work with them, the better bonded they are. That in itself is very gratifying, but it does take TIME. (Depends on the sugar glider, too. Our Elphaba came off the plane friendly as could be... whereas we are still working on bonding with Fiyero... and he's been here four years now.) Basically, they NEED everyday attention.
Also, it is highly recommended that you don't keep a single sugar glider. You can do it if you have a significant chunk of time to devote to its mental well-being, but they are colony animals and are really not equipped to live alone. It is not uncommon for a lonely sugar glider to die from depression.
That said, I know several people that get one sugar glider, bond with it, then add a cagemate shortly after. This is fine. I'm talking about long term. This is a small animal that can live as long as 15 years (maybe more... they are still relatively new as a pet species).
To add my $0.02 on wheels... yes, Wodent Wheels are bad news for suggies! I highly highly highly recommend the
Stealth Wheel. It is seriously as good as it sounds. LOL!
Oh geez, I still wrote a book. LOL! I have more to say if you want to hear it. I'm not trying to straight up discourage you, but there are a lot of things to consider before bringing home sugar gliders!
Good luck!