Wild Sugar Gliders
Petaurus breviceps
Genus Petaurus (read here for more about Petaurus) contains flying phalangers, or wrist-winged gliders– a group of arboreal colony-type, tree-dwelling marsupials. Omnivorous with opportunistic reproduction habits.
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Evolution
Petaurus originated in New Guinea 4.4 million years ago and slowly spread, diversley adapting to differing environments of their islands. 

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Geographic Range
New Guinea and certain nearby islands, Bismark Archipelago, and northern and eastern Australia.
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Natural Habitat
Any type of forest, given adequate food supply. They construct nests in eucalyptus trees within their territory. In the southeastern Australia, gliders effectively manage cold temperatures utilizing torpor. Torpor can occur in captivity– varying temperatures are recommended to allow for natural thermodynamics; if normally maintained at a constant temperature, protective torpor is not triggered by temperature differences.
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Conservation Status
Common
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Natural Diet
Opportunistic omnivores, in winter months feeding on tree sap (gumnivore), pollen, nectar, and in summer months beetles, moths, and their larvae, and arachnids, and small vertebrates and eggs whenever available.
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Dispersal Habits
Beginning at sexual maturity, male offspring disperse in the wild. Female offspring are pushed out at maturity by the dominant female. Evolution is responsible for these behaviors due to longer lifespan and reproductive success of genetically diverse individuals. Diversity is reduced with inbreeding, individuals will not survive to pass on inbreeding behavior in the wild.
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Importation
USA sugar glider population originates from West Papua, Indonesia, with no illegal harvesting from other native areas such as Papua New Guinea or Australia based on DNA evidence comparing domestic sugar gliders to their wild counterparts in various locations.
 (reference) Gliders are no longer imported to the United States, it is necessary to preserve genetic diversity through selective breeding.
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References
Grizmek, (1997) Grizmek's Encyclopedia Volume 1, McGraw-Hill Publishing, New York, 318-324
Grove, R., (1995) Ruth's Sugar Glider Home Page, http://www.rtis.com/nat/user/regrove/
International Sugar Glider Association Home Page, http://www.isga.org/
Mesker Park Zoo Home Page, http://www.evansville.net/%7Empzoo/4whenarr.htm.
Smith, A.P., (1982) Diet and feeding strategies of the marsupial sugar glider in temperate Australia. Journal of Animal Ecology, 51, 149-166
Stoddart, D.M., Bradley, A.J., & Mallick, J., (1994) Plasma testosterone concentration, body weight, social dominance and scent marking in male marsupial sugar gliders. The Zoological Society of London, 232, 595-601
Nowak, R.M., (1997) Walker's Mammals of the World 5.1 Online, http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers mammals of the world/marsupialia/marsupialia.petauridae.petaurus.html.
Origin of Petaurus Pets
From Indonesia to USA
Genus "Petaurus" (click here for more about Petaurus) contains flying phalangers, or wrist-winged gliders - a group of arboreal colony-type, tree-dwelling marsupials. Omnivorous with opportunistic reproduction habits.
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Beginning at sexual maturity, male offspring disperse in the wild. Female offspring leave colony territory to avoid inbreeding. Evolution is responsible for these behaviors due to longer lifespan and reproductive success of genetically diverse individuals. Diversity is reduced with inbreeding.
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Inbreeding can cause degenerative diseases, neurological disorders, is linked (click here for one study) to temperament and ability to adapt, causes often unfavorable results of pregnancies - there are more effects - known together as inbreeding depression. Click here for original study on inbreeding depression in sugar gliders.
In captivity, sugar gliders are allowed to inbreed for the ability of high volume, low expense pet sales by "commercial"/"pet auction"/"fair expo" and similar shortsighted businesses.

 Intentions must be carefully regulated to ensure healthy genetic diversity in colonies among breeders. 
 

Petaurus originated in New Guinea 4.4 million years ago, covering the Bismarck Archipelago, also inhabiting various islands of Indonesia, northern and eastern Australia, all while adapting to differing environments of their islands. 

USA sugar glider population originates from West Papua, Indonesia, with no illegal harvesting from other native areas such as Papua New Guinea or Australia based on DNA evidence (click here to read the report) comparing domestic sugar gliders to their wild counterparts in various locations.

The Pet Glider, Texas, USA, founded the Pedigree Program (click here to visit the online Pedigree Program) to track ancestry of sugar gliders and determine their relationship to each other. A mathematically correct process is used to identify an individual's percentage of inbreeding. Night Sky Sugar Gliders does not breed or produce individuals with inbred percentage over 2.5 - this is a very low value.

In "line breeding," individuals with unique traits or deformity are bred closely with relatives to intensify or remove desired trait(s) over future generations.

 (Click for a chat about line and inbreeding.) Line breeding should never be attempted unless by the most experienced of breeders, doing so for a purpose of improving/identifying the health of the species.
Wild Traits
Tips For Companion Gliders, From the Wild
Sugar gliders in the wild are naturally a variation of solid brown, black, cream and grey with a black blaze from head to hips, a black tail tip.





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Color and sub-species vary depending on which island the gliders evolved on. Some original color variations such as mosaic were first found in the wild, and were later reproduced and diversified through selective breeding.
With the exception of rare albinism and melaninsm, colors other than standard grey do not occur in the wild and are, in companion gliders, purely a domestic variation. Careful breeding produces many coloration patterns and maintain genetic diversity, in both standard grey and special colored gliders.
Wild sugar gliders have highly developed skills and body form for nocturnal foraging & camouflage in their island habitats. 
These traits exist in our companion gliders.
Gliders at home have a strong instinct to forage for treats and take items they are attracted to back to their nest or pouch.
Some like to chew on materials like their counterparts chew on tree bark or vines in the wild.
Large eyes are sensitive to light, and it's helpful to keep a dim atmosphere so companion gliders can navigate comfortably at home.
They will also leap and soar like wild gliders, especially if given the room and time to practice and hone their gliding style.
Instincts are prominent when feeding and playing at home. Some sugar gliders prefer to eat their foods upside-down, others will find a private area to eat, still others will take one bite and throw away the remaining. 
 These methodologies help wild gliders avoid predators while they are eating and learn quickly to get the best parts out of their available diet first, and move on to find premium foraging material. Many gliders are "picky" eaters for this reason, and it takes time to prepare their food how they prefer, and patience to learn their likes and dislikes.
To satisfy stimulation requirements in captivity, caretakers should spend time hiding treats throughout their gliders' enclosure, clean away food waste to ensure clean and open play space, and swap out many kinds of climbing and sleeping toys present in their environment to avoid boredom.
Glider "play rooms" are also an excellent choice. If it is not possible to have a full play room, a small tent erected indoors will do wonderfully.
They can get bored rather quickly, science has shown neuroplasticty decreases with boredom in captivity. To help your glider be the friendliest, healthiest, and most loving companion, share new sources of stimulation with them often.
Tents and large glider-proof play areas (do not allow other pets to play with sugar gliders)
Safe plants, safe woods, safe flowers to eat and chew on
Domestically raised mealworms, roaches, quail eggs, fish and poultry parts as occasional treats. (cooked egg and meats recommended)
Toddler-safe toys, vine structures, custom glider toys, hammocks and platforms made from non-pilling fabric with no holes or loose threads
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Gliders Abroad
Sugar Gliders Beyond the United States
This information is gathered from Glider Gossip. Most of the information on Glider Gossip is from North America. While providing a healthy and enriching quality of life for pet sugar gliders is for the most part agreed upon, there are exceptions and limitations in other areas of the world.
Europe
In the United Kingdom sugar glider diets are much different from the standard honey nectar replacement mixtures. Honey is not feed in the UK if at all. It is generally accepted to feed each glider nightly the following approximates:
2 Tablespoons of vegetables/fruits
Gliderbooster
Alternating proteins such as: eggs, meats, and 4 high quality cat kibbles
Yogurt twice a week
1 tablespoon of Nectar Mix weekly
supplements alternating between Acacia Gum, Bee Pollen, Glidercal, and Live insects.
Housing is slightly different but still nice and large for those gliding membranes. At minimum a the cage should be no smaller than 48"x 24"x 24" or 4ft x 2ft x 2ft and is most likely to be a vivarium.
Vending for Europe:
sugarglidershop.co.uk
exoticnutrition.com
Africa
No Data
Asia
Sugar gliders are definitely popular pets in parts of Asia and many wild sugar gliders are being caught and sold for the exotic pet trade. Do your research on the breeder you purchase from because wild sugar gliders are just that, wild. They will not be domesticated, removing them from the ecosystem will destroy it, and they are kept in deplorable conditions. Only the buyer can stop the demand and end this cycle. It can be hard finding sugar gliders not from flea markets or other large breeders but in the end buying from small hobbyist breeders can be the solution to ending these problems.
There seems to be more sugar glider diet products available in Asia than in North America. Such as Chubbypetgarden HPW complete, Bugsy HPW complete, and GliderSLURP! are offered. Original HPW is also easy to make and popular in these areas. No matter what diet you choice gliders require approximately 50% vegetables / fruits, 50% protein nectar replacement, and sparing amounts of treats. Pellets or kibbles should only be offered as treats and not as a source of protein. Insects, eggs, and meat can also be fed every so often.
Often times sugar gliders are sold in this region with complimentary cages meant for hamsters or other small rodents. This is not adequate, cages should be approximately 28"x 21"x 51" for 2-4 gliders.
Some popular vendors for Asia:
Pet Shack
Pet Epicure
suggiesathome.com
petplaygroundonline.com
www.exoticpetsink.com.my
www.chubbypetsgarden.com
Fluff Pet Store in Malaysia
www.exoticnutrition.com
Oceania
It is illegal in Australia to keep sugar gliders without special wild life permits and even then they must be kept in strict housing requirements.
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Search for Owners Outside of North America on all of Sugarglider.com.