Sugar gliders are marsupials native to Australia but these days, if you know the right pocket to look in, you can find one in downtown Columbus.
Justin Wheat, an intern at Rae’s Jewelry along Market Street, has one. It rides in his pocket during the day. At night, though, when they are at home, it plays. Her name is Zoe.
This is how sugar gliders got their name: They have a sweet tooth and, according to the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, Australia, the ability to glide through the air up to 90 meters. Their fur is blue-grey, and a dark stripe runs along their backs.
Zoe is the size of a rat and friendly. Wheat feeds her an apple a day, as well as sugar glider pellets, which he orders online.
She is a cheap pet that rarely needs veterinarian visits, Wheat said. He got her about a year ago at a flea market in Mobile, Alabama.
Zoe, who when not in Wheat’s pocket seems to prefer riding on the back of his neck, associates her owner with home.
Last week, a woman in Rae’s Jewelry, fascinated by Zoe, held her for a short while. Without warning, Zoe leapt back onto Wheat’s body and he wrapped her in her cloth and slipped her into his pocket.
What does she feel like in there?
Usually, she’s quiet and still. Sometimes, though, she shuffles around.
“It’s sort of like how I imagine a pregnant woman feels a baby inside of her,” Wheat said.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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