Pet Of The Week: Meet Lilo!

By Victoria Onorato
Staff Writer

Senior broadcasting major Taylor Hill is the proud owner of Lilo! Lilo, almost two years-old, is a sugar glider. A sugar glider, which is in the koala family, has a body similar to a flying squirrel according to     sugarfliderinfo.org.

The Hill family purchased Lilo at “Parrots of the World” pet shop in Rockville Centre over a year ago. Choosing the name of Lilo was easy for the Hill family. “We already have a dog named Stitch, so we were just missing Lilo,” Hill said, referring to the iconic Disney cartoon.

Sugar gliders are nocturnal, making Hill’s pet different from a dog or cat. Lilo is active at night rolling in a coconut and climbing his cage. Lilo stays in a cage and is determined. “He likes to take his toys and put them in his cage or at least try to; it’s great to watch,” Hill said. Hill’s favorite feature about Lilo is his eyes. “They’re so dark and huge for his body,” she said.

Hill is unsure if Lilo is able to learn tricks, but she wants to teach him when she is home. She refers to her relationship with Lilo as being one-sided. She likes to play with Lilo, but he is independent and likes to nibble and roll in a coconut. “It’s not hard being away from him because he’s always going to be the same size and trying to get the next toy in his coconut or bouncing around the cage,” Hill said.