Editing Feathertail glider (section)

==Behaviour and biology==
[[File:Feathertail glider, Acrobates pygmaeus (Tony Rees photograph).jpg|thumb|Feathertail glider, ''Acrobates pygmaeus'', showing the animal's size and its distinctive tail with a "feathered" appearance]]
Feathertail gliders are omnivorous, feeding on [[nectar]], pollen, and [[arthropods]] such as moths, ants, and termites. They are arboreal, and although they do occasionally descend to the ground to forage, they spend as much as 87% of their time over {{cvt|15|m|-1}} above the ground, particularly in [[eucalyptus]] trees. They are nocturnal, spending the day resting in nests in tree hollows, lined with leaves or shredded bark.<ref name="Lindenmayer1991">{{cite journal | author = Lindenmayer, D.B. | date = 1991 | title = Aspects of the use of den trees by arboreal and scansorial marsupials inhabiting montane ash forests in Victoria | journal = Australian Journal of Zoology | volume = 39 | issue = 1 | pages = 57–65 | doi = 10.1071/ZO9910057 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> They are social animals, and up to five may share a single nest, especially during the breeding season.<ref name="Ward1990">{{cite journal | author = Ward, S.J. | date = 1990 | title = life-history of the feathertail glider, ''Acrobates pygmaeus'' (Acrobatidae, Marsupialia) in south-eastern Australia | journal = Australian Journal of Zoology | volume = 38 | issue = 5 | pages = 503–517 | doi = 10.1071/zo9900503}}</ref>

They are highly adept climbers, able to cling to the smooth trunks of eucalyptus trees. In experiments, they have even proved able to climb vertical panes of glass, a feat that is due to a combination of fine skin ridges and sweat that allow their feet to function as suction cups.<ref name="Rosenberg1999">{{cite journal |author1=Rosenberg, H.I. |author2= Rose, R. |name-list-style=amp | date = 1999 | title = Volar adhesive pads of the feathertail glider, ''Acrobates pygmaeus'' (Marsupialia; Acrobatidae) | journal = Canadian Journal of Zoology | volume = 77 | issue = 2 | pages = 233–248 | doi = 10.1139/z98-212}}</ref> Movement through the trees is aided by their gliding ability; they are able to glide as far as {{convert|28|m|abbr=on}}, and typically do so three to five times every hour through the night.

Feathertail gliders do not hibernate as such, but are capable of entering [[torpor]] during cold weather at any time of the year. Torpor can last for several days, during which time the animal's body temperature can drop to as low as {{convert|2|°C|abbr=on}} and oxygen consumption to just 1% of normal.<ref name="Harris2015" /> Torpid gliders curl into a ball, wrapping their tail around themselves and folding their ears flat, and often huddling together with up to four other individuals to reduce heat loss<ref name="Fleming1985">{{cite journal | author = Fleming, M.R. | date = 1985 | title = The thermal physiology of the feathertail glider, ''Acrobates pygmaeus'' (Marsupialia:Burramyidae) | journal = Australian Journal of Zoology | volume = 33 | issue = 5 | pages = 667–681 | doi = 10.1071/ZO9850667}}</ref> and conserve energy.<ref name="Nowack2015">{{cite journal |author1=Nowack, J. |author2=Geiser, F. | date = 2015 | title = Friends with benefits: the role of huddling in mixed groups of torpid and normothermic animals | journal = Journal of Experimental Biology | doi = 10.1242/jeb.128926 | volume=219 |issue=4 | pages=590–596 | pmid=26685170| doi-access=free }}</ref>

The breeding season lasts from July to January in Victoria, and may be longer further to the north.<ref name="Harris2015" /> Females typically give birth to two litters of up to four young in a season, and are able to mate again shortly after the first litter is born. The second litter then enters [[embryonic diapause]], and is not born until the first litter has finished [[weaning]] at about 105 days.<ref name="Ward1988">{{cite journal |author1=Ward, S.J. |author2=Renfree, M.B. | date = October 1988 | title = Reproduction in females of the feathertail glider ''Acrobates pygmaeus'' (Marsupialia) | journal = Journal of Zoology | volume = 216 | issue = 2 | pages = 225–239 | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1988.tb02427.x}}</ref> Multiple paternity is common, even within litters, as the females are sexually promiscuous.<ref name="Parrott2004">{{cite journal |author1=Parrott, M.L. |author2=Ward, S.J. |author3= Taggart, D.A. |name-list-style=amp | date = April 2005 | title = Multiple paternity and communal maternal care in the feathertail glider (''Acrobates pygmaeus'') | journal = Australian Journal of Zoology | volume = 53 | issue = 2 | pages = 79–85 | doi = 10.1071/ZO04025}}</ref> The young remain in the pouch for the first 65 days of life,<ref name="Ward1990" /> and the maximum lifespan is about five years.<ref name="Harris2015" />