Sugar Gliders only have a high mortality rate in captivity because their diet is SO specific and picky and most people don't know/don't bother to put the work into it. My mom has a glider right now who's something like 10 years old.

And yeah, flyers are just like gliders in the whole bonding to one owner thing. I hear that the flyers are even a bit more sociable than gliders, so that's a bonus.