You will frequently see a discussion of the Calcium to Phosphorus ratio in sugar glider diets. What does this mean? In general, you want your sugar glider’s diet to have twice as much calcium as phosphorus, for a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1. Phosphorus can interfere with calcium absorption, and sugar gliders have a great need for excellent calcium input and absorption.

Determining the actual calcium:phosphorus amount in food is not always easy. The best source to consult is a book, Bowes & Church’s Food Values of Portions Commonly Used (be sure to get the 17th edition). This huge book is a wonderful reference, as it compares thousands and thousands of foods on a by-weight basis. It’s also good for human dietary concerns (counting carbohydrates, fats, etc.). Another book is The Corinne T. Netzer Encyclopedia of Food Values.

Once you have the calcium and phosphorus amounts for each food, calculating the ratio is easy:

Calcium amount divided by phosphorus amount = calcium:phosphorus ratio

Example 1: 250 mg. of calcium ÷ 115 mg. of phosphorus = 2.17. The calcium:phosphorus ratio is 2.17:1. This is would be a very desirable ratio.

Example 2: 109 mg. of calcium ÷ 76 mg. of phosphorus = 1.43. The calcium:phosphorus ratio is 1.43:1. This is not as good, but the ratio is still better than 1:1 and thus desirable.

Example 3: 250 mg. of calcium ÷ 350 mg. of phosphorus = 0.71. The calcium:phosphorus ratio is 0.71:1. This is a bad result and represents an example where the ratio is leaning towards being inverse. In other words, instead of there being a higher percentage of calcium relative to phosphorus, there is actually a higher percentage of phosphorus relative to calcium.

Notice that when you do the division and come up with a number, the ratio is expressed as that mathematical result relative to the number 1. So the result is always xxx:1. You don’t need to worry about what comes after the colon; it’s always 1.

Right about now, you are probably pulling your hair out, wondering how the heck you’re going to do all that math just to feed your precious sugar glider properly! Hang on, there is good news, and a little bad news.

The good news is that if you Google the term “calcium:phosphorus ratio foods” (or something similar), you will find that there are some websites that have the ratio already calculated for a bunch of foods. One site, the Iguana Den, has a page with the calcium:phosphorus ratio calculated for many vegetables and grains as well as a page with the ratio calculate for many fruits. Another site deals with guinea pigs, and it has an Excel spreadsheet you can download. In each case, just remember that there may be fruits or vegetables that are not good for sugar gliders, so always keep the list of “bad foods” in mind.

Still more good news is that commercial sugar glider foods usually tell you what the calcium:phosphorus ratio of their food is. But remember, no one is suggesting that you make any commercial glider foods the sole diet of your sugar glider!

And even more good news is that most sugar glider owners and breeders supplement their gliders’ diet with calcium, to tip the balance in favor of calcium. (I will talk more about supplementation in an upcoming post).

The really good news is that I have calculated some calcium:phosphorus ratios of some common glider foods for you, and I will list those food in the next blog entry. Note: The table only gives you the ratio, not the amounts of calcium and phosphorus. In some cases, although the ratio looks good, the actual amount of calcium and phosphorus is small. The main thing you need to be concerned with is keeping the calcium:phosphorus ratio as near to 2:1 as possible, but if you are looking for amounts of calcium and/or phosphorus in each food, you will need to look up that information.

The bad news is that sometimes you’re still going to have to look up and calculate the ratios of one or more foods you are feeding your glider, especially if it is something you feed him more than just occasionally. That’s when you’ll need to turn to the books I’ve suggested or other sources of nutritional information.

(To be continued…)

© 2006 SugarGliderAuthority.com. Excerpted from Sugar Gliders: The Ultimate Guide. All rights reserved. No portion of this website may be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the copyright owner.