What should you do about a sugar glider who is a picky eater and who refuses to eat the healthy food you serve him or her? First of all, you need to understand normal sugar glider behavior with regard to eating. You should expect to see some “leftovers” most nights. Sugar gliders typically eat part of what is offered, throw a part of what is offered around (hence the need for a “Critter Hut” or something similar to minimize your cleanup time) and ignore part of what is offered. This is normal sugar glider behavior. If you are expecting your sugar glider to lick his bowl clean like your dog does, forget it! That’s not how sugar gliders eat. Additionally, sugar gliders will sometimes eat very lightly for 2 or 3 days.

Another type of normal sugar glider eating behavior is to ignore something the first few times you put it in front of them. That doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t like it. Multiple offers of the food over a period of days may be necessary before a glider will try it.

When dealing with a picky eater, remember that if permitted, a sugar glider will pick out its favorite foods every night and ignore the rest. In that sense, they really are like children. It is up to you to provide variety so that your glider doesn’t eat the same thing every night.

If your sugar glider won’t eat its fruits or vegetables, try feeding a fruit or vegetable first, after you remove all other food from the cage. Feed the rest of his food an hour or two later. If this does not work, then feed only a fruit or veggie for one or two nights. A glider usually will not starve itself to death. After one or two nights, he will probably eat the item in question.

If your sugar glider won’t eat its protein, mix the food you want him to eat with something else you know he loves and can’t resist. You can try mixing protein with low-sugar apple juice, applesauce, yogurt, etc. Use only enough of the treat foods to get your sugar glider to eat the food you want it to eat. Don’t overdo the sugar especially. If you have a sugar glider who is refusing to eat his protein, you may have to try putting out only protein foods for a day or two, until your sugar glider is hungry enough to it it.

(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.

There are certain foods that are “acceptable foods” for sugar gliders and certain foods that are considered “foods to avoid”. Within the “foods to avoid” category there may be certain foods that are OK in extremely limited quantities. The following list provides some general guidelines. I have noted foods that are debated by the sugar glider community.

Acceptable Foods
o apple
o avocado (some breeders put this on the “bad foods” list because of a toxin it)
o baby foods with no added salt or garlic or onion
o banana
o beef (well-cooked and cut up finely)
o blueberry
o cantaloupe
o carrot
o cherry (no pits)
o chicken (without skin)
o coconut
o cucumber
o eggs
o fig
o grape
o honey (sparingly)
o honeydew
o insects (only those raised as small animal food)
o kiwi
o mandarins
o mango
o mealworms (limit amount; they are high in fat)
o melon
o papaya
o peach
o pear
o pineapple
o pinky mice
o plum
o prune
o raisin
o raspberry
o squash
o strawberry
o sweet potato
o tofu (a debated food; see discussion above)
o wheat germ (Wheat germ is controversial because it has a great deal of phosphorus and a small amount of calcium. It does have good attributes, such as a high amount of protein, but if you feed it to your glider, it would be prudent to use only small amounts.)

Foods to Avoid

o Baby foods that contain onions or garlic
o canned foods (most contain added salt and sugar)
o cat food (see the discussion of the cat food debate)
o cheese
o chives
o chocolate
o coffee
o dog food
o fried foods
o garlic
o iceberg lettuce
o insects that are not raised as small animal food
o leeks
o milk (cow or goat’s milk)
o millet
o nuts (can only be given in very small quantities)
o onions
o peanuts (can cause aflatoxicosis)
o pits (from fruit)
o processed meat
o raw eggs
o raw meat
o rhubarb
o salt
o scallions
o soda
o sugar (granulated sugar or foods with added sugar)
o sunflower seeds (can only be given in very small quantities)
o tea

The above lists are not exhaustive! If you have a question about a particular food, ask your breeder, ask other sugar glider owners, etc. before you serve it to your glider! In addition, avoid making a habit of feeding your sugar glider table food. A glider’s nutritional needs are far different from yours.

(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.

Supplementation: It is a good idea to give your sugar glider a high-quality supplement, in addition to its food. Sugar gliders can sometimes inexplicably become finicky about their food, and a supplement is a good way to insure they are still getting proper nutrition. Sugar glider breeders and other experts usually supplement both with nectar-like products and vitamins and minerals.

When you are supplementing your sugar glider’s diet, remember, more is not necessarily better. Some vitamins, for example, can become toxic when given in large amounts. So follow the recommended amount on the label! Some commonly-used supplements are:

o The Pet Glider Complete Multivitamin, which contains a complete balanced mammal multivitamin and calcium, nectar, bee pollen, probiotics (“friendly” bacteria for your glider’s digestive system), acacia gum, and herbs.

o Glider Boost + Glider-Cal, which is made especially for sugar gliders.

o Vionate, which is a multivitamin in powdered form. Its calcium to phosphorus ratio is 2:1. This supplement can be sprinkled over your glider’s fruit.

o Rep-Cal Calcium, which was originally designed for reptiles. The Rep-Cal calcium that is both phosphorus and Vitamin D3 free is often preferred by sugar glider owners. It should be noted that there is currently some debate about whether supplementing with Vitamin D in sugar gliders who are healthy is a good idea. There have been reports of Vitamin D toxicity in some sugar gliders. Unlike diurnal creatures (such as humans), nocturnal animals absorb Vitamin D in their guts, not through exposure to sunlight. So it would be very easy to over-supplement with any form of Vitamin D. If you decide to give your sugar glider a supplement with added Vitamin D, avoid giving any other supplements that also contain added Vitamin D in any form.

o Gliderade, which is designed as a nectar substitute. Do not oversupplement with this of any other sweet supplement.

o Fruit-flavored powdered Gatorade can also be mixed to your glider’s taste. Gatorade has sucrose (a sugar) and electrolytes (important for keeping your sugar glider’s body chemistry in balance).

Staple foods: Certain foods are considered staples and you should leave them in your sugar glider’s food bowl all day. Those foods include:

o Sugar Glider dry pelleted diet, such as Premium Sugar Glider Diet or Glider Complete Diet by the Exotic Nutrition Pet Company. It is recommended that you soften any hard food you give your sugar glider, to avoid possibly causing Lumpy Jaw. Be aware that softened food will spoil more quickly, so you will need to put fresh food in your sugar glider’s bowl every day. A pellet food that is soft to begin with is Zookeeper’s Friend.

o Monkey Biscuits are also made by the Exotic Nutrition Pet Company. Many sugar gliders love to munch on them all day. Because they are also hard, it is a good idea to moisten them as well.

Regardless of which staple food you give your sugar glider, it is not recommended that you use them as the sole source of nutrition for your sugar glider! Your glider needs fresh food sources, as detailed above.

(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.

Insects and Pinky Mice: Wild sugar gliders get most of their protein from insects and small vertebrates. Crickets, grasshoppers, moths, mealworms and earthworms are among their dietary staples.

Many sugar glider owners feed their gliders live insects, such as crickets or grasshoppers. Gliders are amazingly fast at catching their prey! But you should not overdo it when feeding insects to your glider. For example, mealworms are very high in fat, and a sugar glider who eats a lot of them will become obese. Additionally, their calcium to phosphorus content is skewed in favor of phosphorus. Many breeders feed crickets or mealworms only every other day. And other breeders avoid crickets because of the potential for aflatoxicosis.

Do not collect insects outdoors if there is even the slightest chance they have been in contact with insecticide. They may also have parasites that are unhealthy for your sugar glider. Instead, buy your insects from a pet store or supplier who raises them specifically as small animal food. Many sugar glider owners prefer to buy “gut-loaded” insects. “Gut-loaded” means that the insects are fed a diet that is nutritious for the animal who ultimately eats it. Remember, when your glider eats an insect, he is also ingesting what that insect eats. So why not use insects that are specially prepared to enhance your sugar glider’s nutrition?

Some sugar glider owners buy live crickets and/or mealworms. Crickets can be bought young, raised to majority (and gut-loaded) and then frozen. For more information on buying crickets and/or mealworms, go to wormman.com.

Also avoid catching small lizards outside and feeding them to your sugar glider. Many lizards carry the salmonella bacteria, which could possibly be transmitted to your glider.

Pinky mice can be bought at your local pet store. Pinky mice are baby mice that haven’t yet grown any fur. Many people don’t like to buy them, especially if they are vegetarians or simply don’t like the idea of buying baby mice. It’s up to you. If you buy them frozen, it is OK to feed them frozen to your sugar glider, without defrosting or microwaving them. This lessens the possibility of the meat spoiling overnight in your glider’s cage. You can also feed frozen juvenile or adult mice, which have a developed skeleton and therefore have higher calcium content. (Do not feed mice that you catch yourself! There is always a chance your little intruder has eaten warfarin or other deadly poisons!) One unpleasant thing about feeding frozen furry rodents, other than the fact that you are putting a mouse into your sugar glider’s cage, is the fact that you will have to remove the deceased critter’s pelt in the morning. Another worry is that mice can carry salmonella. It is for this reason that some sugar glider breeders do not recommend feeding pinkies or adult mice.

How much food should you feed your sugar glider? Most gliders will eat about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of food per day. The current recommended ratio of protein to fruits and vegetables is 40-50% protein (50% for breeding females) and 50% fruits and vegetables. This is another area of controversy, but some breeders feel that bone disease is more common in sugar gliders that only get a 25% protein-to-fruits/vegetables ratio. So, to play it safe, try to keep your glider’s food to about a 50/50 combination. That means if you give it 2 tablespoons of protein, then it should get about 2 tablespoons of finely-chopped fruit and vegetables. You will have to experiment a bit with your sugar glider. If you see it is getting obese, you need to cut back on its food. If it gobbles up everything in sight and licks its bowls clean, you may need to add a little more food until you find the right balance.

Some breeders have observed that their sugar gliders will occasionally eat very little for 2 or 3 nights, and then return to their normal feeding habits. If your glider gets fussy about its food, don’t be too concerned until it goes on for longer than that.

(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.