Feeding Your Sugar Glider Part 6

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…)

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