The recipe on the FLAVORED Pedialyte (and other brands of electrolyte replacers) have been changed and now includes sucralose in them.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetner.


The UNFLAVORED version does not have sucralose in the ingredients.

They probably added sweetners because it tastes bad. Well, I don't know that for sure but my (skin) kids hated it when I gave to them when they were dehydrated. Good to know. Thanks Rita!

Wait, on the subject of sweetners, why is it so bad for gliders? I'm just curious.

To my knowledge, there hasnt been any long term studies on the effects of artificial sweetners on gliders.

BUT there certainly has been studies on other animals that have proven many side effects. Some of the side effects are swollen livers and calcified kidneys and harms the nervous system.

Sucralose was discovered while trying to create a new insecticide. One of the main ingredients is chlorine. Chlorine is considers a carcinogen (means cancer causing) and is used in disinfectants, pesticides and plastics.

Well it's a bit different....

One chlorine atom replaces an OH group on a sugar molecule. The chlorine is ATTACHED, it is not like free chlorine in your body. Because there is a chlorine there, your body's receptors cannot accept the fake sugar or break it down (which makes it 0 calories). So really the whole thing passes through your body undigested but hits the right spots on your tongue to make it taste sweet. Long term studies have not been done but it is NOT like other artificial sweeteners that can be bad (aspartame). That's where the phrase "made from sugar so it tastes like sugar" comes from. It's the same sugar molecule with one thing replaced.

I still would probably not give it to gliders because who knows how their body processes things, but know the chlorine is not a danger because it comes right out with the sugar you don't digest. Similarly, salt is sodium CHLORIDE, you don't get chlorine poisoning from salt, because the chlorine stays attached.

We arent talking about people here - we are talking about animals. And they have been studies on the effects on animals - just not sugar gliders, per se.

Have their been studies on other marsupials (preferably Diprotodontias) showing that sucralose is not good?

The study is on rats and mice.

The study was done on the artificial sweetener Splenda which contains scralose.

I think this needs a good bump for the new members. =)