LuckyGlider Zippy Glidershorts     TX, USA
5266 Posts
[Disclaimer. This post is not for people who already know about HLP. It's for people new to sugar gliders. If you already know about HLP and are fighting against it, please pass along this note. If you don't know about it and don't know how to prevent it, you should read the rest of this.]
Here at Lucky Glider Rescue & Sanctuary, we unfortunately see our fair share of innocent sugar gliders with a dreaded disease called Hind Leg Paralysis (HLP). It is heartbreaking to see an animal with such a malady, and from time to time, we post warnings about it to educate people who are new to sugar gliders. What's truly sad is this problem is essentially man-made. If gliders are being fed properly, HLP does not happen.
Hind Leg Paralysis is a debilitating and often deadly condition in Sugar Gliders. As the name implies, the condition is characterized by the hind legs dragging behind the glider as they try to walk and hop. There are other names for HLP including metabolic bone disease and nutritional osteodystrophy.
The cause of HLP is a lack of Calcium in the sugar glider's diet. What happens is the blood and organs will 'steal' the calcium in the gliders' bones. The body naturally draws calcium from bones when it is lacking in the diet and so unchecked, the bones dissipate rapidly. HLP causes bones to become very thin and brittle to the point where they cannot support the weight of the glider.
In the advanced stages of this disease, the organs begin to disintegrate and at that point death is certain.
Confusing HLP with Scent Marking Behavior
Don't confuse rubbing and scooting the hind quarters (a scent marking behavior) with HLP. If a glider is scent marking, it will often drag his hind legs and dip its cloaca down on surfaces to leave behind smears of urine. If you go to handle the glider while it is doing this and it scurries away quickly or runs, hops, climbs, etc. then you know it is probably OK. But a glider with HLP has a big problem with mobility. It cannot move so easily and the legs literally drag. Other symptoms include labored breathing and difficulty with elimination.
Action if your Glider has HLP.
You must take your glider to the vet immediately if you suspect it has HLP. Don't wait. Take it immediately. Time is of the essence, because death can occur if the condition goes on too long. The vet will often give the glider a subcutaneous injection of calcium and perhaps other nutrients as a kick-start to recovery.
If your vet is knowledgeable about sugar glider diet, he or she may also subscribe a high-calcium regimen. If your vet is not familiar with sugar glider diet, you can feed a popular diet and study the nutritional value to ensure the proper Calcium amounts (see more below).
Convalescence from HLP
It is important to handle a glider with HLP very, very carefully. We recommend putting them in a small "hospital cage" with no wheel and little climbing surfaces. At this point, the slightest rough handling or exercise could cause bone breakage and internal bleeding.
So the recovery cage should NOT be outfitted with climbing toys, wheels, or be tall. It is a good idea to put fleece at the bottom of the cage in case your glider falls from climbing. Provide an easy-to-access nesting area on the bottom of the cage so the glider does not have to climb to go to sleep or relax.
It is a good idea to separate gliders from the colony or from its cage mate during recovery. Gliders love to romp and play with each other, but this is not good during recovery. You can keep the cages close to each other, but avoid contact with other gliders until recovery is complete.
Preventing HLP
Unfortunately, random mixes and fruits and vegetables almost always produce lower than optimal amounts of Calcium. The general rule of thumb, as it is with humans, is to balance the ration between Calcium and Phosphorus at 2:1. This means you want your glider to get twice as much Calcium as Phosphorus.
It is well known that Calcium and Phosphorus interact with each other in the digestive tract to form salts that are not metabolized by the body. In layman's terms, this means that Calcium and Phosphorus at least partially cancel out one another. But a 2:1 Ca:P ratio ensures the proper uptake of Calcium.
While it is important to feed protein, most meats are very high in Phosphorus and therefore a lot of Calcium is cancelled out as a result. So if you feed animal protein, it is especially important to balance the intake of Calcium with other foods that get you to the proper ratio.
The "Gotcha" With Dark Leafy Veggies
Unfortunately, just because some foods are high in Calcium does not mean the Calcium will be absorbed. Foods high in Oxalytic Acid (Oxalates) such as Spinach and Kale, are not good sources of Calcium. The Oxalates cancel out the Calcium by binding to it in the digestive tract so it can't be absorbed. You can still feed these foods, but do not feed them because they are high in Calcium. Feed them for their other properties. When calculating the Calcium content of these foods, just bring the Calcium to ZERO and you are playing it safe. A cheat sheet we have prepared that lists high-Oxalate foods can be found here: files.meetup.com/768852/Ratios.pdf
Good Sources of Calcium
If you are feeding eggs to your gliders as a source of protein, you can use the egg shells as a source of calcium. After rinsing, you can dry them out and pulverize the shells. Up to 97% of egg shells are put calcium carbonate, so this is a rich and natural source of calcium. You can blend the pulverized (powdered) shells with other food or put it in their "soup"-type recipes.
Another source of Calcium is RepCal with Vitamin D3 which you can get at the pet store or order online. This is made from Oyster shells. the Vitamin D helps in the absorption of the Calcium. Calcium/Vitamin D fortified Orange Juice is another good source of Calcium. At LGRS we use Calcium-fortified juice as part of the suggie soup recipe.
Papaya has a 4.8:1 Ca:P ratio. This is good for offsetting the "upside-down" (mostly P) ratios of common vegetables like carrots, peas and corn. If the only vegetables you feed are the popular trio of carrots, peas and corn - and you are not offsetting the upside-down nature of those veggies - you are probably not getting enough Calcium into your gliders.
Resources for Healthy Recipes
The best resource we have found for making glider recipes is right here at sugarglider.com. See the "resources" section. The URL for people not familiar with the link is: www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/
Here, you can build your own recipes for gliders and save them electronically. You build the recipes by choosing foods that are available in the system's vast database. Each time you choose a food and the amount, it automatically calculates the ingredients (proteins, sugars, minerals, vitamins, etc.) and displays the totals. If the totals are not showing twice as much Calcium as Phosphorus, you simply adjust the amounts or the ingredients until the proper ratio is displayed. Be sure to make adjustments for foods high in Oxalates because that is not automatically accounted for.
Stay away from Pellets
It is important to understand that no pellet on the market today in itself constitutes a full diet for sugar gliders. It does not matter if the pellet has words in its branded title such as "complete or full diet." Pellets, simply put, are not a complete diet. We know. Here at Lucky Glider Rescue & Sanctuary, we have had many gliders surrendered to us that came to us with HLP. Their diet before coming here? Pellets.
Most pellets are inadequate not only from a Calcium perspective, but also too low in Protein. Pellets are sold openly on the market and appeal to the laziness human beings have in feeding their animals. Unlike rodentia, the exotic sugar glider cannot subsist on pellets alone. Keep in mind that the life expectancy of gerbils and hamsters in only a few years. Sugar gliders can live twelve or more years if cared for properly. Part of that proper care is a carefully prepared diet.
- Ed & Gail @LGRS
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