Ok seasoned glider owners, I need some advice.

My gang has been on one form of HPW from day one. Got the most longevity from OHPW and I really like the idea of HPW Supplement being in their diet.

Well as some of you know and have read, they have stopped eating it. I really think it's a phase because they sometimes don't even eat their favorites.

But it's concerning me, obviously we know how important diet is. When they stopped eating OHPW, I mixed up one of Candys' blended recipes...they ate it well for 3 days then stopped. I made up some VGV...I really like this diet, but again, they ate a bit of it for a few nights then stopped.

I do let them go for about 2-3 nights of fussy eating before I get really worried and either switch or boil them up an egg or cook some chicken. You all know that diet related health issues show up but only after some damage has been done. I don't want to be in that boat.

I know we all stress using the "recoginized diets" and I wholeheartedly agree. It takes the guess work out which I love! But what do you do when they just won't eat these and make it easy on mama?

I am terrified that I will find one of them dragging their back legs one evening from HLP!

I'm gonna post a couple pics of examples of what I feed when I can't get them to eat the "recognized diet." And please know, that I do still put it in the cage for them in the hopes that they will eat at least some of it even when feeding "off" items.

Oh, and the little boogers won't eat Papaya! I know it is a great source of Ca. so I try pushing it but they won't touch it! On off nights I do offer them some Pure Maple Syrup as their nectar because it has a Ca:P ratio of 35:1 and oddly enough, they LOVE Vanilla Ensure. I put just enough to cover the bottom of their small crock (approx.2tbsp. for 5 gliders) and the crock is licked clean every single morning.... again, that's something I offer in an attempt to get good nutrients into them....sprinkling of vitamins scares me!
And they are really bad about not eating their fruits and veggies! I am finding that while they won't touch a Strawberry or a piece of Banana...if I put the Bolthouse Strawberry/Banana smoothie drink in a crock with some Mango Coconut Water,... the dish is empty in the morning. Again, those types of things I only put about 2tbsp. and yes, I've tried blending up my own and they don't touch it!

This is their glider omlette of EGG, COLLARD GREENS, SHREDDED REAL CHEESE Colby/Jack, and MEALIES


This is their salad of MIXED GREENS, SHREDDED REAL CHEESE, TOMATO and a drizzle of PURE MAPLE SYRUP. OHPW & BLACKBERRY/STRAWBERRY/RASPBERRY MIX


Sweet Potato Snax...I dice them up and hide them around the cage for foraging...and oddly enough while they will chew on these occassionally, they won't touch a fresh sweet potato!



This is COLLARD GREENS, DICED CHICKEN, and SILK WORMS (higher in Ca. than Mealies but they won't always eat them.) They also had watermelon with this meal which they ate.



I guess I just need some reassurance or advice that even if they aren't eating a "recongnized diet" consistantly that they are getting good nutrition with the choices I am making for them.

I do put the various flavors of HAPPY GLIDER thruout the cage just as some hard food for dental health but they very seldom touch it. They have been getting Dandilions and Clover flowers from the yard altho I'm not sure they offer any kind of nutrition, but they do eat them. They have also been eating a few moths and mosquito eaters but that is mainly Zoey as she likes to hunt them. They others will eat them if I catch them for them which I haven't done in over a week....the moths are scarce with the mosquito eaters out and I can't catch them...they're too fast.

Anyway, some insight would be awesome. Thanks so much.

Have you tried blending the fruits/veg together? Mine will eat anything blended but won't touch it in chunks x

Jazz I don't have any answers sorry. I will tell you that since mine wouldn't eat papaya and several other fruits I mix it in with the LGRS suggie soup and they eat it that way just fine :) I have no problems with them eating their veggies just fruits.

I guess bottom line is, what scares me is they won't eat ANYTHING consistently so I worry that they aren't getting all the nutrition they need.

That's part of the reason I offer Vanilla Ensure. I know when I had to care for my Dad before his passing his Dr. had him drinking at least one Ensure a day to help round out his nutrition so I just used that logic on my babies.

I may be way off since they are nothing like humans but at least when it appears they haven't touched their dinner but the Ensure crock is empty I feel slightly better that I know they have some vitamins and nutrients in them from some source....as I said, the sprinkling of vitamins scares me...too much room for error IMO.

Oh, and I also tried sprinkling the HPWS on the fruits/veggies as instructed on the package...they didn't touch it!

Maybe your babies don't like honey? I don't know. Have you tried the Reeps diet? It was developed for a glider that wouldn't eat honey.
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=237

Try calling Ed he helped me so much even when I was on OHPW. On how to offer different stuff and still making sure they get what they need

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by sjones5254</i>
<br />Try calling Ed he helped me so much even when I was on OHPW. On how to offer different stuff and still making sure they get what they need
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I know, he's helped me in the past as well but with him being at full capacity again with his rescues I feel bad bothering him for something like this. I know he has his hands full right now.

Gail can help too. I am sure neither of them mind helping out for someone who really cares so much about their babies like you do.

Yep, I feed Reeps as well. I have never had problems with any of my gliders eating it. My rescue gobbles it up every single night. The new girls were fed turkey and chicken along with fruits and veggies and yogurt. The first day, they didn't touch the Reeps, but since then they gobble it up as well. It might be a good alternative for you, since you probably have the Wombaroo HPS on hand. Mine don't like honey, so this diet works well for me and my gliders.

Even if you aren't feeding a "recognized" diet, as long as it's a balanced diet, I'm sure they will be fine.

I would try blending everything together before I gave up on it. I would also try subbing out half of the honey for apple sauce.

Are you feeding too many fruits/veggies for the amount of glider you have? Too much nectar mix?

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by kyro298</i>
<br />Even if you aren't feeding a "recognized" diet, as long as it's a balanced diet, I'm sure they will be fine.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That's exactly what I'm hoping Kylah. I guess because we don't know how much of what they need I really worry that I'll be thinking I'm giving them what they need only to find I've slowly killed them!

Not quite sure I could handle that!

This is Zoe & Ari lastnight. (they were the only 2 awake at the time) I think their fur looks pretty good... none of them are heavy...aside from Kodah who's a whopping 143g at last weigh in a few weeks ago, but he's still within normal range.

I have figured out how I get all of my 6 gliders to eat sweet potato. I peel it, wash it, cut it up in chunks, put it in a bowl of water and honey, and microwave it. I only microwave it until it is soft enough to cut up, but not too mushy. All of my gliders will eat it this way. On the "off" nights, one night I will make a scrambled egg in the microwave or I will boil chicken in half apple juice, half water. I agree, that if they are being fed a balanced diet, even if it isn't a "recognized" diet, then they will be ok. Also, for another source of calcium, you could always add some yogurt to their dinner or some cottage cheese.

Lyndia, Zoey and Ari are beautiful. I forget what grey gliders look like sometimes. Ours are still off color

Yes, their coats are absolutely beautiful! I am jealous! The coats on mine are cracked due to the lack of humidity here in west Texas. I have started running a humidifier in their room, so hopefully that will smooth out their coats.

JazzNZoeysmom, You have beautiful gliders!:)

~Erica~

For a long time I fed all my gliders the essure diet...which is a recognized diet. Each night they would get the vaniulla essure, boiled chicken, fruits and veggies and I would sprinkle some calcium suppliment in the essure so they were sure to get the needed calcium. My gliders thrived on it...however they started to put on a bit too much weight so I swicthed to the hpw. I have to admit to a little messing with their hpw diet because if I don't add in a bottle of essure to the batch they won't touch the stuff. But with it they gobble the whole dish down every night.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by fazioli</i>
<br />I have figured out how I get all of my 6 gliders to eat sweet potato. I peel it, wash it, cut it up in chunks, put it in a bowl of water and honey, and microwave it. I only microwave it until it is soft enough to cut up, but not too mushy. All of my gliders will eat it this way. On the "off" nights, one night I will make a scrambled egg in the microwave or I will boil chicken in half apple juice, half water. I agree, that if they are being fed a balanced diet, even if it isn't a "recognized" diet, then they will be ok. Also, for another source of calcium, you could always add some yogurt to their dinner or some cottage cheese.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I'll have to try the sweet potato thing. I do cook their chicken with some apple juice. And the little buggers won't touch yogurt or cottage cheese! That's why I give them shredded cheese instead. They will eat it and luckily it doesn't cause them any digestive troubles.

Ok, this all leads me to another question:

If I continue to just offer a wide variety of foods, do I continue to offer chicken or eggs each evening? Is this going to end up being too much protein in their diet?

If you're worried about getting weight on them and nutrients, I would take the Wombaroo powder and mix it with 1 parts water 3 parts juice. The juice is for flavor, and since I use cranapple, it's also for urinary health. You can feed them with a syringe to make sure they get enough. I normally feed them about 1 tablespoon each, or as much as they will eat. Mr. Rich said it's a good way to get weight on them or extra nutrients if they are underweight or lacking nutrients. I went though the same issue with my girls and now I just go with the diet they use in Australia.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by JazzNZoeysmom</i>
<br />Ok, this all leads me to another question:

If I continue to just offer a wide variety of foods, do I continue to offer chicken or eggs each evening? Is this going to end up being too much protein in their diet?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I would only offer those on nights you don't already have protein. Like when you feed alot of mealies I wouldn't. That's just a personal opinion though.

Ok Sabrina, let me make sure I'm following....

Currently they usually only get mealies in the morning as a treat. They got the mealie omlette twice. Normally it's a hard boiled egg with some fruits/veggies on the side.

Or the Spring mix with some diced up chicken (or egg) along with fruits/veggies.

So, if I'm understanding you correctly I could sub the egg/chicken one evening for a good amount of mealies then some fruits/veggies?

The mealies could take the place of the other protein source? I hope I'm correct cuz I like that idea. Insects seem a bit more natural to their wild diet.

You can substitute the soy in LGRS for wombaroo supplement. I feed different diets seasonally to combat boredom.

Have tried feeding the ensure/darcy diet long term....
**Ensure To one can of Light or Regular Ensure (any flavor but chocolate) add 3/8 teaspoons of Calcium Carbonate (I use Ruger's, a human-grade pharmaceutical powder.)

Nightly (ingredients are for one glider)

1 Tablespoon of the Ensure mixture , (more or less) in a bowl *
various fruits & veggies, emphasis on variety and moderation. (No large
amounts of any one thing)
about a tablespoon of protein source per glider (amount depends on what it is.
Chicken or duck meat - about one tablespoon per glider; Crickets - live, frozen or freeze-dried (up to two tablespoons would equal one tablespoon measured out) Also wax worms, mealworms, egg. *** Just a note that if you can get "bone" ensure you wouldn't even have to add the calcium because it is already 2:1



We've provided below the nutrients you've requested for each Ensure(R)
variety per 8 fluid ounces:

Ensure Nutrition Shake (8-fl-oz):

Protein: 9 g
Sugar: 23 g
Calcium: 300 mg
Phosphorus: 250 mg
Iron: 4.5 mg
Vitamin A: 1250 IU
Vitamin D: 100 IU
Sodium: 200 mg

Ensure Immune Health (8-fl-oz):

Protein: 9 g
Sugar: 23 g
Calcium: 300 mg
Phosphorus: 250 mg
Iron: 4.5 mg
Vitamin A: 1250 IU
Vitamin D: 160 IU
Sodium: 200 mg

Ensure Muscle Health (8-fl-oz):

Protein: 13 g
Sugar: 23 g
Calcium: 350 mg
Phosphorus: 350 mg
Iron: 4.5 mg
Vitamin A: 1250 IU
Vitamin D: 160 IU
Sodium: 240 mg

Ensure Bone Health (8-fl-oz):

Protein: 10 g
Sugar: 19 g
Calcium: 500 mg
Phosphorus: 250 mg
Iron: 4.5 mg
Vitamin A: 1250 IU
Vitamin D: 200 IU
Sodium: 290 mg

Ensure Clinical Strength (8-fl-oz):

Protein: 13 g
Sugar: 20 g
Calcium: 350 mg
Phosphorus: 350 mg
Iron: 4.5 mg
Vitamin A: 1250 IU
Vitamin D: 160 IU
Sodium: 240 mg

Ensure Plus (8-fl-oz):

Protein: 13 g
Sugar: 20 g
Calcium: 350 mg
Phosphorus: 300 mg
Iron: 4.5 mg
Vitamin A: 1250 IU
Vitamin D: 160 IU
Sodium: 220 mg

Ensure with Fiber was discontinued a few years ago. Our Ensure line of products have undergone quite a few name changes in the last few years.
Ensure Immune Health is most similar to the previous Ensure with Fiber FOS. Ensure Immune Health provides 3 grams of fiber and prebiotics to
promote a healthy digestive tract and immune system.

We wish you the best of luck with supplementing your animals!

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Sara
Consumer Relations
Abbott Nutrition"

Thanks Jen...that actually comes in really handy. I knew I had read at some point about an "Ensure Diet" but had a hard time finding it again.

The crazy boogers won't eat any type of yogurt but they LOVE Vanilla Ensure, and since it's a nutrtional supplement I was really hoping it was something I could incorporate into their diet safely since I can't get them to eat a "recongnized diet" for any length of time.

Please remember anyone looking at Darcy's Diet that it was created for a terminally ill glider so that it could keep weight on, it is not intended for normal healthy gliders.

J&Z'sMum, there are other protein chooses besides meats, you really should look at those in combination since most meats are also high in fat it is good to look at other sources which would also contribute to the idea of variety, check out this list I made: http://www.sugarglider.com/glidergossip/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35474&whichpage=2

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I am terrified that I will find one of them dragging their back legs one evening from HLP!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Haven't read this whole thread, but HLP is not caused by diet. So, one less worry there. If you find your gliders dragging their back legs all the sudden, you need to be worried about injury, bacterial infection or parasitic infection rather than diet.

Thanks Vicious, that actually does come in handy. Mine absolutely LOVE sunflowers seeds, almonds & walnuts but I kept them to a minimum because of the high fat and low Ca:P ratio but I guess if I'm not feeding a "recognized diet" I have a few more options as far as protien sources.

I bought Silk Worms but they are a hit and miss. Kodah is the only one that will kinda eat them when I offer, and what's funny is when he takes one and bites the head off, Mala will then come in and help him eat it, but she won't take one for herself and eat it. Odd



And Val, really? I was under the impression that HLP was brought on by not enough Ca in the diet.... I guess I have some additional research to do. I'm extremely curious (and a bit relieved) now.

Hummmm- I am very interested in the reply to this since I have read on Tss that the main reason for hlp is diet- lack of calcium. So while you may be relieved- I am confused.

Just a little adjustment to above posting - in most posts on Tss is says hlp is most likely caused by issues other than diet but I don't recall reading that hlp is NOT caused my diet, just looking for clarification on this.

Just a little adjustment to above posting - in most posts on Tss is says hlp is most likely caused by issues other than diet but I don't recall reading that hlp is NOT caused my diet, just looking for clarification on this.