First I will start by telling you i have a great pet store locally that specializes in exotic animals (especially gliders).

They carry a brand called exotic nutrition among others for glider diet. All of their products have feeding instructions, ingredients and protein/fat/vitamin percentages on the package.

I recently discovered that they make an instant HPW powder/mix. After looking over the ingredients and comparing to the recipe i think they did a very good job.

They also make a pellet/dried fruit mix called Glider Complete that has bee pollen, acacia gum, bee pollen, animal protein etc. again after looking at the ingredients i think they are doing a good job of creating glider specific nutrition.

You can find them at www.everythingpetsandsupplies.com/
Exotic nutrition also has their own website www.exoticnutrition.com/


I still have some reservations about not giving them fresh fruit. The packages say that if you feed the glider complete and the instant hpw there is no real nutritional need to add any other supplements or fruits/veggies but i feel as though they should still have fresh from time to time. so i have made a scheduled diet.

what do you all think about this mixture/regime?

m-2tbsp pellet, 2 tbsp hpw
t-2tbsp pellet, 2tbsp baby food w/ Glider booster (vitamin) and glidercal (non phosphorus calcium powder)
w-2tbsp pellets, 1tbsp hpw, 1tbsp fresh fruit/veggies
t-2tbsp pellets, 1tbsp acacia gum/juice mix
f-2tbsp fresh fruit/veggies, 2tbsp hpw and a sprinkle of bee pollen or honey powder

(i have not decided what to do for weekends yet)

any input would be great, i want to give my babies the best, balanced diet i can create with my occasionally limited prep time.

What does your vet say?

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Originally posted by Cora1

What does your vet say?

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I haven't run it by a vet yet. Our previous vet passed away and I have not yet found a new one I like and who knows much about gliders. I have a couple mmmore exotic vets to call and talk to.

Gliders are not meant to have a primarily dry diet, any type of pellets or dry food should really just be fed as a snack in addition to a fresh diet. Most pellets are also primarily either a protein source, or filler but without seeing the ingredient list of the pellets you are talking about, it's hard to say which this particular brand is. Whatever diet plan you choose, a glider's diet should be 50% protein, 25% fruits, and 25% vegetables. They really do need to have the fresh portion of the diet nightly. I would be very concerned that the rotation you have listed there is lacking in a balance of daily nutrition.

quote:

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m-2tbsp pellet, 2 tbsp hpw
t-2tbsp pellet, 2tbsp baby food w/ Glider booster (vitamin) and glidercal (non phosphorus calcium powder)
w-2tbsp pellets, 1tbsp hpw, 1tbsp fresh fruit/veggies
t-2tbsp pellets, 1tbsp acacia gum/juice mix
f-2tbsp fresh fruit/veggies, 2tbsp hpw and a sprinkle of bee pollen or honey powder

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I am not a fan of any of the dry pellets. Gliders get most of their fluids (water) from the juicy fruits and vegetables in their diet. The pellets are mostly fillers (read the ingredients lots of corn or soy)

As for your feeding plan - if you choose to use the HPW INSTANT - it should be fed EVERY NIGHT as it is designed to meet your gliders protein, vitamin and calcium needs.

you need to offer 1 TBS HPW with 1 TBS fruit and 1 TBS vegetables per glider.

The HPW provides the necessary vitamins. Sprinkling a random amount of other vitamins (glider booster and glider cal) runs a real risk of overdosing on the vitamins and calcium.

The acacia gum mixed with juice is OK for a treat or along side the HPW but does not provide enough nutrients to be used in place of the HPW fruits and vegetables.

You do not need to sprinkle bee pollen or honey powder on anything.

Instant HPW contains powdered honey and bee pollen in the powder itself.

You can leave a few pellets in the cage during the day in case your gliders get up for a 'snack' (most do not get up to eat) but I would not put them in the cage at night when you want them to eat a nutritious feeding.

Gliders have very small stomachs about the size of the tip of your thumb. They eat small amounts off and on all night long. Filling up on pellets or acacia gum will only result in them eating less of the HPW, fruits and vegetables which are their primary nutrient sources.