Hi, My bff passed away the other day and her parents did not want to keep the suggies so I now am the proud owner of 2 one year old boys. No one else knows how to take care of them. I kinda know what she fed them. She fed them purina kitten chow, and fresh fruit and veggies. Im pretty sure that whatever she was having for dinner they were eating. I was given a small bag of gliderade and some calcium powder. I have no idea how to feed it to them or how much. I know they love string cheese and mealworms but other than that I am totally lost on how to care for these guys!

Also I think they are depressed, They sleep all day and night. They didnt chatter at all last nite. They were kinda forgotten when she died and left on there own for 3 days.

Eek. that diet sounds terrible dear!
Im sorry for your loss.

Read in the gliderpedia about diets .
I know cat food is not good and I know cheese is not good either.


Please read in the diet section and get them on a healthy diet!

Everything you mentioned is ok in moderation but I would slowly begin to ditch the cat food. The easiest thing to do is variety. Feed a spread every night and change it when possible. Many folks feed something from the daily human dinner, just make sure it has not been seasoned. A healthy diet will lessen the need for any supplement such as calcium powder.

You'll get it, there is time. Just keep them fed until you find your way and all will be well.

Sorry about your dear friend, but welcome to our little community. Feel free to let your crazy show! :)

Definitely ditch the cat food and cheese....

You will want to avoid garlic, onions, and chocolate specifically...

Try looking under resources and nutrition...

Welcome and I'm so sorry about your friend... good luck!

Cheese is something you ONLY give in moderation, as a treat, but RARELY. Ditch the cat food, and, I would suggest, ditch the Gliderade. It's not necessary. Mealworms aren't something I would rely on for protein either. My girls only get those as treats.

Check under resources and then nutrition. I feed my girls 1 cube veggie relish and 1 cube fruit smoothie nightly as well as BML mix every night for the protein.

As far as the sleeping all day/all night... How long has it been since you got them? My girls did nothing but sleep for about 4 days right after I got them. They'd eat a little bit, but not as much as they do now. It could also possibly be that they're lacking proper nutrition. Just to be safe, I'd suggest taking them to a vet that is EXPERIENCED with gliders.


**edited to add in sentence about mealies**

I am so very sorry for your loss, nothing can make the pain go away but time. But think of these little guys as part of your friend that you can keep her spirit alive in them.

On the positive note-sugar gliders are a very fun and loving pet if taken care of properly. That means getting them on a good diet and on a balanced diet (Ca:Ph). It also involves bonding steps, but time and love will bond you guys. They are essentially like little monkeys-so they need lots of space and lots of toys. Once you start bonding you can take them out in a glider proofed bathroom/bedroom or tent and let them crawl all over you and use you as a gliding platform.

My suggestion is to look into one of three recipes and see which is the easiest for you and which one they will actually like and eat. BML, HPW (pampared gliders-just google it-has starter kits for like $1.75 with free shipping to try it out), and the Lucky Glider suggie soup. Until then, try cooking them up eggs and chicken for their protien part or giving them some yogurt(instead of the cat food) and get them some papaya for their fruit (very high in calcium versus phophorous). Try a variety of fruits and veggies to see what they like. If they won't eat their veggies you can blend them up and add some fotified orange juice and yogurt for taste and nutrition.

Welcome to the board, please feel free to ask any questions!

sorry about your friend,as mentioned above get rid of cat food and the cheese,fresh fruits and veggies is good for them.give them time to adjust to your home and talk to them sitting by the cage,just take things slow.did she hold her babies? if so work towards that goal.they need interaction with ppl.when u can buy a pop up tent to take them into with yourself so u can work on bonding with them so u can hold them,there alot of fun you will love them and you know this but theses are special suggies afterall they belonged to your friend a part of her so to speak.good luck and take the time to read read read on this forum,the more you learn the better the gliders lives will be.welcome to the forum,oh yeah do you know if she was a member of our forum? if so let us know who she was.

First off thank you all for your condolances.We have been friends since we were little kids.
I do not know if she was a member of this forum.I know she was on one but dunno which one.He name was suggieluv.

My bf has had suggies all her life.Her very first suggie lived to be 14yo.She has 7 right now.Because I have children I felt that I could only be responsible for 2.And I took the two nicest/friendly ones.

I will def get rid of the cat food and glideraid.And limit the cheese! Which they flip over.Its gonna have to be a treat.

Tonite I feed them what we had for dinner - the seasoning.
They had equal amounts of meat/fruit/veggies.

They had shrimp and chicken with noodles.And clemintines, bannana, avacodos cucumbers and lettece.

Im not sure what diet to do yet.But I dont wanna drastically change it.

I also noticed that the bigger of the two is stealing most of the food.As soon as i put it in there he was eating the other lil guy he sat in his home and wouldnt come out.I ended up hand feeding him.
I dont think he feels well.His tail hir is falling out and he was I dunno spitting up clear stuff.

I didnt know how to edit.
I have had them for a day now.I got them yesterday.
She did handle all her suggies, daily.

Oilvia, Where are you located? Do you or did she have a Vet she took them too? Hopefully what he's going through is just stress from all of this that's happening but watch him closely. The tail hair being pulled out is mostly due to stress as well. There lives have been changed drastically and they need time to adjust. With everything that's going on please change there diet slowly. Continue with their diet and add more nutritional stuff. Ditch most of the seasoning as iit's not any good. There are only a few seasonings that they can have. Better to just not give any at this point and just feed unseasoned.

Boiled chicken (plain)
Scrambled eggs (I do microwave)
Hard Boiled Egg

Fruits and Veggies
Here is a list of what they can have:

Vegetables

Collard Greens
Mustard Spinach
Beet Greens
Dandelion Greens
Mustard Greens
Parsley
Cabbage (Green)
Watercress
Spinach
Squash (Spaghetti)
Celery
Squash (Butternut)
Napa Cabbage
Okra
Cabbage (Red)
Broccoli (Spears)
Soy Bean (Green)
Green Beans (Snap Beans)
Squash (Winter, All Variety)
Lettuce (Iceberg)
Squash (Acorn)
Sweet Potato
Lettuce (Romaine)
Broccoli
Cucumber (without Skin)
Squash (Hubbard)
Cucumber (with Skin)
French Beans
Carrots
Squash (Summer, All Variety)
Pumpkin
Tomato (Green) in Moderation
Cauliflower
Squash (Zucchini)
Peppers (Sweet)
Alfalfa (Sprouts)
Soy Bean (Sprouts)
Yams
Eggplant
Peas (Green)
Bamboo Shoots
Tomato (Red) in Moderation
Mushrooms
Corn (Yellow)


Fruits

Papaya
Lemon in Moderation
Figs
Prickly Pear
Orange (Valencia) in Moderation
Orange (Navel) in Moderation
Lime in Moderation
Raspberries
Blackberries
Grapefruit (white)
Custard Apple
Tangerine
Grapefruit (Pink & Red) in Moderation
Mulberries
Mammy Apple
Pear
Pineapple
Apple (with Skin)
Elderberries
Mango
Dates
Watermelon
Sugar Apple
Cherries (Sweet)
Apricots
Strawberries
Cranberries
Honeydew Melon
Prunes
Kiwifruit
Cantaloupe
Raisins (Seedless)
Apple (without Skin)
Peach
Plum
Banana
Nectarine
Ground Cherries
Passion Fruit (Purple)

Gliders are also very good at hiding illnesses. Please make sure he stays hydrated. If you don't see him eat or drink do the tent test on him and see if he's dehydrated. Pinch the skin on his back around the neck area. If it goes down slowly he's dehydrated. Unflavored pedialyte given to him through a needleless syringe is a good idea if he is dehydrated. I'm sure they last few days have been awful for everyone and gliders usually don't tolerate stress very well. Keep us posted and when things settle down and your ready to look at diets we'll be here.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your bff. There is/was a member here named suggieluv in SC.

I'm sorry for your loss. You have come to a good place to get help. You may want to check a post that Essika recently did that has links to dietary recipies for gliders. Also, you may want to be sure that you do not have thier cage in a noisy area or next to a main pathway in the house. This will help reduce stress if they are not subjected to constant and loud noise. Please keep an eye on them and get them to a vet when you can. If you cannot find one, check with the others on here and hopefully someone will know of one in your area or be able to help find one.

I dont know what vet she took them too! I know she has taken them to the vet before.
The one suggie is drinking.They both came out an played last nite.The one moret han the other, but he did come out.
I still had to hand feed the little one as the bigger one steals all of his food.
Thank you Goldwinger for the list! It is very helpful and I will be able to buy almost all of those fruits at my market.

They are drinking water.I have been filing it up fresh everyday so I believe by what is gone they are drinking a nice amount.

I think the little guy had a seizure.He had climbed onto my arm and was sitting there when clear white stuff started dripping outta his mouth.He started to shake an kinda go a little rigid.It was all over within a minute but im stil worried.

I do have them in my living room.but only because thats were they were at her house.And were used to constant noise and interaction.I didnt want to stress them by to much change.

I live in michigan.

Fruit and veggie recipes with the 2:1 ca:ph ratio already worked out. Gliders need twice as much calcium as phosphorous in order to not have health issues.


Fruit Cocktails


Banana/Papaya/Watermelon Fruit Cocktail
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=32

Kiwi/Strawberry/Banana/Papaya Fruit Cocktail
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=72

Peach/Pineapple/Honeydew/Papaya Fruit Cocktail
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=61

Papaya/Strawberry/Blueberry/Raspberry/Blackberry Fruit Cocktail
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=74

Papaya/Mango/Blueberry Fruit Cocktail
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=41

Papaya/Apple/Pear/Cantaloupe Fruit Cocktail
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=75


~~~~~~


Veggie Relishes



Veggie Relish Recipe #1
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=52

Veggie Relish Recipe #2
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=92

Veggie Relish Recipe #3
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=93

Veggie Relish Recipe #4
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=80

Veggie Relish Recipe #5
http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=79


~~~~~~

Olivia, if you have not found a vet, go to the resources link at the top of the page here or go to GliderCentral and check vets under the links tab near the top of the page. I saw 12 listed for Michigan there.

I'd call Val Olivia, she is really nice. And she can give you advice until you can get the one with the seizure to a vet. Her # is 806-274-9177

Thanks so much for all the help and links!

Im gonna call the vet! Try to get them in asap.I want them both looked over.

I think Im gonna go with the hmm I cant excatly recall the diet but it starts with an K. ANd its fresh fruit and blend.
I was wondering if I can freeze the blends.I make baby food everyweek and freeze itin cubes.it would be so easy for me to make the suggie blend along with it.

I looked under resources and I only see 1 vet in michigan! She isnt to far away so, Im gonna give her a call!

Isn't this site just loaded with information? I hope things go well at the vet! Also-just a suggestion, but maybe fill up two separate bowls and put them at very separate locations so the littler boy can get his eats! I think it is pretty common to have a definate alpha, even in my two girls. They get along great but if one wants that yoggie, she gets that yoggie!

Yes,Im glad I found this site!

I tried two different bowls but they werent having it.They ate the first bowl then the next.But Im seeing that they have different tastes.The bigger one loved the meat and veggies and yogurt.The smaller one loves fruit, fish and cottage cheese.

Im still working on perfecting their diet but I think it is going good.

Aso I keep calling them bigger and smaller, lol

The bigger one is ZIM and the little one is GIR.