Hi,

I am very worried. My five sugar glider before had a very nice coat, but since three days ago have many cracks in the coat. They are with the HPW diet and a good ratio of fruit and vegetables. I give them mealworms and crickets. And dehydrated papaya. Different things I've done in the last days: a good cleaning of the cage and I've changed the drinking ... they do not have diarrhea and eat well. What can happen? What should I do? I do not want anything bad happen to them, please help.

(My apologies if I write badly in English, is that I'm from Spain)

Hi, Lunnaris:

Welcome! Has the air been very hot and dry there? Sometimes here (in Michigan, northern US), when central heating begins to come on for the winter, my gliders' coats will start to do that. It's just from the lack of moisture in the air. If I use a cool air humidifier when their coats get like that, everything goes back to normal.

If in doubt, please take them in to see the veterinarian! I'm not a vet.

This summer we had over 30 degrees centigrade (86º Fahrenheit) and in the last month we dropped to 15ºC (59º Fahrenheit). The environment is dry, the humidity is low. I think the problem is something external that affect them, because it has happened suddenly and equally in all. A disease develops at different speeds depending on the strength of the animal, I do not think they affect the five equally, but I do not know .... If an animal is bad fur is not a good sign.

I have an appointment with the vet for the next week, but I am worried and wanted to know your opinions. I will buy a humidifier if the problem was the lack of moisture. Thanks

A humidifier is probably a good idea but let us know what the vet says!

Okay, correct me if I am wrong, because I don't know........but I think I remember seeing that adding a drop of vitamin E can help with the coat. I know it helps with human hair and skin and nails. I do not know, so if this is wrong, please feel free to correct me!

Hi,

Take my children to the vet, unless a female has babies outside the pouch over the last few days (did not want to stress). My veterinarian has confirmed that they are all well. The cracks did not attract attention, says fur is healthy, but has more cracks. He says that could be due to temperature change, but watch for them if I notice something strange.

These days her coat has improved. And I am considering the possibility of adding wheat germ to your diet (for its vitamin E, among other nutrients) that you think?

Lunnaris - my bedroom can get pretty chilly in the wintertime so I started using a small ceramic heater. Well, not only did my skin and nose dry out but also the gliders fur. They all had that cracked look about them. From that time on, I added vitamin E to their mixture and have not had any "cracked" fur since.

My vet recommended adding a couple of drops of vitamin E to their diet.

Since vitamin E tastes really, REALLY nasty - I suggest adding a drop to their nightly HPW mixture. Then when you make your next batch, add about 4 - 5 drops to the mixture.

I purchased the NOW brand of liquid vitamin E at our local health food store. One small bottle will last a very long time.

I would avoid wheat germ because it's very high in iron; that can cause liver problems. Vitamin E is probably your best bet.

Then I will not use the wheat germ. I will buy vitamin E and put some drops in HPW. Thank you very much! I will tell you that are with vitamin E.

This may sound stupid but I am new to this and have seen HPW on here a few times and wondering what that is ?

HPW=High Protein Wombaroo diet
http://www.gliderdad79.com/hpw.php