Kasigirl wrote:
quote:
I follow to bml to the T except for fruits and vegetables.
The reason BML requires the higher phosphorus frozen mixed vegetables and specific fruits (apples, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, frozen pitted cherries and blueberries) is because the mix alone is OVERLOADED with calcium. There have been reports of gliders developing kidney and bladder stones over time when fed higher calcium fruits and vegetables frequently along with it. Without the phosphorus in the allowed fruits and vegetables, the overall diet - BML with the fruits and vegetables has a ratio much higher than necessary. The BML staple alone has a ratio of 3.15:1.
If the recipe called for only 1 teaspoon of RepCal Calcium (instead of 2) the ratio of the mixture would be 1.89:1 and a wider variety of fruits and vegetables could safely be fed with it. Bourbon would not approve of this adjustment however.
My GliderKids Feeding plan has several recipes for staples that contain enough calcium to meet gliders needs and still allow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to be fed with it. One recipe is similar to BML. The other recipes use Wombaroo High Protein Supplement to provide the necessary vitamins and a human grade calcium supplement instead of the reptile supplements used in BML. Here is information on my feeding plan for those that might like to take a look.
http://www.gliderkids.com/GKSFeedingPlan2013.pdf