Hi all,

I am new to this forum and have some questions on what to feed my gliders. I have had them for 5 months now. Bought them from a breeder who gave me pellets to feed them. Now I have been doing some reading on here and other sites that are saying do not feed them pellets as it is bad for them. I asked my breeder about this and he says that pellets are fine and they get their vitamins still and that they need something to chew on for their teeth rather then just licking like with HPW diets. He seems to think pellets are fine.

So, its confusing me because so many different opinions on what to feed them. But I want my gliders to be healthy and live for a very long time so now Im worried about feeding them the pellets and want to switch over to the HPW diet. My question is which one should I buy? I see on a certain website - not sure if I am allowed saying the name of it here, but Im sure most of you know of this website - that they sell HPW ZooPro High Protein kit, HWP Complete and then HPW Instant. I know that the ZooPro kit is the one you mix with honey, eggs etc and then freeze right? Then the HPW Complete is like a ready made paste and you just give them that as is with no mixing involved or the HPW Instant which is the powder but you just mix with water and then freeze it.

So, which one should I get? The HWP ZooPro one? That seems to be pretty popular. Are the other 2 any good? They are less work and ingredients needed then the HPW ZooPro.

Then once I figure out which one of those to buy I would feed them that as my staple (instead of the pellets) and then some fruits and veggies too each night along with it? I am currently feeding the pellets and then fresh fruits and veggies. Once in awhile I will feed them some meal worms but not every night? Is this okay?

Sorry for all the questions but this forum has alot of great info on it and knowledge people and want I want to be sure I am feeding them right.

Thanks!

There are many more knowledgeable glider owners here, but here's some help based on my limited experience and what I've seen others post.

Pellets are not a good source of nutrition, and there's an entire thread on here of awful things that happen to gliders on pellets long term. I currently use the HPW Complete (powder, mix with water, blend, freeze), with 1TBSP fruits and 1TBSP veggies every night. I try to throw in a couple high calcium f/v's, not supplements or anything because it's almost impossible to gauge correctly how much calcium to shake onto food and they can get too much which is bad for them just like not enough is.

When I get out of my small apartment in a few months, I'll probably change to HPW Plus because I like that it has less artificial ingredients for not much more work involved in preparing a large batch.

Besides the HPW, BML, etc appoved diets, the member here Candy has her own glider kids diet (www.gliderkids-diet.com/), and if you're ever wondering the C:P rate on anything you're feeding them, she has a chart for that that I reference often (www.gliderkids-diet.com/FruitVegLIST2011.pdf)

Mealworms are fine as a snack, but they're high in fat so most people don't recommend them in excess.

Hope this helps! And welcome

Hi and welcome!

You are correct to question your breeder. If he knew anything about the glider's GI tract he would know that NO, gliders are not able to derive nutrition from a pellet based diet. Some people do leave a couple pellets in the cage as a treat and they can help keep their teeth clean but, a gliders teeth do not continue to grow like in a rodent, so it isn't necessary for the purpose of 'filing down' the teeth. (personally I offer natural eucalyptus branches from a reputable company for this purpose as it is what they have in the wild)

OHPW is widely used. Some people prefer this to the complete, while others simply like the complete for ease of use.

The nectar type replacement staple diets that have been researched and approved over many many years are those that gliders truly thrive on as they come the closest to matching the type of diet and nutrients in the gliders natural environment.

LOTS of people will be giving info on diets, as it's a 'hot spot' for new owners. The Gliderpedia tab above has a great section that details the most widely recognized "approved" diets for truly healthy gliders.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you need! The folks here are in it for the sake of what is best for the gliders and are always willing to lend advice!

Thank you both your your advice :)

Okay, I am understanding a little better now with the HPW stuff. I guess different websites offer this. I was looking at the HPW diet on Exotic Nutrition's website and going by that but I see that that is not the true original HPW diet. I found the website for that. I realize that they are both sold by different companies and are different products. So the ones I listed in my OP (HPW zoopro high protein, original and instant) are not the same ones everyone's talking about or the "true original HPW"

Are the ones offered on Exotic Nutrition website just as good? Im not sure if I am allowed to ask stuff like this on here. I used to belong to a tanning message board years ago and we weren't allowed to mention other tanning websites or people selling tanning supplies etc...Thats why I am asking. Just want to be aware of the rules :)

Welcome to the forum and to glider parenthood.

Hopefully I will not add to your confusion and can help you locate the information you need to make a choice of diets for your glider.

There are a number of widely used glider feeding plans that all provide a recipe for a nectar-like staple that provides your gliders the protein, vitamins and calcium they need. This nectar-like staple is fed with fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables to complete the dinner fed to your gliders each night. A few pellets can be offered as something crunch for gliders to munch on but pellets alone will not keep your glider healthy long term.

There is no formal approval process for glider diets - we rely on the test of time meaning we have much more confidence in staple recipes and ingredients that have maintained healthy gliders for many years.

There are a number of widely used feeding plans other than HPW you may also want to consider. I have links on my web page to help you locate the information on other options. My own GliderKids Feeding Plan is one of those option.

http://www.gliderkids-diet.com/Staple-Recipes.html

There is much confusion over the "HPW" diets because there are so MANY of them - and not all are nutritionally equal. Not all have met the test of time with MANY owners using them for a number of years to be able to observe the health of many gliders over time.

I will try to sort out the various HPW diets for you.

Original HPW - this diet was developed by Peggy Brewer about 10 years ago. Its main ingredient is Wombaroo High Protein Supplement made in Australia specifically for sugar gliders and similar marsupials. It is imported to the US and sold by a few vendors in this community. The best source is the Pampered Glider http://www.thepamperedglider.com/supplements.htm

Exotic Nutrition sells many products that carry the HPW 'name' but none of their products actually contain Wombaroo High Protein Supplement. Their Zoo Pro High Protein Supplement is undoubtedly very similar nutritionally and is use to make "HPW" using the same recipe as Original HPW. This product has only been sold for about 2 or 3 years but I have not seen any discussions about health issues for gliders fed the 'HPW' made with this product.

About 4 years ago Peggy Brewer stopped selling Wombaroo High Protein Supplement and paid to develop her own line of products under the HPW name which includes HPW Plus which like exotic nutrition's Zoo Pro High Protein Supplement is prepared using the exact same recipe as Original HPW.

At the same time she introduced a product called HPW Complete which contains powdered Egg and Powdered Honey. This product requires water only to make the staple and can be made in small batches and refrigerated for up to 5 days if you prefer not to make a large batch and freeze it in ice cube tray.

Exotic Nutrition followed with Instant HPW - again containing powdered egg and powdered honey and made with water only. This product's mixing directions and ingredients listed on the package seems to make a staple that is higher in protein (possibly too high) that the other versions of HPW.

Just this past year (2014) Exotic Nutrition has begun selling a premixed line of HPW Products in jars. This is so new I would not yet recommend trying it. It has not met the test of time and if not used promptly after opening the jar or if not kept cool enough would be more prone to spoiling than the freshly made recipes that are stored frozen until it is served each night.

NOW - just to keep your head spinning - Peggy has recently renamed and trademarked her products under a new name - to avoid the confusion between all the HPW diets out there (which also includes many personal web pages with variations of the original recipe posted) HPW Plus is now sold as Critter Love Plus. HPW Complete is now sold as Critter Love Complete and she has added two additional versions Critter Love Breeder's Formula and a brand new (announced 2 weeks ago) Critter Love Lo-Cal which contains no honey and is also an add water only product.

The Critter Love products can be found HERE http://www.critterlovedietcenter.com/

If you would like to feed your gliders HPW - I recommend the Original HPW made with Wombaroo High Protein Supplement because it has the longest history of use.

Some owners have expressed concern over the use of menadione - a synthetic vitamin K supplement used in pet foods which as been banned for use in Humans but is the ONLY vitamin K supplement permitted for use in pet foods made in the USA.

Menadione is banned for use in pet foods also in Australia so Wombaroo High Protein Supplement contains a human grade supplement that NONE of the other products which are all made in the US contain.

If that is not a concern for you and you want to use one of the ADD WATER ONLY versions - keep in mind that these contain pasteurized RAW eggs and Powdered Honey that contains chemical additives to prevent caking during storage. I do not feel gliders need these additives and I would prefer to cook the eggs I use to feed my gliders.

Keep in mind also that HPW diets require close attention to feeding some higher calcium fruits and vegetables each week and limiting very high phosphorus foods like corn and peas to only a few times a week to keep the overall feedings higher in calcium than phosphorus.

That is the best explanation of the differences between the HPW's that I have ever read (I read a lot).

Thank you Candy!

Thanks so much Candy for all the info into the HPW diets and breaking them down. Very helpful!

Hmmm okay so the ones that Peggy sells on her site which are now called Critter Love instead of HPW is different then the HPW formulas that she originally created that are sold on the pampered glider website? So that one is the original HPW? I've decided that I'm going to buy the powder and add the ingredients rather then buy the formulas then have to add water.

So, you would recommend the original HPW from the pampered glider site over the critter love plus sold on critterlove.com?

I'm glad I found this website. I would be so confused about this diet otherwise.

My preference is for using the Wombaroo High Protein Supplement to make the Original recipe.

I also have a recipe on my web page that is very similar to the original recipe but includes a moderate amount of a human grade calcium supplement so that you do not need to try to feed fruits and vegetables to improve the overall calcium balance.

Look at my GliderKids Wombaroo recipe on my web page as another option (or one of my other recipes if you prefer).

http://www.gliderkids-diet.com/Staple-Recipes.html

There are links to several other widely used feeding plans on my web page as well.

Candy, where do you get your Womaroo high protein supplement?? also where do I get the calcium supplement?? it is very hard to calculate the calcium and posphorus. thank you for your help.

quote:

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Originally posted by Candy

My preference is for using the Wombaroo High Protein Supplement to make the Original recipe.

I also have a recipe on my web page that is very similar to the original recipe but includes a moderate amount of a human grade calcium supplement so that you do not need to try to feed fruits and vegetables to improve the overall calcium balance.

Look at my GliderKids Wombaroo recipe on my web page as another option (or one of my other recipes if you prefer).

http://www.gliderkids-diet.com/Staple-Recipes.html

There are links to several other widely used feeding plans on my web page as well.

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I feed Candys reduced honey diet and it requires the wombarow supplement and the calcium carbonate powder. I get the wombarow off of ( www.thepamperedglider.com/supplements.htm )the pampered glider and I get the calcium carbonate at my local health food store but it can be bought online. ( www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Calcium-Carbonate-Ounces/dp/B004421K68 ) It has to be the "NOW" brand though if you choose to look for it in stores.

If you feed The original HPW then you add the wombarow supplement, eggs, honey, and bee pollen. Exotic nutrition has the dry ingredients in their "instant" powder that you just add water to. The pampered glider (first website mentioned above) sells the wombarow powder ( needed in the orignal HPW) and also bee pollen.

If you feed Candys diet then you also need the calcium carbonate (mentioned above)