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GliderGossip GliderGossip
Sugar Gliders
They're only eating corn??????
They're only eating corn??????
Food, Diet
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Feb 10 2016
05:53:07 PM
Okay, so, I posted on here several months ago about my two new little ones, Finn and Fiona, and they've been doing great, but recently I've tried to mix it up a bit with their 'noms and started trying different fruits and vegetables, just so they don't get bored with the same old apples and carrots every night

Most things they turn their noses up at (they don't like bananas! Or pineapples! Peas! Blueberries! Nothin'!) but boy howdy, once I put corn in with their dinner, they didn't touch anything else! I'll come check their kitchen in the morning and empty corn husks will be all over the floor but the apples and carrots (that they used to devour exclusively) won't even be touched! (Well, I have a suspicion that they play with the carrots, I give 'em matchstick carrots cause they seem to keep longer and they're strewn all over the floor of the kitchen but the little rascals don't even nibble on 'em.)

I've even tried the, like, 'cover it in honey to entice them' deal and the little buggers lick the honey right off and leave me a mushy pile of peas in the morning.

In addition to the fruits and veggies I feed the sugar glider diet with eucalyptus from Exotic Nutrition, and I've tried giving them Gliderade from the same provider, but they haven't touched either thing. I also give 'em one or two Yogies in their foraging toys and they love those almost as much as the corn.

Is this just the novelty of a new food? Or should I be concerned?
Food, Diet
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Feb 10 2016
08:14:40 PM
kiwi3435 Face Hugger Visit kiwi3435's Photo Album kiwi3435's Journal FL, USA 687 Posts
Gliders do love their corn! Corn however should be fed SPARINGLY and not every night or more than twice a week. It is very high in phosperous. Stop feeding corn all together until they have accepted more veggies. Try smaller portion sizes for the veggies and fruits so they HAVE to eat it. It may take a few days but they won't starve themselves.

What diet plan are u feeding them? You can try pouring their nightly staple nectar over top of the fruits and veggies.
Food, Diet
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Feb 10 2016
08:19:23 PM
BYK_Chainsaw Fuzzy Wuzzy Visit BYK_Chainsaw's Photo Album BYK_Chainsaw's Journal USA 1301 Posts
We will NOT feed our gliders corn. The super low calcium rate vs the super high phosphorus rate makes it a very bad food for gliders.

We feed a salad mix from critterlove.com. it has a wide range of fruits and veggies mixed together. A choice of only apples and carrots seem very limited and probably unhealthy for your gliders.

The staple we use is critterlove complete. they usually eat all of it. the other week I noticed they didn't eat it all for a few days, so I cut down on the fruits and veggies a little and they started eating it all again. it is important they eat the staple, that has all the nutritional stuff in it that is very good for them. If my gliders were not eating the staple, I would go so far as to only put in the staple for one night, or wait till they eat the staple then put in fruits/veggies later in the night.
Food, Diet
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Feb 10 2016
09:47:55 PM
SparrowStrider Starting Member FL, USA 6 Posts
I've been giving them Gliderade , or trying to. They won't eat it at all though.

I didn't know corn was so bad for 'em, I've already fed them prior to reading this (they do seem to be nibbling on the blueberries tonight which is an improvement.)

I mixed in peas with dinner so hopefully they'll eat them

I'm gonna try some of the critter love salads tomorrow and see if that works, the people who sold me the exotic nutrition pellets [here ] swore up and down that if I fed them that I shouldn't have to feed them anything else but I knew that wasn't right. (Then again this is the store that stocks sugar glider leashes so I probably shouldn't have even given them the business.)

Thanks for your suggestions and advice though, I'll make sure to stop giving them corn until they start eating other things.

Food, Diet
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Feb 11 2016
07:13:57 AM
kiwi3435 Face Hugger Visit kiwi3435's Photo Album kiwi3435's Journal FL, USA 687 Posts
gliderade is not a very good staple diet and neither is the exotic nutrition pellets. I suggest getting them on a better staple diet. some are HPW, BML, LGRS suggie soup, Gliderkids(which I am feeding) and OHPW. choose one and research on it.

peas are also high in prosperous. I only feed peas once a week with papaya to balance it. try cucumber, acorn squash, greenbeans, butternut squash, kale or zucchini. some fruits- blueberries, pomegranate, papaya, cantaloupe, watermelon, or mango. just keep an eye on the ratios:)
Food, Diet
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Feb 12 2016
02:35:44 PM
SparrowStrider Starting Member FL, USA 6 Posts
Thanks for all your help, I've got the critter love complete on the way and I'm trying one of the salads from their website.
They're only eating corn??????

GliderGossip GliderGossip
Sugar Gliders
They're only eating corn??????