Hello all! Quick history, about a month ago we were purchasing something from an individual, and noticed they had 2 gliders. When I commented on them, the owner said, do you want them, I don't have time for them. Long story short, I went home, read, researched, and went back and rescued/purchased my 2 sweet babies. I really feel this was a rescue, they were in a cage with no toys, not played with, it seemed they received little to no attention. The fact that they would sell them/give them to complete strangers was terrible, in my opinion. The male (Julian) is approx 5 years old and the female (peanut) is 3. They only gave them cherries and apples with a dried pellet food every day. They gave me a calcium powder and a herptivite with beta carotene multivitamin powder, and said to give every day.


My list of questions--

I have read alot online regarding food for them, and the information is so varied. Is this powder correct? If not, what supplements should they be getting? I give them fruits and veggies every night, along with the pellets. So far I have found they love cucumbers, grapes, apples, some squash, blueberries and rasberries. I see there are alot of different "diets" for gliders, at this point I'm continuing the pellets and giving the fruit/veggies daily. I see diets that involve oatmeal, fruits/veggies that go in ice cube trays, that seems interesting. I'll do what it takes to make my babies thrive, but at the same time something good for them and quick for me sounds good too.

Bonding-I know it can take weeks/months. What's interesting is the previous owners said the female was mean and would bite, and the male was the one who bonded more. My little girl is sweet, she crabbed a few times, and yes she drew blood once and has bitten a few times, but she is the spunkier one, she will come out quicker and seems more curious. She has the cutest little hop/jump! Julian our boy seems so shy, he almost seems scared when he comes out around us. We do bathroom time and all he wants to do is find a pocket/place to hide. He will come for yogurt drops, so that is good, but he is so timid. Can you define playtime? Is that bathroom time/tent time? Also bonding pouches, are there any that are not like a mini purse? I try to carry them around, but it seems like they wouldn't like it, who wants to be bounced around in a bag and I feel like I'm carrying a mini purse around doing things around the house. I'd like one that almost straps to me to stay more in place and secure. When we are doing the bathroom time, if they just want to hide in a pocket, is that helping?

Cage toys-they have no interest. I've put different recommended small things in a toy "box", so far they haven't touched anything. I ordered some small toys/cups/chains that come in tomorrow, I'll make different toys and hang up. Is it normal for them to take time to like toys? I'm wondering since they may have never had toys if they even know what to do at this point.

I need a new cage, I believe the one they are in is a bird cage. Is it ok to post a link to one I'm looking at? I can't spend $200+ but found a few for around $100 that seem like a good option.

Thanks in advance for all help and advice!

Janet

Good morning and congrats on your new babies Im on my first few sips of coffee so I may miss something but I will try to address all your questions, if I miss something others will chime in and add on or give their opinions..

Diets, are hot topics no matter what diet your looking at there will be supporters and there will be non supporters. The information online seems contradictory and can be very overwhelming to new owners it did for me too in the beginning.

What the glider community DOES agree on for the most part, is that gliders need a nectar like staple that provides vitamins and minerals and is nutritionally balanced. We don't suggest sprinkling calcium or mineral powders because it's not a measured amount and giving to much can be just as bad as not enough. This is why we use the staple diet so the calcium and minerals are distributed evenly and a measured amount is used.

To figure out what diet to use I usually ask a few questions to help the new owner narrow things down so I will do the same to you. The answers to the questions will tell me which diets may be a good fit for you and your gliders. There is NO "best diet" the best diet is what works for you and your gliders.

1 Can you or do you want to, order ingredients or the entire diet ( instant diets) online?

If you don't want to buy things online this immediately narrows down the options to chose from. All the widely used diets but bml, require some or all of the ingredients to be purchased online.

If you CAN'T order online this seriously narrows it down to Bml because all the ingredients can be found locally.

2 Prep work, can you and are you able to spend a couple hours prepping food for the recipe or diet you chose? Some diets require a lot of chopping of fruits n veg. Personally I can't physically stand in the kitchen for 2 hours chopping things so some diets or recipes just aren't practical for me.

Do you own a blender, a lot of diets require a blender.



3 what can you consistently afford to feed. Bml costs about 40.00 the first time you buy the ingredients, all the ingredients can be found locally. Once you have 2 of the ingredients they will last you a good year or longer with 2 gliders. Other ingredients will need to be restocked as you need them... For two gliders all the ingredients you initially buy to make bml will make 4 batches, that will probably last 2 gliders about 4 months or so. Not bad for 40 bucks. However, there is a specific list of fruits and veg that needs to be feed with it, which aren't included in the 40.00 all together say 50 to 60 bucks depending on if you buy frozen or fresh.

4 Do you want to feed fresh ingredients or are powdered instant ingredients ok?
There are some instant add water diets, simple quick and easy. I'm not sure how much they cost, personally I don't want to feed powdered honey, powdered eggs etc.. its just my personal choice and something for you to think about.

5 what it really boils down to is what your glider likes and will consistently eat. EVERY thing you considered when deciding on a diet can be thrown out the window if the glider doesn't eat the diet you chose. But you have to give it time it may take a few weeks for the glider to accept the new diet plan. You have to give the diet time to work before considering a change in diets.

This is important for any diet or recipe! DO NOT SUBSTITUTE INGREDIENTS, or modify the recipe They have been designed to be nutritionally balanced one ingredient change can make the diet unbalanced . NOT all brands of calcium are the same make sure you use what brand the recipe specifies.

FOLLOW IT EXACTLY as written by the maker , make sure the recipe you are using is the creators most current recipe. If your not sure or have questions about something ask the creator of the diet. Most of them are available online or have contact methods on their websites to ask questions NO ONE knows the diet better than they do and they are all happy to answer questions.

"Bonding"
Every glider is different. Once a glider goes to a new home and human everything for that glider changes, it's not uncommon that their behavior changes too. Their previous behavior with their old owner was unique to THAT environment. It may or may not carry over to the new home and owner. It sounds like it hasn't with your pair, which is great! I've had a female for a little over a year and we just nowwwww got her over biting. I've had some that were sweet as could be as soon as they arrived, it all depends on the glider. Don't focus on their past, the important thing is they have YOU now, and they have a great looking future ahead of them.

There are some bonding bags that have sort of a human harness type thing so you wear it strapped to your body I will find the vendor that makes them and give you a link. It does keep the bonding bag from swinging around so much and feeling like a purse.

Playtime/out of cage time/ tent time........ is about getting to know your gliders, and letting them get to know you on their terms. It's not really them "playing" it's getting used to your smell, your body, your movements, your rhythm, your voice, your personality...

and youuuu getting used to how they move, what they are scared of, what their personality is, who they are as individuals, learning what is their "normal" so you will recognize something that isn't "normal" to them so you'll know something changed it's important to recognize subtle changes that aren't normal they hide illnesses very well. Subtle differences in appearance can be an indication they need medical attention, so knowing their fur is off, or eyes look puffy etc is very important.

The point of "playtime" is giving the gliders a chance to interact with you as they wish. Let them come to you on their own, toys and other distractions is kind of defeating the purpose unless you have already "bonded" or established your relationship with them.

Yes please post a link to the cages your considering

Toys really in my opinion the most important item in the cage is a glider safe wheel. I will get some links together to show you the most used wheels in the glider community, they pretty much can only be bought online they are not commercially made so you won't find one in local pet stores.

Other toys sometimes I wonder if the toys we buy is more for our benefit lol some gliders just don't play with toys, some do. If you notice that your gliders don't then simple cheap dollar tree stuff is a great option for them then if they don't play it's not an expensive loss. Out of my 7 only a couple realllly love their toys the others really don't bother with them.

I try to find toys to fit with the personality of my gliders for instance I have 3 tail carriers so for them I use plastic bracelets for them to carry to the pouch and play with. For Simon he likes to push things across the floor so he has a green tractor. Leela likes noise! lots of noise so for her I have hanging things that she can jump on that has tons of noisy charms so when she lands it's a musical celebration lol Amy likes to pull things into the cage so for her I make long fleece strips and tuck one end in the cage and leave the rest hanging outside the cage in the morning it's all in the cage. Danzig likes feathers so now then I will give him a handful of feathers to find and destroy...

Get to know the gliders, try different things to see what they like the toys don't have to be expensive.

Sometimes how and what they play with is in relation to the job they have in the colony. Some gliders don't play because their job is to watch over the other members in the colony. Another gliders job maybe to protect the nest so they stay in the pouch a lot... just like humans gliders have jobs to make their colonies function well.

These are like 25 bucks, It won't let me post the link here but this is the vendor https://www.facebook.com/sugarglidersuz?fref=ts




bra pouches are another close to the body option great for 2 maybe 3 gliders

Bonding scarfs are awesome and comfy I made this one, if you sew I can give you videos on to make them, if not there are lots of vendors that make them I can give you links to

This is my awesome friend Rayray he is the bombbbbbbbbb when it comes to product reviews !!

I would love the links for the vendors and videos for the bonding scarves, I can sew, nothing amazing that I would personally wear but so far I've made 2 pouches and a hammock, they turned out great, and my babies immediately went into the new pouch. I love the look of the bra pouch, that would work great too.

To add another question, do you wear your babies all day, every day, or just when you are home after work/weekends? I've thought about wearing them to work (there are only 2 of us in the office) but that's later on.

Great info on diet! To answer your questions and add a question. Is the BML diet the only one you don't need to order something online? I want to do what is best for them first, within my budget and timeframe.

Yes I can order online, I'd prefer to make as much as I can, assuming it won't take an hour a day. So my answer is I'll order what I need to. I assume ordering the entire diet online would get expensive. I want to make the right choice for me as well, right now it's new and I don't mind, like most things after a while I may want it faster.


If you don't want to buy things online this immediately narrows down the options to chose from. All the widely used diets but bml, require some or all of the ingredients to be purchased online.

What are the top 3 diets, in your opinion?


2 Prep work, can you and are you able to spend a couple hours prepping food for the recipe or diet you chose? Some diets require a lot of chopping of fruits n veg. Personally I can't physically stand in the kitchen for 2 hours chopping things so some diets or recipes just aren't practical for me.

Is this monthly, weekly, hopefully not daily..? A few hours a month for the daily frozen prepped food is fine in addition to the daily veggies/fruit prep. Right now I spend a few minutes a day cutting up fruit and veggies. I assume that won't change. Is there a diet where all of that is done at once for a period of time, meaning no daily chopping?


Do you own a blender, a lot of diets require a blender. Yes, I have a blender.



3 what can you consistently afford to feed. Bml costs about 40.00 the first time you buy the ingredients, all the ingredients can be found locally. Once you have 2 of the ingredients they will last you a good year or longer with 2 gliders. Other ingredients will need to be restocked as you need them... For two gliders all the ingredients you initially buy to make bml will make 4 batches, that will probably last 2 gliders about 4 months or so. Not bad for 40 bucks. However, there is a specific list of fruits and veg that needs to be feed with it, which aren't included in the 40.00 all together say 50 to 60 bucks depending on if you buy frozen or fresh. I don't want nor can I afford to spend $100 a month feeding them, I don't know if some of the diets cost that much. I have the two powders listed in the link below, so that's a good start for me. When you say specific fruits and veggies, what are they? I've been buying whats on sale and what I've found they like.

4 Do you want to feed fresh ingredients or are powdered instant ingredients ok? I'd prefer fresh ingredients when I can. What are powdered ingredients?


Is the base of most diets a frozen mixture of some kind?

There are some instant add water diets, simple quick and easy. I'm not sure how much they cost, personally I don't want to feed powdered honey, powdered eggs etc.. its just my personal choice and something for you to think about. I don't want to do this.

Is this the standard recipe for the BML diet?

www.angelfire.com/nb/sugarglider/leadbeat.html

Here are a few cages I've found on Ebay--

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extra-Large-Tall-Flight-Canary-Parakeet-Cockatiel-Lovebird-Finch-Sugar-Glide-475-/232029595406?hash=item36060aa70e:g:LmgAAOSwIgNXmWcz

http://www.ebay.com/itm/69-Large-Bird-Parrot-Cage-Chinchilla-Sugar-Glider-Cockatiel-House-w-Metal-Wheel-/141831969495?var=&hash=item2105d81ad7:m:mBT8sq3DkSSe7bVDvbcaVGw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Large-5-Level-Ferret-Chinchilla-Sugar-Glider-Small-Animal-or-Bird-Cage-111-/252491642701?hash=item3ac9acb74d:m:msI3-r0aBLhDPisrii2RcKQ

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Everila-Bird-Parrot-Cage-Bar-Spacing-3-8-Cockatiel-Conure-Sugar-Glider-Ferret-/260731802084?var=&hash=item3cb4d391e4:m:mGsmX50QwEmTli1Vv4hNyGA

ok let me start with the diet stuff first.

Yes Bml is the only one that doesn't require you to buy even one ingredient online. http://www.bmldiet.com/ this is Bourbons website and the most current recipe directly from her.

the following are the fruits and veg that needs to be fed with it, NO SUBSTITUTING.
They can be frozen doesn't have to be fresh though, some of the fruit is better fresh like melons and apples.

*** There is a very strict list of vegetables and fruits to be fed with the BML diet plan. ***

Vegetables: corn, peas, carrots, green beans.

Fruits: apples, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, frozen pitted cherries, blueberries.

Do NOT feed the seeds of apples or the pits of cherries. You can use fresh or frozen, but do NOT used canned.

Do NOT use fruit slurries or vegetable relishes.

Refrigerate the wheat germ once open, it will go rancid if not refrigerated


Feeding Instructions:

The rule of thumb per glider is:

1 Tablespoon of the BML basic mix
1 Tablespoon of fruits
1 Tablespoon of veggies

Feed insects in the morning as a snack.
* Please click on the buttons below for additional information about feeding BML.

the bml itself you will make about once a month for 2 gliders, if you get 2 more gliders you make another batch for a month supply to actually make it takes about 10 to 15 minutes I blend mine a long time so its smooth and all the powders are incorporated. Personally I don't have freezer space to spare so I freeze mine in a tub with a lid and scoop out what I need for portions every night. Some freeze the staple in ice cube trays but they must be measured a few times till you see how much should be in the compartment of the tray for 2 servings so 2 tablespoons of bml in one cube is ONE serving for your 2 gliders. if you only put 1 tablesppon in the icecube tray you would feed 2 cubes for 2 gliders.

My 3 go to diets are
Bml, local ingredients, easy to follow recipe, it's been used for like 15 yrs. I also have Bourbons contact info if you chose this diet I will provide it to you so if you have any questions she can answer them.

Critter love Hpw diets are my second referral for diets you do need to order stuff online for it, but depending on which hpw you chose ( and there are a few of them ) the ingredients last a while, except for maybe the instant diet.
http://www.critterlovedietcenter.com/ This is Peggy Brewers site, she is the creator of Critter love products. super nice, and again happy to answer any questions you may have I can give you her facebook page if you go in her direction.

TPG is probably one of the other most widely used diets, but not one I really prefer, the reason being Priscilla will not tell the public what is in her vitamin supplement that you MUST buy on her site, and feed with her recipe to make the entire recipe balanced, among other reasons. My personal opinion aside, many people love this diet but it does require a lot of chopping fruits and veg so prolly a couple hours a month to make the recipe. http://www.thepetglider.com/glider-care-info/nutrition-system#Recipe This is Priscilla Prices site, i think her contact info is on there somewhere I've never spoken to her directly.

I don't have much experience with hpw or critter love but for me nightly feeding exists of scooping out portions of staple, cutting up fresh fruit unless its blueberry night, and scooping out frozen veg portions. To feed 7 gliders in 3 cages takes me about 10 or 15 minutes, so for you even less time for 2 gliders in one cage.


powdered ingredients are, wombaroo powder, powdered honey, powdered eggs I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting in some of the hpw diets and instant add water diets... like I said I'm not versed on those diets since I have never used them.


Yes the staple is almost always frozen unless its the add water instant kind and even that can be frozen if you make a large batch of it. There are proteins in the recipe that will go bad if stored in the fridge. The recipe should specify if it should be frozen or not. the TPG diet is frozen but the vitamin supplement IS NOT Supposed to be frozen it is supposed to be sprinkled on top of each serving before feeding. it is only acceptable because it is a measured amount.

After reading your responses, Bml is probably going to best suite you but please do check out the other diets, and their costs to see if they are a feasible option for you. Consider the prep time, freezer space, what fruits and veg are suggested, if another diet looks more up your alley and you can afford it thats what counts. I can't remember what I used to spend on food weekly for two gliders but it wasn't much for the bml fruits n veg I buy a container of fresh blueberries and freeze the whole thing so they last a good while, frozen veg lasts a while, apple you will waste about half of it, I use one apple and it feeds my 7 with maybe 2 slices for me lol Once you get into a feeding routine you will figure out what works for you an your gliders.

ok let me look at the cages and then I will make a separate post for the other links for you

the first cage, isn't to bad, you would need to ziptie the hand feeding doors to secure them but with shipping it's a 200.00 cage there are nicer ones for less money.

second one, same thing with the small doors better price, cheaper flimsier wire used to make the cage, these cages can be a little noisy when they start jumping from wall to wall or running on a wheel. not a bad option though. the two main doors are a great size to have access inside the cage, yet keep the gliders in the cage. the latches! you will have to triple check them to make sure they are latched i have them on mine and sometimes they look secured when they aren't, then I have a glider with cold feet on face at 3 am and 6 others barking to put her back.


This third one I would skip, it seems like an ok cage but the doors are guillotine doors they fall unexpectedly and are a painnnnn in the butt the wire is thinner and loud and flimsy and after a few throughout cleanings will start to rust
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Large-5-Level-Ferret-Chinchilla-Sugar-Glider-Small-Animal-or-Bird-Cage-111-/252491642701?hash=item3ac9acb74d:m:msI3-r0aBLhDPisrii2RcKQ

the last one I have one almost just like it again ziptie the 4 small doors on the front there may one on each side too. good price for a decent cage.


These are all pretty good options, and these are only my opinons of them and what I can see that will be issues or needs addressed

another option in that price range is a brisbane cage these are probably my favorite http://www.exoticnutrition.com/brsuglca.html this cage is heavier wired cages than the above, a little better quality that will last longer and it's on sale right now i think they have free shipping on cages 119.95 on sale, 149.99 regularly priced there are no small doors that will need ziptied. but same kind of latches, they need triple checked to make sure they are secure.


to answer your other question I don't work outside my home, I rarely leave the house I almost always have gliders on me daily. Can you take them to work with you probably, bring a water bottle and some snacks for them, many people take their babies to work, if your sittin in an office, not loading trucks in a warehouse or something lol

https://www.facebook.com/Sugar-Glider-Sewing-817756901690868/?ref=page_internal This is Willows bonding scarf page, this forum won't let me post the actual videos so you will have to go to her page and scroll down to see them there are three separate videos to make the scarf. It's super easy and I'm a beginner sewer

https://www.youtube.com/user/cannedzen/videos Flying marsupials has some awesome videos for sleep pouches, bonding bags, corner pieces, vines, and bridges some are multiple separate videos for the same project. Good stuff she taught me how to sew lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V519OUm4aPM My fav wheel is the custom cruiser this is a review of the cruise and a stealth wheel both are safe glider wheels just to give you an idea of what they look like

Thank you so much for all the information, no surprise I have a few more questions.

TPG recipe looks simple, but--freezing the fruits and veggies, what are they like when thawed, won't they be mushy? Is it more that i care what it looks like, vs the gliders eating it? For ease, this diet looks easy, defrost a cube daily and technically, you're done. But fresh fruits and veggies daily seems better. I know what you mean about being forced to order and not knowing what's in it.

For the BML, I like the idea of making the staple, and scooping it out daily.

Critterlove seems a bit confusing, you order most of the food online, not sure about just mixing with water. To mostly order online doesn't really work for me. I do like the treat options available, but can't I get that locally, the dried fruit...?

To bring my babies to work, it's funny, I do go out in the warehouse daily, most of my time is spent in the office but I do work there a bit every day. Wearing babies all day, what about the bathroom? Don't they go, or need to go? Since I work alone quite a bit, I was thinking what if I got a small cage for work, so if I do go to the warehouse I can put them in the cage, or if they need to use the bathroom.

Treats, how much and how often? Funny how they love the yogurt drops and it's like a dog, they know the sound of the bag and their little heads pop right up. I can't imagine that they are really good for them though, I assume dried fruit is better? Right now, as I am working to get them used to me, I am using yogurt drops daily, they come out of the cage, take the drop out of my hand then bounce back in the cage to eat it. And cereal, or monkey bisquits, are they worth it? Same with mealworms, the thought of live ones makes me squirm a bit, I have dried ones that they love.

For cages, I like the one you linked, is that a good size for 2 gliders? I want to be sure they have plenty of space, and not have to upgrade later. I see some of the massive cages for sale, are those more for 4-5 gliders?

Looking at these diets I see that my babies are really deprived, I need to decide quickly so I can make the switch.

oops, forgot a question. For the BML, why can't you feed any other fruit/veggie? I've never frozen watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and with the amount to feed them every day I see a huge waste of fruit (I am the only one in the house who eats watermelon, none of us eat cantaloupe or honeydew). So you give a blend of the different fruits/veggies on the list daily/weekly?

And no treats like strawberries, blackberries, cucumbers, etc?

I pre chop and freeze fruits in ice cube trays all preportioned fruit with fruit and veggies with veggies. 1 tray is usually 2 weeks worth for 2 gliders. They defiantly prefer fresh but as you said it would be way to ex pensive.

I never buy frozen fruits so not sure what's available, I've seen defrosted strawberries, too mushy for me. I'm thinking frozen beans, peas, corn, etc hold up much better when defrosted so buying frozen veggies and doing fresh fruit would be more affordable. I need to test out freezing some fruits I have at home and see how they do.

Im sure I will miss a question or two im a little off my game today so I'll do my best

why the specific fruits and veg for bml. The easiest and most common explanation is because the bml recipe is a little higher in calcium on the calcium to phosphorous ratio which should be close to 2:1 ( 2 part calcium to 1 part phos ) that gliders diets are suggested to have. The specific fruits and veg are higher in phosphorous than calcium to balance that out closer to the 2:1.

Also, the specific fruits and veg have their own vitamin and mineral attributes that are calculated in to make the diet balanced so they aren't getting to much of say vit A. OTHER fruits and veg can and will throw off the balance, so the gliders may get to much calcium, or to much of a specific vit or mineral.

Some feel this diet doesn't offer enough variety, however gliders do better in my opinion on a consistent diet. You CAN give them variety using the list you just have to rotate what you use. For example
menu for today here will be
peas and carrots
blueberries
bml

tomorrow it will be
mixed veg ( corn, peas, carrots, green beans, lima beans)
watermelon
bml

next day
green beans
cherries
bml

next day
peas in the pod
honey dew and grapes
bml


it's the same foods, offered in different pairings, rotated through the week so they aren't getting the same thing every night.

Personally I buy frozen veg mostly for convenience however they do get fresh when were eating something they can have.

I usually buy fresh fruits, your right melons don't freeze well it has a very high water content and gets mushy. I buy fresh blueberries then freeze them, they are my emergencies im out of fresh fruit option. I buy a precut fruit cup from the grocery store with mixed melons and grapes one night they get watermellon the next honey dew, the next grapes or whatever until the fruit cup is gone so I don't have much waste like I would if I bought a whole watermelon a whole honey dew etc I go back n forth with frozen and fresh cherries, the fresh i pit then throw in the freezer they taste better to me. There are some frozen fruits in the freezer aisle that you can use but I prefer fresh then freeze myself.


For treats, yes you can offer different fruits n veg for treats but somethings you have to be careful with. Citrus is high in vit c which makes the body absorb iron more which makes the organs work harder, it is also very acidic which causes diarrhea so we don't feed oranges, grapefruit and tomatoes and things like that very often. Mine don't like strawberries at all nor bananas nor kiwi nor dragon fruit I have tried sooooooooooo many foods and always come back to the basics from bml as their favorites.

funny about the warehouse lol, yeh you can get a small cage for the office, and a water bottle for it. They should sleep through the day and shouldn't need to come out to go potty unless you wake them up. But the option to come out get a drink, potty is always nicer than stuck in the pouch. Mine are in a pouch a lot they poo and im sure pee in the pouch, sometimes they opt to come out and do all that on me then go back in the pouch... it's been our routine for 2 years. Yours will learn your routine too if your consistent with it

So I decided to go with the BML diet, I won't have to worry about finding all different fruits/veggies, I think having a set list will work for me. I bought a bag of mixed frozen veggies for $1.69, can't beat that. I like the idea of the fresh fruit cup, thanks for that, Publix is the only store around that offers that, so I'll be going there for the melon fruits.

I bought all the BML ingredients and made it last night. PHEW, the smell is awful, lol!! Are you supposed to mix the fruits and veggies with it when you feed, or serve separately? I can't believe how much they loved corn and peas, they dug in the bowl for those first. I was surprised to see they ate everything but a few small pieces of grape. I gave alot, peas, carrots, green beans, grapes and watermelon. For any treat, and when it's time to feed them at night I hold a piece over their pouch and within seconds a cute little face pops out. They ate about half of the BML, is that good for the first night?

Nail trimming, they really really need trimmed but I'm nervous trying. They are still getting used to being handled and staying in my hand, so I don't want to force it and possibly scare them. Any suggestions?

Last question for today Where do I get the mesh to make a carrying pouch? I want to make a bra pouch to wear them.

Thanks!