I just got my gliders about a month ago, they are 1.5 & 3 years old. The lady I got them from had them on a pellet only diet. I started giving them "real food", fruits veggies and protein. They seem to really like eating it and they have stated coming out of the pouch around the time I have been feeding them. I give them plenty of food, there a small amount left in the mornings. When I wake up in the mornings they act like they are starving, when they see me they are running all over next to the door. When I get the bag of pellets they go nuts until I put it in the cage and they run to it like they haven't ate at all. I was wondering if this is normal when changing over to real food? How do I know if they really are that hungry or if they just "think" they haven't ate because they didn't eat the pellets?

Tveit also acts like he hasn't been fed in weeks, all the time.

The only good way to know if you're feeding them enough is by following a staple diet. These include HPW (which is CritterLove now) or BML, there's others out there but those are the two I like. Leela can tell you all about diets if you want to know.
These diets have exact amounts to give. I feed HPW original, which is 1 teaspoon staple and 1 tablespoon fruits and 1 tablespoon veggies. It will last hiim all night, but he will still act hungry when I wake him up.

Another good way to tell if they're over eating or under eating is by weight. If they're gaining weight (they will gain if you just switched them from the pellet diet, this is normal) then it's probably too much. Weigh them with a gram scale. They should be between 80-150 grams. I know this is a large range, but females tend to weigh between 80-130 and males weigh on the higher end.

Once they've settled into a staple diet and reached a good weight, you can adjust.

I bought all the stuff for the BML diet but the stuff STINKS!!! My husband can't tolerate the smell of it, I actually think it's coming from the Rep-cal vitamins. Since he don't care for the smell I have just been giving them the F&V with a little bit of it sprinkled on top. The baby yogurt, honey, and baby cereal I have been mixing together and letting them drink it(they seem to really like that). As far as the eggs, they don't seem to be crazy about them. I do think they have gotten a little bit bigger since I changed the diet. The 1.5 year old is a piglet, but I think the 3yr old looks like he has gotten fatter then the other one.

It's not the repcal that smells it's the baby chicken food, it should only smell while it's in the blender while your making it. Once it's made and frozen it doesn't smell at all. If you weren't freezing it that's probably why it smelled, also it is only good for 3 days in the fridge.

Please don't deconstruct the recipe, or sprinkle the vit and calcium. ANY diet recipe should be followed to a T. Other wise you aren't feeding them a nutritionally balanced diet.

If they are acting like they are starving in the morning then they probably aren't getting all that they nutritionally need from the food you are feeding them. It's not always about how much you are giving them.

Every ingredient in the Bml recipe INCLUDING the fruits and veg that is fed with it is there for a nutritional reason. Whether that nutritional reason is vitamins or minerals or how one vitamin helps the body utilize another or how a mineral or vitamin impacts the internal organs functioning properly etc... there are reasons for every ingredient.

So my suggestion would be, make the bml and follow the directions for bml, when your hubs isn't home or in the room, and put it in the freezer. I just put mine in a plastic tub and use a cookie scoop to portion the frozen mix out. Make sure your feeding fruits n veg off the bml list. If you have trouble understanding the recipe and what the ingredients are there for or need further help contact Bourbon she is the creator of Bml and can answer any questions about it https://www.facebook.com/bourbonh

It is also OK to give them a good quality pellet ( Pet Pro ) along with their staple diet however, since your trying to encourage them to eat a staple diet I would only give them a few pieces so they don't fill up on those and not eat their meal.

I don't know if I came off sounding snarky or not, I'm not having the best day but it wasn't intended to be snarky. I know how frustrating diets can be and I understand your trying to feed them better than they were previously being fed, but for any diet to work as they should, the recipes need to be followed.

Thank you so much, and no I didn't think you were being snarky. Any help is good help since I know most people here know A LOT more then I do right now.

Good you will get the hang of it, it took me months to understand diets and I made wayyyyyyyyyyyyy lots of mistakes until I finally figured it out I know how frustrating and stressful it can be. Honestly though, Bml is the easiest one. Every thing has already been calculated ratio and nutritional wise so all you have to do is follow the recipe and feeding instructions.

If you weren't freezing it just throw that batch out and make a new one.

Also put the wheat germ in the fridge after you open it the first time. If you don't refrigerate it it will go rancid which also may contribute to it smelling worse than it usually does and the gliders won't want to eat it much.

I did see that the wheat germ had to be in the fridge. Thank you so much for your help!

I'm so glad that you mentioned that, I didn't realize you had to put the wheat germ in the fridge!

thank you!