Hello! I got two adult male sugar gliders about a week and a half ago. Forgive me if I'm wrong on any of this. I am a first time sugar glider owner. I've done plenty of research but I know I'm probably still doing plenty wrong! Lol

When we got them, I noticed that one of them was significantly larger than the other - just generally bigger - and a bit chubbier. He seems overweight to me but I'm not 100%. (I will be taking them both in to an exotic vet near me for a check up within the next month or so) I will include an, unfortunately dark, photo here of them side by side for comparison:



Please let me know what you think.

Now, I think they were slightly over-fed at their previous home. They kept at least a 1/2 cup worth of pellets in the cage at all times and they fed them a plate full of frozen fruit and veg (about twice as much as I will show you in this next photo) every day.

I always keep high quality pellets in their cage with them throughout the day and night - maybe a tablespoon worth. Just to make sure they're not hungry. At night, I feed them a mix of fruits and vegetables. It varies. (Broccoli, snow peas, spinach, apple, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, banana, etc etc) Here is a look at what I put in their bowl tonight:



I put HPW Complete on top of the veggies to make them look more enticing.

PLEASE don't be afraid to correct me if I am wrong on ANY of this! I am open to any suggestions anyone has. I've been trying to tweak portion sizes and stuff as well so let me know if I need to reduce or increase what I'm feeding them.

Oh, side note: You may notice a bonding pouch put up there in the photo with the string inside the cage. I very quickly realized not to keep those inside of the cage, as it can be dangerous for them. That photo was from like the second day I had them.

Congratulations on your new babies! They're adorable!
You're off to a great start! It does look like one of your gliders is overweight, probably from overfeeding, like you said. It's good that you're taking them to an exotic vet for a check up soon. I'm sure your vet will have suggestions about a nutritionally sound diet and exercise. Generally, feeding each glider a tablespoon of fruits, a tablespoon of veggies, and a tablespoon of a staple like BML or HPW daily is a good guide. And it's very important that they have an exercise wheel as well (Raptor and Stealth wheels are great ones). And a few glider safe toys would be good too. My only concern is what appears to be a safety pin in one of the photos. It's a little hard to tell, but if it's accessible to your gliders it could be very harmful to them. I'm sure you'll enjoy your little ones. Very exciting time for all

If you got them together and they were on the same diet, there is a chance the big one may be eating most of the food. Just watch for that in case. :)

I'm not very good with diets do I don't like to give advice on them. You can always find more info in the gliderpedia or you can look at past threads.

Good luck with them!

Tiakristin3:
Thank you so much for the response! Yes, the safety pin I noticed as well. It was something that had gone unnoticed by me at first that the previous owners put a safety pin where the zipper broke. I was mortified when I realized! No worries, it hasn't been in their reach since. :) (I put that in bold in case anyone else gets concerned as well)

As for the exercise, I bought a "Wodent Wheel" for them. Only one of them uses it, as far as I know. And it's not the one that needs it most, unfortunately. Lol

lilsistar:

Thank you! I do notice that Kirby (the bigger one) comes out of the pouch the second I put the food out. So he definitely gets first dibs. Lol I do see Yoshi getting a fair share though, luckily.

I've talked to several breeders who endorse the wodent wheel but I've also heard some negative things about them so I'm hoping others will share their experiences and thoughts about this. There's so much information out there, both good and bad. I'm glad you noticed the safety pin. You have to be so vigilant with these guys. My first glider quickly learned how to unzip the zipper from her bonding pouch from the inside and would squeeze out. I actually considered fastening her pouch with safety pins . Fortunately I caught myself.

quote:

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Originally posted by Tiakristin3

I've talked to several breeders who endorse the wodent wheel but I've also heard some negative things about them so I'm hoping others will share their experiences and thoughts about this. There's so much information out there, both good and bad. I'm glad you noticed the safety pin. You have to be so vigilant with these guys. My first glider quickly learned how to unzip the zipper from her bonding pouch from the inside and would squeeze out. I actually considered fastening her pouch with safety pins . Fortunately I caught myself.

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Oh my goodness! Haha smart little animals, aren't they?
I've had my wodent wheel for about a week. I've seen some bad things about them as well, actually. I may buy a different wheel here soon. For now, I will only have it in the cage if I'm in the room, able to supervise. It does have a plastic tube thing in the middle, protecting them from the middle axle. But It still worries me a bit. Other than the obvious safety concern, honestly, there's gotta be better wheels out there.
I'm thinking about purchasing this wheel here: www.amazon.com/Exercise-Gliders-Rats-Stealth-XMount-Atticworx/dp/B00CG6ZHVI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493879282&sr=8-2&keywords=stealth+wheel+sugar+glider

And I decided to return my wodent wheel. It's just not worth the risk!

Very smart indeed! It gets worse though. My newest glider is a little seam ripper and she managed to get out of her pouch as well...bypassing the zipper, lol. I'm so glad that they don't have access to the middle axle on your wheel. Sounds like they're trying to improve them. I've been very happy with the silent runner wheel from Exotic Nutrition. I'm thinking of getting a stealth or raptor though. If you'd like a slightly used wheel you're welcome to it, lol.

If I were you I wouldn't use the wodent wheel. I personally had no incidents with this wheel. I have seen pictures of sugar gliders getting stuck and dying. Pretty scary.

My biggest problem that I had with the wheel is how badly its made. It's difficult to get on and off to clean. It begins to look used and worn down relatively quickly. And my biggest problem with it is that it's noisy. It would not fit on the cage correctly and was super noisy. All in all 2/10 would not buy again.

I got the silent wheel from exotic nutrition. I love it. No noise in my main cages. I find it easy to take apart and clean. My gliders aren't wheel lovers so I have to clean it once maybe twice a month. My sister's glider on the other hand live in the wheel. She has to clean it every week or two. After having it for over a year it still looks relatively new. My only problem with it is that if you don't attach it to the cage properly it can fall down which can potentially be dangerous. 9/10 would buy again.

I never knew about the wodent wheel being so dangerous. I have been using mine for 4 years and have noticed it looks really used and worn down.im so glad I saw this post. Getting a new wheel soon. Mine doesn't have the piece that goes around the bar in the middle.