Hi! I have been lurking for a bit, but finally made an account. I have four sugar babies - three females and one male (two gray females--Clover and Honey-- and a leucistic sister/brother pair--Phoebe and Jasper). They are young and the male is not yet neutered. The leucistic pair is younger and smaller than the grays. All under 6 months.

I got the first two in March and the leucistics in April.

I am feeding them HPW instant with a mix of fresh fruits and veggies. No pellets. I am careful to have a proper Ca:ph ratio. The HPW is always gone, but they don't eat too much of the fruits and veggies. I have begun to blend the veggies, and they will drink the liquid but leave any fibrous parts. No fighting over food.

In the last few days I have noticed the leucistics, especially the female, is looking like her fur is patchy and thin. Being white, they always seemed to have a less full coat than the grays. I also noticed some yellow fur on the whites and clover. The whites are also so thin looking, to me anyway. But they both have GREAT energy levels.

I have a Freedom Stealth Wheel that I immediately cleaned, and honestly it needed it. So I am hoping it is just urine or dirt or something, and maybe Phoebe (who is always on the wheel) is having a fur problem because of the dirty wheel. I have been keeping their cage and pouches clean.

Another thought is....they get a lot of out of cage time in my very large bathroom, which is glider proof. Except that I forgot my melatonin on the counter a couple nights ago and they knocked it over and got the lid off and nibbled on some of the tablets! It wasn't until after that I noticed the yellow on the fur.

So, now that I cleaned the wheel, I am also going to change to Judie's BML diet because I like the idea of a CA supplement. And the "approved" fruits and veggies are the ones my babies love. They aren't fans of papayas.

Anyway. Any input??

you are not suppose to blend the veggies. this is bad.
any new gliders we get that aren't eating fruits and veggies will eat the Ohpw but they don't touch the fruits and veggies sometimes for MONTHS. then sooner or later they give them a try and start eating them.

quote:

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Originally posted by BYK_Chainsaw

you are not suppose to blend the veggies. this is bad.
any new gliders we get that aren't eating fruits and veggies will eat the Ohpw but they don't touch the fruits and veggies sometimes for MONTHS. then sooner or later they give them a try and start eating them.

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Ahh ok good to know. Some of the recipes on this site say to blend them so I thought maybe that would make them eat more. Do you think the fur problem is due to her not eating that much? That’s why I’m going to switch to BML. I like the idea of the ca supplement and I No they will eat the approved fruits and vegetables because it’s their favorites. I’m new to this an I’m and worried I am doing something wrong.

I wouldn't worry to much about the patchy or thin fur, unless someone can give you a good reason to. some days ours seem to have ugly fur, then the next night they look alot better.
for me the yellow is hard to say. some say diet, but OHPW is a good diet, so is BML. If your gliders are new and still scared one may pee in pouch, leading to some yellow. but if they are yellow slightly it will take time to work out.

keep reading and learning, lots of myths and overblown issues out there. If you have a good vet, save up some questions for them.
Also some good glider books available, I had an animal planet one that was great, informative and balanced but gave it away.

quote:

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Originally posted by BYK_Chainsaw


I wouldn't worry to much about the patchy or thin fur, unless someone can give you a good reason to. some days ours seem to have ugly fur, then the next night they look alot better.
for me the yellow is hard to say. some say diet, but OHPW is a good diet, so is BML. If your gliders are new and still scared one may pee in pouch, leading to some yellow. but if they are yellow slightly it will take time to work out.

keep reading and learning, lots of myths and overblown issues out there. If you have a good vet, save up some questions for them.
Also some good glider books available, I had an animal planet one that was great, informative and balanced but gave it away.

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Thanks so much for easing my mind. :) Looking forward to becoming more engaged in the site. I did BML last night and it was a hit. If anything it eases my mind to know they’re getting ca, even without eating fruits and veggies.