So recently the fair came to town and as many people did me and my GF made the impulse buy of two "Sugar Bears" from PP that are 8 to 12 weeks I was told. Now after a couple days researching we are a bit scared, confused, paranoid and still parents of two babies. They have a vet app on thur for a bill of health. From what I've read for their diet the pellets, gravy, vitamins from PP can be used but just not the only thing they eat with veggies and fruit? Also the cage I was given by PP I've read mixed reviews about can I just get it checked somewhere?

I'm debating the BML diet for them or ,since the gravy is just repackaged, using it to make the salads from critter love but would I then not use the BML diet or should I just stick with one?

Me and my love are looking forward to making these two happy little parts of our family no matter the work and how we got them so any extra advice is also welcome!

Also we have a heat rock in the cage with the babies. Do they need this or is it a danger to them?

Welcome to the glider world

Don't stress to hard, pp is a hot topic in the glider community most people have a dislike for them, to put it mildly I am kind of neutral on the whole pp thing.

The PP diet is Critter love repackaged, and pp suggests limiting fruits and veg at first. So it sends a conflicting message. Young gliders don't typically eat a lot of fruit or veg until they hit about 5 to 6 months old. They sort of grow into them.

Most of us offer the fruit and veg anyway even if they don't eat much of it yet, eventually they will and by then your an old pro at making the salads so it's part of your routine.

The salads for critter love/gravy are designed specifically for the hpw critter love diets, alternatively the fruits n veg for bml are specific for bml.

So if you change to Bml use the fruit n veg listed for bml, don't try to combine two separate diets. Doing so will create an un balanced diet and it will no longer be considered either bml or critter, it'd be a new diet altogether that hasn't been tested or used long term.




Both Bml and critter love are good "approved" tested, and widely used diets.

However there are some differences.

Personally, I've fed bml and critter love.

Bml is easier to make and serve and takes all the guess work out of all of it. If the recipe is followed exactly, including fruits n veg it's a no brainer and economical for 2 gliders.

Critter love is also economical up to a point, for me with 10 gliders it balances out to be about the same.

They both smell when you make the staple part lol not sure which one is worse.

The Critter Love complete is awesome, i love love love just adding water and being able to mix up a fresh batch every couple days, it's saving me much needed freezer space.

But there was a time I didn't like the all powdered ingredients, it's kind of a personal choice we all have to make.

The salads.... I'm still coming to terms with the salads lol i'm not used to all the up front prep work to make them.

I'm learning to prep a couple ingredients then freeze then do a couple more etc.. in advance so when I have everything chopped n frozen I can just weigh out what I need and mix it all up. This way it breaks it up for me and I don't have to devote an entire day to chopping food.

For two gliders the salads probably aren't a very big ordeal, but for me, a month supply is like 14 pounds of salad.... it's kind of a big deal.

The bml i just chopped fresh fruit nightly and used frozen veg, feeding took me about ten minutes to feed 3 cages.

Critter love is a little easier on the nightly serving, i don't have to chop anything just measure out the liquid, and salad and were done. It's under 5 minutes to feed the same 3 cages now that I'm used to it.

I really don't think one is better than the other and I promote both of them to new owners.

There are pros and cons to each diet and you have to figure out what works for you as far as cost, where to get supplies, how much time you have to prepare each diet and finally, what the gliders eat the best.


If you got a pp starter cage, they are fine for now. You can remove the shelving to create a lot more space in the cage, they don't need the shelves.

They will need an upgraded larger cage in about 6 months, or sooner if you can. Brisbane cages are affordable and awesome for 2 gliders, but don't get rid of your pp cage! It is always good to have at least one spare cage on hand and available at all times in case you need to separate them for any reason.

Years ago there was an issue with pp cages being toxic. It wasn't PP that was to blame for that, it was the place that makes the cages they were using unsafe wire. pp no longer uses that manufacturer for their cages and haven't had an issues that i'm aware of since.

I have never bought gliders from pp but I do have a pp cage that was given to me for emergencies and temp cage, I love that thing! But, i don't think it's a good long term cage i like giving them more space for more crap lol.

The heat rock... they don't need it and aren't necessary. If it gets cold just cut up some fleece and put it in their sleep pouch, that is all they need. Just keep the cage away from vent work for air conditioners so it isn't blowing right on them, or use a fleece cover on the cage to prevent drafts.

Thank you for all your advice. I've seen you pop up a lot on these boards as I've read through other post. We appreciate it!

Yvw I usually pop on here a few times a day, I don't work or leave the house very often so I have a lot of time on my hands.

Hopefully through those older posts you notice I don't like to tell people what to do or how something has to be done. I try to answer the questions, and give as much info and resources as i can, i try to explain why something is unsafe and why something else is a safer option. So the owner can make up their own mind for their own reasons and not my reasons. My posts tend to be a mile long because of that though lol

I've mentored a lot of new owners and have learned that the advice needs to be accurate, thorough, and received well by the person asking. Ultimately, they have to make their own decisions for their own gliders as you will have to as well.

Do you need to change diets?

I don't know, if the gliders are eating it good I probably wouldn't change from critter love. However, I might buy the critter love directly from critter love and cut out the middle man n save a few bucks lol.

I mean really, we can't tell you what is going to fit your lifestyle and gliders best. We can give you pros and cons of each diet and let you decide for yourself.

For me personally, the salad making part put me off of critter love for a long time. I hated the thought of it, I don't have much freezer space, and I don't care for all the astro turf in it.

BUT, I have a situation with 2 gliders in different cages I'm dealing with and making this diet change was suggested to see if it helps with that situation. The gliders have a bacterial infection, and the critter love diet has a lot of alkaline fruits n veg in it and a little less protein compared to the diet i was using before. The gliders ate the previous diet really well but I need to see if this issue is food related or not and the only way to tell was to make a huge change.

If it weren't for that, i wouldn't have changed to a new diet because they were eating the other diet just great. They are eating the critter love pretty ok, I think my gliders feel the same way about kale as i do though lol it's basically it's just hiding the other bits of fruit n veg so they have to look harder for it and a one is rather annoyed there isn't much corn in it

Over all i'm happy with critter love, i just have to get used to all the chopping and get my system worked out so it's easier for me to manage by myself.

Any way my point is we all have our reasons, and preferences, and budgets. Try not to get to overwhelmed with what everyone else does or likes or uses. If you get advice that works great, if it doesn't work no big deal try something else...

Ok well we have a blender so I think we're gonna try the BML diet. They are both young so as far as a feed schedule goes what would or where could I get a good recommendation?

Thank you for the cage tips they just have a wheel in there now that hangs. Oh also one has found and is taking to a half Gatorade half bottled water mix but the other hasn't drank from it and I wanted to know if its true they get enough hydration from the apples we give them at night.

Also we were told to leave them alone for a few days before trying to start bonding but others say start as soon as possible.

Any bonding tips? We have a pouch and I try to leave a shirt on the cage since my GF has them at her house and I work nights.

Thank you again!!

There really aren't any feeding schedules per say but maybe this will help..

Most of us put their food in the cage about a half hour before they wake up.

Since your gliders are so new to you, that would be the easiest time to get the plate in there without them escaping. If they are already awake and out and about it's harder to get the plate in there clean without them crabbing or jumping out the door.

Their wake up times can change, especially in the spring and fall so if they start waking up later, or earlier don't be worried. lights on can also affect what time they come out, if it's to bright they will stay in the pouch later.

When you start Bml ...

I usually rotated fruits n veg through the week like this

m bml, mixed veg, blue berries
t bml, peas, cherries
w bml, beans, watermelon
t bml, carrots, grapes
f bml, mixed veg, honey due
s bml, corn, canteloupe
s bml, carrots and peas, apples


I didn't follow that very strictly it's just an example, my gliders didn't really eat apples or grapes much so I primarily used melons blueberries and cherries. The apples and grapes I would only offer once in a while since they didn't really eat them well but gliders sometimes change their preferences so i liked to still offer them occassionally.

The veg I would get a big bag of mixed veg, and a small bag of frozen peas or frozen peas and carrots together, and a bag of straight corn. When i'd run out of peas or corn I'd get beans or something else the next time i went to the store.

i only gave straight corn like once a month, it's high in phosphorous and my one girl is an absolute pig when it comes to corn, she's about 190 grams and really doesn't need to gain weight lol.

But I would use the mixed veg 2 or 3 during the week if I didn't have other veg in the freezer.

There are lots of ways you can do the fruit and veg, as long as they are on the allowed list for bml you can use them in any combo ya like, or the gliders like.


Gliders do indeed get a lot of their fluids from the foods they eat.

Their teeth are designed to compress the juice from foods, like juicing machines for humans, Gliders swallow the juice and spit out the pulp that is insoluble fiber that they can't digest, again much like juicing machines for humans that leave the pulp behind.

This is also why we don't puree or make smoothies out of fruits or veg for gliders, it forces them to eat all that insoluble fiber that they usually spit out and can cause constipation and intestinal blockages.

Plus they have like 40 some teeth packed in there they are more than capable of eating fruits n veg without them being in liquid form.

Be careful with Gatorade in the water bottle. If it's a traditional water bottle with ball and tube, the sugars can make the ball stick and malfunction which cuts off their water source.

if you use a silo, it's not as dangerous because there is a trough rather than a ball and tube but....... they don't need Gatorade everyday it actually makes their internal organs work harder than they need to, just like humans water plays an important part in organs working properly.

Straight water is better for everyday and they do drink a fair amount of water even though they get most of their fluids from their food

We DO use orange Gatorade for dehydrated gliders when necessary, so it's good to keep a bottle on hand, but for that it is administered with needless syringes and there is no change of malfunctioning the water bottle.

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Leaving them alone for a few days...

Really this depends on the gliders and how they are settling in. if they seem nervous, crabby, stressed, lungey, or unsure and hide or freeze up then yep give them a few days to get acclimated with all the new things, smells, sounds, humans. Everything is new to them and they are likely scared and need a few days to get comfortable in their new environment.


If the gliders are calm, mellow, and settle right in like they always been there,not crabbing or lunging or biting ...... then you don't need to give them a few days you can start right away.

Every glider is different so you have to watch their body language to really gauge how they are adjusting and if they are scared or not.

I've had some I could handle right away like they lived here their whole lives and I've had others that need time to come around and adjust.


The shirt on the cage is great, and can work but they will pull it through the bars, so check it for loose threads.

A safer choice is to sleep with a few swatches of cut up fleece for a few nights then put that in their sleep pouch it essentially does the same thing as a dirty shirt without the exposed stitching, after a few days replace it with another piece so they keep getting your scent and it mixes with their scent.

Bonding tips. Don't have any expectations of the gliders. Don't put a time frame on it. Bonding simply means your starting a new relationship and you and the gliders are going to learn how to trust each other. The bonding never stops for the duration of your relationship.

Be calm.

Be confident. Confidence is hugeeeeeeeeeee with gliders, if you are confident and calm the gliders will be calmer and confident IN you.

Take your time, your going to make mistakes, your going to probably get bit, your going to have set backs. When you do take a deep breath, think about why you got the negative reaction and figure out how to do that thing differently to get a positive reaction next time.

Bonding bags are awesome! But until you get on a routine may seem frustrating to get the gliders in and out of them easily.

Routine is EVERYTHING. Gliders thrive on routine just like toddlers do. Make feeding time the same time, treat time the same time, bonding bag the same time everyday, the gliders will learn the routine and know this is their normal.

One glider maybe easier than the other, always remember they are individuals and you may need to do something differently for one than the other even though they are in the same cage.

Finally, celebrate every bit of progress, every mile stone no matter how big or how small and enjoy your new babies