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New to Sugar Gliders; Looking for Guidance
New to Sugar Gliders; Looking for Guidance
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Feb 21 2017
11:45:33 PM
So I have been holding off getting any pets for a loooooooooong time. Been waiting for the kids to be potty trained you see? Now I am long since passed that and have spent a few months doing some research; turns out sugar gliders sound like the perfect match for what I am looking for in a pet and the kind of life a pet would want from me.

So dilemmas have started popping up.....I am kind of a concrete person so reading contradicting info on separate "reputable" sites is throwing me off a bit. I'm not ocd, honest.....just really want to make sure I am prepared to give these little sugs what they need from me.

Also, this is the first site I've come across that actually seems active! I'm not saying all the other sites don't have things going on but nothing has been updated on most of them since 2015, some of them since 2013! Holy bejeebez, so for starters: thanks for being there and potentially reading this unnecessarily long post. If you feel up to answering some questions and maybe providing a shortcut or two, I would be ever so grateful.

1. How is it possible that there is such widely differing views on what to feed and more specifically what not to feed? I would think the former would have varying opinions but the latter would be pretty cut and dry! I've seen grapes, avocados, seeds, peanut butter and a few others blacklisted in a few places.......then I see other people include it in their regular feeding plan. Please help me here, I really just need some black and white like "DO NOT EVER FEED THIS OR BE STRUCK DOWN BY HELLS FURY" kind of a list....if possible.

2. While on the subject of diet, does someone have a really easy to read table of foods with the ca:ph ratio available. This seems to be the key (at least as far as I can glean) to feeding the little muffins properly but I have yet to find an easy to read "cheatsheet" .

3. Does it matter if the occasional bug "treats" are canned vs fresh? Canned sounds nasty but wriggling all over the damn place doesn't sound all that delectable either; I will deal with either or but would prefer what's best for them especially if it can't escape them and become a new pet I don't really want.

4. OK so I have a lot of diet questions; some say the diets with honey are bad.....hello diabetes right?! But then some folks are swearing by the honey loaded diets....this is just kind of confusing for me. I mean if you're feeding them fruit aren't they getting their carb requirements especially considering their not exactly gliding 100meters between trees like they would in the wild?

5. Here's an opinion question: so you've got a cage with the setup....hammock dishes, wheel, pouch, branches, snuggly neck doo dad...etc, what's the one thing you have that has been the most helpful with your glider buds that a new person might not know they need?

6. To humidify or not? I live in a fairly dry climate (southern Alberta) and would think hanging out in the natural tree top environment might be fairly wet. Any thoughts......more specifically, all day every day vs a schedule or what?


Ok ok I've rambled and I apologize. If anyone feels up to shedding some light I would be ever so grateful!
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Feb 22 2017
03:16:39 PM
BYK_Chainsaw Fuzzy Wuzzy Visit BYK_Chainsaw's Photo Album BYK_Chainsaw's Journal USA 1301 Posts

1. sugarglider.info/diet/unsafe-foods/ This page has some DO NOT FEED foods. Also, NO HEAT ROCK.

2. several sites have this.
www.sugar-gliders.com/glidervet-60.htm this place has a short list, but googling I have found sites with much bigger lists, some bird sites have a list if I remember correctly.

3. "canned" is basicly a NO NO (sugar/additives). but freezed dried mealworms come in bag or bucket. and yogurt treats come in bag. fruit treats best if FRESH, but I get dried papaya from petstore NO ADDITIVES (no sugar!!!) but after some mealworms gliders start to skip the papaya, but still like yogurts drops. Just keep treats in the sometimes list.

4. we feed HPW, BML is used alot. Diet is a more difficult one, you do want to feed them healthy, but think of it this way, in the wild gliders live much shorter lives because of predators and starvation. So if you put in a good faith effort on a good diet and keep reading to learn more about the diet you are on the right track, I don't believe in the feed them this diet or else. but to pick a poor diet and not learn if a better diet is available can be bad to. In the wild a gliders problem is starvation! not which berry passes the taste test. <--this information comes from a book. animal planet Sugar Gliders by david e boruchowitz 2012 discovery communications, LLC. this book seemed well balanced on the information.

example: pellets bad never feed, but wait, cereal is different somewhat and cereal good for cleaning teeth. so i leave a small amount in cage of pro-pets cereal in cage, freeze unused to keep fresh and replace every few days as cereal can mold which is bad.

5. wiffle ball with fleece strips are enjoyed by the gliders. "shopkins" kids toy baskets make excellent foraging cups, just the blue cups the rest we dont use.

6. don't know, they come from down under, you could check the humidity levels there, but have never hurt of this mattering yet.

Edited by - BYK_Chainsaw on Feb 22 2017 03:26:50 PM
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Feb 22 2017
05:14:30 PM
JLR Glider Visit JLR's Photo Album JLR's Journal Canada 95 Posts
I live in Saskatoon and don't have a humidifier for my gliders. I have heard that "cracked" fur can be due to dry air so if you see that then you could get a humidifier.

Do you know where you are getting your gliders from?
I ask because there is a breeder in Calgary who I would absolutely NOT recommend, unfortunately I don't know her name but moral of a very long story is to be sure to see where a breeder keeps their animals and do not take one if it is injured (or at least be prepared that the breeder may disappear of off the face of the earth the second they get your money). Of course not all breeders are terrible, I just know first hand that particular one in Calgary was horrible.
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Feb 22 2017
05:26:49 PM
NyxandBenny Glider Visit NyxandBenny's Photo Album AB, CA 166 Posts
Yay another albertan I'm up in gp. I don't bother with a humidifier we are very dry but my gliders look good I've never had cracked fur (humidity levels may play a role).

Diet plans vary but I feed BML. Only reason being is that shipping ohpw got way too expensive the only places I've seen it available is the US and UK. Now if you decide on BML there is a list of required fruit and veggies that must be fed with the BML. I actually don't mind as it takes alot of the guesswork out involving the calcium phosphate ratios.
I also allow for junk food days. Once or twice a month I forgo the bml and give them things like white chicken or turkey breast (Un spiced no salt) boiled egg (no shell) some will feed whole egg I don't just to avoid choking hazard some gliders really love ripping the egg shell apart. I may feed pinky mice whole but that can get messy. I usually give them melon and okra. I do check online for nutrition on these days as I don't wanna feed ratios unbalanced also watching iron as too much iron can be unhealthy. I feed live mealies cause the love love love them but they really don't have much nutrition. I also do live crickets in a tall mesh terrarium once in a while.
Never ever feed gliders
-rhubarb
-onion/garlic
-leeks
Stay clear of nuts and legumes I'm told pine nuts and small sliver of almond once in a while are alright)
-I know there's more but can't remember them. I blame my cold.
Foraging toys are very good to have as it keeps them busy and active. They are easy to make using any small container or I use straws once in a while with a bit of honey or agave nectar.
Often I put some honey on there fruits as they will eat all there veggies but usually ignore the fruit. They eat it but only when I put 1/2 tsp of honey on it or a light drizzle.
I also use a foraging ballpit. I use a dollar store tote and go get the hollow easter eggs in various sizes now while dollar stores have them out for easter. This ballpit does need to be cleaned daily and everything bleached 1-2 times a week. It's worth it to me as its probably my gliders fav toy. I toss in live mealies I also hide some in the eggs. One glider stands back while the other litterally jumps on it till it opens. I've never found a live worm in any ball or left over as they have great smell and are very determined to get the mealies out.
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Feb 22 2017
08:22:01 PM
Crystal_Pistol Starting Member Canada 0 Posts
First of all thanks so much for taking the time to read my grossly long post! I didn't realize how long it was till I read over it this morning!

Thanks immensely for the responses which I am finding to be so helpful!

I am curious to know more about this calgary breeder? I have found a few options for where to get my new buds and have been focusing on rehoming as a priority. There certainly does seem to be enough out there for rehoming that I would rather do something good for them then take on some babies.

I am not entirely sure at this point where I will be getting mine from. I have 3 fairly solid options and was going to start a new thread to get some opinions but maybe here will do just as well.

First option is a 1yo female solo glider in the town I live.....she is apparently extremely cuddly with humans, we'll socialized in general and would come with cage and full setup of toys, dishes, hammocks, cuddle sack, bonding pouch and running wheel for $500. She is being rehomed because one of her sisters is bullying her to a dangerous level. Biggest con being that after I have spent the time required to allow her to bond with me I will need to acquire her a friend, go through the same process with them and also help them bond with each other.

Second option is approximately a 4hour drive away. A pair of fixed adult gliders, one female and one male. Comes with a cage and all the toys for $500. Obviously these two as a pair would seem like a better option but when I asked about temperament I got answers that were sort focused on how bonded they would become with time. This fella also has been feeding them pellets......and not as an extra but more of a staple diet. When I asked for pics the only ones of the gliders I got were inside the cage. This really concerns me......I do feel like I would give them a great home and could potentially be the one to make their lives so much better. But for a first time glider owner this situation kinda seems to have some red flags.

3rd option funnily enough is with someone in calgary.....offering a male and female both fixed for $200 with no cage or needed supplies. When I asked why they were being rehomed she responded that she needed to downsize her cause she has too many. Says the female is very friendly and loves spending time with humans but that the male is a little more standoff ish and prefers rising around on your shoulder to being held.


So that's where I'm at. I am going to take this plunge and I am willing to do what it takes to learn what I must for this experience. I just feel so unsure about my options and would love for some guidance from you experienced folks!
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Feb 22 2017
10:05:04 PM
JLR Glider Visit JLR's Photo Album JLR's Journal Canada 95 Posts
I actually see that she is selling gliders on kijiji right now and has a picture of our babies posted in the add >:@


If you want the whole story of our ordeal pm me and I'll get back to you, it's been a long day and is way too much to type on my phone tonight
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Feb 22 2017
10:17:21 PM
Crystal_Pistol Starting Member Canada 0 Posts
Thanks for the heads up!
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Feb 23 2017
07:51:46 AM
NyxandBenny Glider Visit NyxandBenny's Photo Album AB, CA 166 Posts
So they're using your gliders/photo to sell gliders? That's disputable.
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Feb 23 2017
07:59:49 AM
JLR Glider Visit JLR's Photo Album JLR's Journal Canada 95 Posts
That was the picture she sent us of our babies when we got them over a year ago and it is the first picture in her current ad. I sent a message asking if the gliders in the picture were available and she did say no but that she has an identical breeding pair that are, which makes me question why not take a new picture of her current breeding pair rather than show a year old picture of a brother and sister pair but that's a whole other rant.
Just wanted to show the picture so that if you see the ad (she has 3 glider ads up right now) you know who you might want to avoid.
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Feb 23 2017
08:32:17 AM
NyxandBenny Glider Visit NyxandBenny's Photo Album AB, CA 166 Posts
Well thank you.
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Feb 23 2017
09:07:13 AM
Crystal_Pistol Starting Member Canada 0 Posts
Muchly appreciated!
New to Sugar Gliders; Looking for Guidance

GliderGossip GliderGossip
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New to Sugar Gliders; Looking for Guidance