Differences for “ Food ”

<Include(SugarGliderMenu)>
  
SugarGliders eat a varied diet in the wild and feed through out their own 
teritory. In Australia although common along the eastern coast they are rarely 
seen. Their natural diet consists of insects, native fruit, flowers, and sap.
  
Gliders are "sap suckers" by nature and cannot be sustained by dry 
foods and off-the-shelf food pellets that are designed for other small animals 
such as hamsters. Sap suckers chew their food to extract the liquids and then 
most often spit out the remains. A simple way to look at it is that they need 
squishy, wet, naturally sweet, and quickly perishable foods.
  
Diets will often include protein from meat, vegetables, fruit, other foraging 
foods, and the occasional nut for a treat. Their nightly diet should consist of 
around 50% protein, 25% fruit and 25% veggies. They are essentially lactose 
intolerant, but still need calcium. A lot of owners will add calcium to their 
food. I have never done that and have managed to keep healthy gliders by 
feeding a healthy diet. To that end, a diet should be low in salt, anything 
with added preservatives or chemicals, and fat. It is wise to use natural whole 
foods. Packaged baby food can be a good source if you would like it already 
prepared, otherwise, collecting fruits and vegetables at your neighborhood 
grocery or natural grocery store will become a weekly ceremony. It is also wise 
to give them a varied selection of food at every feeding. Do not always give 
them their favorites or too much of one thing because this could lead to 
vitamin deficiency.
  
I feed my animals every night just after they wake up and just before I go to 
bed. This allows me to spend a little time with them and hand feed them a few 
treats such as pecans or yogurt. I suggest removing all food in the morning 
after they go to sleep, it is bad for them to nibble on wet foods after they 
are a day old, and gliders are notorious for littering in the the areas with 
half-eaten food. I make sure to remove all the bits and pieces every morning so 
they do not rot and smell and so they wont end up eating something rotten.
  
A good practice for feeding is to prepare all food so that it is in small size 
chunks so your gliders can easily grasp it in their hands. For instance, you 
can serve corn kernels shaved off of the cob. Another good idea is to freeze 
fruits, veggies, and even completely prepared meals. You can defrost the meal 
during the day in the fridge or you can simply put the frozen meal or items in 
the cage before bed and they will thaw out during the night as the glider is 
active and feeding.
  
The following list contains foods that my animals eat. There is also some 
suggestions on what not to feed them. I try to vary the nightly feeding with 
random items that happen to be in the fridge as well as any leftovers from 
dinner.
  
===== MEAT / PROTEIN =====
  * MealWorm
  * shrimp
  * brisket
  * beef / hamburger (drain all fat)
  * chicken
  * ham (use as a treat, high in salt)
  * cooked egg (any form w/out butter)
  * tofu chunks (information on soy and soy products
[http://www.westonaprice.org/Soy-Isoflavones-Panacea-or-Poison.html ]and
[http://www.mothering.com/food/whole-soy-story ])
  
===== FRUITS AND VEGGIES ===== 
  * grapes halved
  * tomatoes halved
  * raw corn kernels, sliced loose (small amounts)
  * cooked potato chunks
  * green bean
  * carrot
  * cantaloupe / melon
  * apple
  * Kale
  * Blueberries
  * Strawberries (they are ok for them, however, be careful with cleaning them. 
They have a very hard surface to clean. Any fruit or veggies with a rough 
surface need to be cleaned very well before feeding them to prevent the suggies 
from getting sick.)
  * and so forth, whatever your pet likes and whatever is in the fridge
  
===== OTHER =====
  * Yogurt (vanilla or sweetened with honey)
  * Soy Yogurt with cultures added after pasturizing
  * **Clean Water!**
  * Various flowers such as baby's breath, bamboo, blue spruce, butterfly bush, 
cacti(with the thorns removed since they could harm your glider), dandelions, 
forget-me-nots, forsythia, hibiscus, lavender, lilac, money plants, petunias, 
protea, quince, roses(with the thorns removed), snap dragons, sycamore, 
willows, and yucca.    
  
===== Suggestions on what __NOT__ to feed Sugar Gliders =====
  * Chocolate (could kill them like it does to canines)
  * Eggs with butter (use a non-stick pan or cook in microwave to make eggs)
  * butter (to hard on their digestive systems to digest)
  * processed sugar (ie: marshmallows)
  * Anything high in Salt (ie:nuts with salt, best to serve non-salted ones)
  * Baby food with spices or onion powder (the best is the plain meat or plain 
vegies)
  * Bread (it is a filler, may cause them not to eat the good stuff. Some 
people say it causes problems for them in the digestive tract also)
  
**See Also**
  * MEALWORM 
  * WormFarm
  
  
----I just want to say that kazkos diet is a great place to start when looking 
at foods to feed your gliders. Here in Australia one of the local Zoos has been 
breeding and keeping Sugar Gliders since the early 1960's. There diet has been 
developed over the years and the latest was added to by an animal nutritionist 
who added the bird vitamins. After some discussions we think this may have come 
about because of the ease to which these vitamins can be added to many diets. 
Here it is not recommended to add the reptile vitamins as these were designed 
primarily for reptiles although I dont understand therefore why the bird 
vitamins were added for sugar gliders other than perhaps they are more gentle 
to the digestive system of gliders. Instead of just posting the Healesville 
Sanctuary diet I will give you the link so that you can see how similar many of 
the native animal diets are.
 
[url] 
http://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/cms/images/stories/docs/HS%20Current%20Diets.pdf [/url]
  
There are also many diets that you will come across that are refered to as so 
called proven diets. Most of these diets have not been used consistently for 
enough time to be called proven. Just know that many do not back up there diets 
with the so called research that they claim to have done but instead declare 
that if you do the research you will find the proof. In my books if I had 
invented a diet that had backing and research done on it I would happily give 
out all this inforamtion to back up my diet. I'm not telling people not to use 
these diets but just be aware that they are just a diet made up in someones 
kitchen. Also don't think because a vet says you have a good diet your glider 
will not end up with diet related health issues. Many diets are high in Iron 
and vitamins that can lead to kidney and liver damage when used for long 
periods of time. Too many vitamins can be as bad as not enough. 
  
Sugar gliders need a diet that is high in calcium. In the wild they eat a lot 
of insects to gain a large portion of what they need. In captivity it is 
important to look at the fruit and vegatables you are giving them to make sure 
that the amount of phosphorus you are giving them is not impeding the calcium 
they need in there diet. Giving them a high calcium to phosphorus ratio is a 
good start. Lack of clacium and other vitamains can lead to Hindleg paralyisis 
or brittle bone decease. Lack of some vitamins can lead to general lethargy, if 
you see any of these symptons in your Sugar Glider you should seek specialized 
vetinary care as soon as possable. Delaying vet care may lead to death.
(edited by Jett)