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Diet for sugar gliders Diet is very important for a good, healthy lifespan of any glider. If cared for correctly, a glider could live 10 to 15 or more years. The food requirements are diverse, however, once learned, it is not difficult to feed your glider. The current diet I talk about here, is an approved diet that many respected breeders have used for a long time. I have fed this program for quite a while and it has worked for me. There are several other vet approved diets out there I will provide the links for as well. My suggestion to any one is to purchase a recent publication called "Sugar Gliders, Living with and Caring For" by Peggy Brewer. It can be purchased by visting her website at http://www.Critterlove.com She has done extensive research on her own with various food choices and she has made the first major upgrade in many years on proper diet for gliders. Sugar gliders are both omnivorius and insectivorous which means they eat a variety of fruits, vegetable, bugs, various wild flowers and an occational mouse, frog, or small bird in the wild. While we cannot possibly reproduce their natural diet, we have come up with some solutions over the years that have proven to keep the gliders in captivety healthy and happy. We should start out with a base food source. This is the main part of a multi-course meal that they will eat every night. There are a number of good sugar glider foods on the market now, so there are no longer excuses for people to feed cat or dog food. Gliders are insectivores, not carnivores. Although, they do eat meats for protein, the diet in the wild ranges from insects to small birds, frogs, rodents, certain tropical flowers, and fruits. One thing to remember, just because they are called sugar gliders NEVER means it’s ok to feed processed sugars. The only sugars they should be getting would be from nature. Some of the approved diets includes, honey and nectars you can purchase as supplements. Fruit is also a good natural source of sugars. A replacement form of nectar found in the wild is a product called “Gliderade.” You may purchase it at any company online that sells glider supplements. It is also important to understand that too much phosphorus cancels out the calcium they need to absorb to stay healthy. No matter which of the approved diets you choose, you need to make sure and follow it to a "T". To change one thing could mean life or death for your pet. These diets are not hard to manage, and after time, they become second nature to your nightly routine. HPW or High Wombaroo Protien Diet This is a soy-based diet that is manufactuered in Austrailia and is a very good diet. Many breeders and pet people have used it for years with excellent results. I feed this diet myself. I do carry extra of the "non-grocery" ingredients here and can sell you a starter pack for your babies. You may also buy these items direct from Exotic Nutrition at: http:www.exoticnutrition.com/ Here is how it is made: 2 cups warm water (bottled or filtered) 1 1/2 cups honey (they don't like Sue Bee brand) 3 scrambled eggs 1/4 cup High Protien Wombaroo Powder--use 1/2 cup when feeding to nursing mothers 2 tablespoons Bee Pollen Cook eggs. Set aside. In large bowl, mix water and honey. Stir until honey is dissolved. Add in HPW powder, mix well. In blender add eggs, bee pollen 1/2 cup to 1 cup HPW liquid. Blend for two minutes. Add in addtional liquid and blend another 2 minutes. Pour into a freezer safe bowl with an airtight lid. Keep in freezer. Will freeze to the consistancy of ice cream or sherbert. Feeding instructions: 1-1/2 teaspoons of HPW per glider 1 tablespoon of mixed fruits per glider 1 tablespoon of mixed veggies per glider Mealworms are fed for treats. 1-5 per glider, 3 times a week. A total of 3 bowls per cage, per night is required. A 4th is needed on the nights the Gliderade supplement is offered. I also offer mine Gliderade supplement twice a week with the rest of the meal. When choosing fruits and veggies, please wash them very well to get the chemicals off of them that are used in the store. If possible, grow some yourself or buy organic. Frozen can be used too in the winter months. Safe fruits to be used with this diet: Acerola, apples (with or without skin), apricots, banana, blackberries, blueberries, breadfruit, cantaloupe,carambola, carissa, casaba melon, cherimoya, sweet cherries, crab apples, dates, elderberries, figs, grapes, grapefruit, ground cherries, honeydew melon, jackfruit, java plum, jujube, kiwi, kumquat, lemon, lemon peel, lime, longans, loquats, mammy apple, mango, mulberries, nectarine, oheloberries, orange peel, orange (navel & valencia) papaya, purple passion fruit, peach, pear, persimmon, pineapple, pitanga, plantain, plum, pomegranate, prickly pear fruit, prunes, pummelo, quince, raisins, raspberries, rose apple, roselle, sapodilla, sapote, soursop, strawberries, sugar apple, tamarind, tangerine, red green or yellow tomato, watermelon. Safe veggies and herbs to be used with this diet: Alfalfa, amaranth, artichoke, asparagus, avacado, bamboo shoots, beets, beet greens, brococoli (spears and sprouts), brussel sprouts, burdock roots, cabbage (red or green-not pickled), carrots, cauliflower, celery, chayote, chicory greens, chinese cabbage, collard greens, coriander, yellow corn, cucumber (with or without skin), dandelion greens, dock, endive, eggplant, ginger root, green beans or snap peas, jew's ear (pepeao), jute (potherb), leeks, lettauce (butterhead, iceberg, loose leaf & romaine), lupines, kale, kohlrabi, mushrooms, mustard greens, mustard spinach, napa cabbage, okra, parsley, parsnips, peas (green), peppers (sweet), pumpkin, radish, soy bean (green & sprouts), spinach, squash (acorn, butternut, hubbard, spaghetti, summer, winter & zucchini), sweet potato, swiss chard, tofu (firm & regular), turnip, turnip greens, watercress, yams. On the mealworms and crickets, they do crave these and it’s fun to watch them having a good time with the live foods. Live foods should be purchased from pet stores or direct from mail order supply vendors. Bugs from the outdoors may contain parasites, or worse yet, your neighbor could have a pest control spray the home. Any outdoor crickets and other insects should be considered potentially poisonous. Trusted sources of healthy mealworms and crickets are supplied on my links page. Do limit the amount of mealworms you offer. I give 5 per glider 3 nights a week. Mealworms are fattening and many gliders have been known to go off their feed and expect only mealworms if given to many. I also offer dry food to my gliders as a choice in case they are not liking the fruits or veggies I gave them that night. In the past, I have used Mazuri Insectivore Fare which is a very good food, but found that the little pellets were too hard for some of the little babies. I have now switched Pet Pro Glider Breeder Formula (also known as Happy Pet) which is very small and the babies can handle it well. It just as fine as the other brands, but I find that even the adults prefer the taste over the Mazuri. Harsh city or well water is not good for your glider. It can throw off the good bacteria in their intestines and cause problems. I always use bottled water, even when I am mixing supplements such as Gliderade. Make sure you clean the bottle regularly. I have two other approved diets that I recomend. I know both breeders who developed them and have high regard for what they do. They both have very healthy animals. Just take note that all the many fruits and veggies you can give the gliders on HPW, you may not be able to give with these diets. Here are the links to the ladie's websites. Read very carefully how each diet it presented: Here is the link for the Priscilla Price Diet. Note that in order to make this diet work, you must order the supplements for it directly from her: http://the petglider.com/index/the-pet-glider-nutrition-system/the-pet-glider-nutrition-system.html And here is Judie Hausmann's version of BML. Again, read her diet over carefully. There are only a few of the fruits and veggies you can use with it: http://mylittlegremlin.homestead.com/Nutrition.html		CHOOSING A GLIDER HOUSING CLEANING DIET BREEDING

Diet for sugar gliders

Diet is very important for a good, healthy lifespan of any glider. If cared for correctly, a glider could live 10 to 15 or more years. The food requirements are diverse, however, once learned, it is not difficult to feed your glider.

The current diet I talk about here, is an approved diet that many respected breeders have used for a long time. I have fed this program for quite a while and it has worked for me. There are several other vet approved diets out there I will provide the links for as well. My suggestion to any one is to purchase a recent publication called "Sugar Gliders, Living with and Caring For" by Peggy Brewer. It can be purchased by visting her website at

http://www.Critterlove.com

She has done extensive research on her own with various food choices and she has made the first major upgrade in many years on proper diet for gliders.

Sugar gliders are both omnivorius and insectivorous which means they eat a variety of fruits, vegetable, bugs, various wild flowers and an occational mouse, frog, or small bird in the wild. While we cannot possibly reproduce their natural diet, we have come up with some solutions over the years that have proven to keep the gliders in captivety healthy and happy.

We should start out with a base food source. This is the main part of a multi-course meal that they will eat every night. There are a number of good sugar glider foods on the market now, so there are no longer excuses for people to feed cat or dog food. Gliders are insectivores, not carnivores. Although, they do eat meats for protein, the diet in the wild ranges from insects to small birds, frogs, rodents, certain tropical flowers, and fruits. One thing to remember, just because they are called sugar gliders NEVER means it’s ok to feed processed sugars. The only sugars they should be getting would be from nature. Some of the approved diets includes, honey and nectars you can purchase as supplements. Fruit is also a good natural source of sugars. A replacement form of nectar found in the wild is a product called “Gliderade.” You may purchase it at any company online that sells glider supplements.

It is also important to understand that too much phosphorus cancels out the calcium they need to absorb to stay healthy. No matter which of the approved diets you choose, you need to make sure and follow it to a "T". To change one thing could mean life or death for your pet. These diets are not hard to manage, and after time, they become second nature to your nightly routine.

HPW or High Wombaroo Protien Diet

This is a soy-based diet that is manufactuered in Austrailia and is a very good diet. Many breeders and pet people have used it for years with excellent results. I feed this diet myself. I do carry extra of the "non-grocery" ingredients here and can sell you a starter pack for your babies.

You may also buy these items direct from Exotic Nutrition at:

http:www.exoticnutrition.com/

Here is how it is made:

2 cups warm water (bottled or filtered)
1 1/2 cups honey (they don't like Sue Bee brand)
3 scrambled eggs
1/4 cup High Protien Wombaroo Powder--use 1/2 cup when feeding to nursing mothers
2 tablespoons Bee Pollen
Cook eggs. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix water and honey. Stir until honey is dissolved. Add in HPW powder, mix well.

In blender add eggs, bee pollen 1/2 cup to 1 cup HPW liquid. Blend for two minutes. Add in addtional liquid and blend another 2 minutes.

Pour into a freezer safe bowl with an airtight lid. Keep in freezer. Will freeze to the consistancy of ice cream or sherbert.

Feeding instructions:

1-1/2 teaspoons of HPW per glider
1 tablespoon of mixed fruits per glider
1 tablespoon of mixed veggies per glider
Mealworms are fed for treats. 1-5 per glider, 3 times a week.
A total of 3 bowls per cage, per night is required. A 4th is needed on the nights the Gliderade supplement is offered.

I also offer mine Gliderade supplement twice a week with the rest of the meal.

When choosing fruits and veggies, please wash them very well to get the chemicals off of them that are used in the store. If possible, grow some yourself or buy organic. Frozen can be used too in the winter months.

Safe fruits to be used with this diet:

Acerola, apples (with or without skin), apricots, banana, blackberries, blueberries, breadfruit, cantaloupe,carambola, carissa, casaba melon, cherimoya, sweet cherries, crab apples, dates, elderberries, figs, grapes, grapefruit, ground cherries, honeydew melon, jackfruit, java plum, jujube, kiwi, kumquat, lemon, lemon peel, lime, longans, loquats, mammy apple, mango, mulberries, nectarine, oheloberries, orange peel, orange (navel & valencia) papaya, purple passion fruit, peach, pear, persimmon, pineapple, pitanga, plantain, plum, pomegranate, prickly pear fruit, prunes, pummelo, quince, raisins, raspberries, rose apple, roselle, sapodilla, sapote, soursop, strawberries, sugar apple, tamarind, tangerine, red green or yellow tomato, watermelon.

Safe veggies and herbs to be used with this diet:

Alfalfa, amaranth, artichoke, asparagus, avacado, bamboo shoots, beets, beet greens, brococoli (spears and sprouts), brussel sprouts, burdock roots, cabbage (red or green-not pickled), carrots, cauliflower, celery, chayote, chicory greens, chinese cabbage, collard greens, coriander, yellow corn, cucumber (with or without skin), dandelion greens, dock, endive, eggplant, ginger root, green beans or snap peas, jew's ear (pepeao), jute (potherb), leeks, lettauce (butterhead, iceberg, loose leaf & romaine), lupines, kale, kohlrabi, mushrooms, mustard greens, mustard spinach, napa cabbage, okra, parsley, parsnips, peas (green), peppers (sweet), pumpkin, radish, soy bean (green & sprouts), spinach, squash (acorn, butternut, hubbard, spaghetti, summer, winter & zucchini), sweet potato, swiss chard, tofu (firm & regular), turnip, turnip greens, watercress, yams.

On the mealworms and crickets, they do crave these and it’s fun to watch them having a good time with the live foods. Live foods should be purchased from pet stores or direct from mail order supply vendors. Bugs from the outdoors may contain parasites, or worse yet, your neighbor could have a pest control spray the home. Any outdoor crickets and other insects should be considered potentially poisonous. Trusted sources of healthy mealworms and crickets are supplied on my links page. Do limit the amount of mealworms you offer. I give 5 per glider 3 nights a week. Mealworms are fattening and many gliders have been known to go off their feed and expect only mealworms if given to many.

I also offer dry food to my gliders as a choice in case they are not liking the fruits or veggies I gave them that night. In the past, I have used Mazuri Insectivore Fare which is a very good food, but found that the little pellets were too hard for some of the little babies. I have now switched Pet Pro Glider Breeder Formula (also known as Happy Pet) which is very small and the babies can handle it well. It just as fine as the other brands, but I find that even the adults prefer the taste over the Mazuri.

Harsh city or well water is not good for your glider. It can throw off the good bacteria in their intestines and cause problems. I always use bottled water, even when I am mixing supplements such as Gliderade. Make sure you clean the bottle regularly.

I have two other approved diets that I recomend. I know both breeders who developed them and have high regard for what they do. They both have very healthy animals.

Just take note that all the many fruits and veggies you can give the gliders on HPW, you may not be able to give with these diets. Here are the links to the ladie's websites. Read very carefully how each diet it presented:

Here is the link for the Priscilla Price Diet. Note that in order to make this diet work, you must order the supplements for it directly from her:

http://the petglider.com/index/the-pet-glider-nutrition-system/the-pet-glider-nutrition-system.html

And here is Judie Hausmann's version of BML. Again, read her diet over carefully. There are only a few of the fruits and veggies you can use with it:

http://mylittlegremlin.homestead.com/Nutrition.html