What to Feed Your Sugar Glider

Sugar gliders require a very special diet in order to remain healthy and active. Most diseases that sugar gliders get are a direct result from a poor diet. There are several different option and recipes to choose from to ensure that your pet sugar glider is getting the nutrition they need. Many people believe that they require sugar as a main part of their diet due to the name "sugar" glider but they are in fact omnivores which suggests that they rely primarily on insects in the wild. They do eat manna in the wild that is crystal sap from many trees and flowers. Honey and fresh fruits are a substitute for sap and nectar. Sugar gliders also require regular protein in their diet, especially if they are in breeding or nursing.

Below are a few options that I have tried or am familiar with to help you pick the best diet for your sugar glider and one that is easiest for you to prepare.

 The three step diet is a basic diet which most of the others follow but substatute or enhance on.  This diet is nice because it is clean and does not require you to mix or freeze anything.  With this diet you should get a vitamen to sprinkle on the fruits and vegitables to insure they are getting all the nutrition that they need (I suggest Rep-Cal vitamens and Rep-Cal Calcium that can be purchased at many pet stores).

1. A daily form of protien (at the end of the article there is a list of good protien sorces)

2. Fresh fruits and vegitables (a list below of vegitables and fruits that they can eat)

3. A dry sugar glider designed food that is available all the time for the sugar glider to eat on when they are hungrey.  They prefer the fresh food first but will eat the pellets between meals, like a snack.

The BML (Bourbon's Modified Leadbeaters) Diet was designed to be a complete diet and has been modified by a few experianced breeders and exports to make it more enjoyable for your sugar glider. The main downfall from this diet is that it is messy to make and requires you to make enough for several days and store it in your freezer. The nice part is that you can get it all made and divided in nightly amounts in tuperware which makes feeding quicker until you have to make more.

Add following ingrediance to blender:

1/2 cup filtered honey

1 boiled egg, shelled

1/4 apple juice (not fozen just plain apple juice, it is better to use a natural one without added sweetners)

1 four ounce premixed Gerber fruit yogurt juice (if you can't find this you can use 2oz. plain yogart and 2 oz. fruit juice)

1 Teaspoon Rep-Cal Herptivite (this can be bought at most pet stores, do not substitute the brand it must be Rep-Cal)

Blend well and then turn off blender and add the following:

2 Teaspoons Rep-Cal Calcium Suppliment (non-phosphorus)

2 2 1/2oz cans of Gerber Chicken baby food

1/4 cup Wheat Germ

1/2 cup dry Gerber baby cerial (mixed or oatmeal)

Mix well and you will have a semi smelly diet for your sugar glider.  You can pour into a tupeware and freeze.  You will feed a tablespoon of the BML daily along with a tablespoon of fruit and a tablespoon of vegitables.  Another option when freezing is to pour into ice cube trays and you can feed one ice cube for two sugar gliders.  This makes measureing easier.  With this diet you will also have a dry pellet (do not use Briskeys with BML as both are a complete diet) and they get mealworms or crickets nightly.

The PML diet is much simpler then the BML diet.  However, the Wambaroo High Protien Supplement will most likely have to be ordered as it is not a common pet store item.

1 3/4 cup warmed water - not boiling

1 3/4 cup honey

2 boiled eggs - shelled

1 oz Wambaroo High Protein Supplement

Mix water and honey together and add to blender with eggs and blend for a minute. Add the WHPS and mix again for a minute. This can be placed in the freezer as well. PML (1 tablespoon) should be served with 1 tablespoon each of fresh fruits and vegetables, 1 tablespoon of insectivore fare per glider and a tiny portion of Neocalglucon per week.

When choosing a diet for your sugar glider you should find out what the breeder or previous owner was using and should consult your vet before swiching diets.  The most important thing to remember is consistancy in the diet.  Once you decide on a diet you should stay with that diet unless the sugar glider is not eating or has health issues.

 Sources of Protein:

• Boiled unsalted chicken
• Gut loaded crickets and/or meal worms
• Boiled shelled eggs

Vegetable and Fruits (here are a few fruits and vegetables that are good for your glider, if you variate them the sugar gliders will eat them better and remember to take out seeds and pits)

• corn
• peas
• spinach
• baked sweet potatoes
• carrots
• peaches
• grapes
• pears
• apples
• coconut
• blueberries
• kiwi
• mango
• melons