NOTE: This is not meant to convince you what you should or should not feed your sugar glider! This is meant to give you a nudge to research on your own and make up your own decision on what diet to feed your sugar glider! ALWAYS CONSULT WITH A GLIDER EXPERIENCED VET BEFORE FEEDING ANY DIET!
Sugar glider diets are probably the single biggest subject that causes disagreements in the sugar glider community. A good diet is essential to sugar glider health, but just what would be considered a good sugar glider diet? We cant even get the “experts” to agree on a good diet for dogs and cats, how can we possibly get them to agree on a diet for an exotic pet such as a sugar glider?
I have joined 2 sugar glider forums, and even in a community where everyone agrees (mostly) on general care, the sugar glider diet thing can still get people heated up. The 2 forums I belong to are based in 2 different countries and even between the 2 countries there are major differences in the sugar glider diet area, with all other sugar glider care areas being generally the same.
So why all the differences? I really do not know. Perhaps there just isn’t enough research. Or maybe some people have had great success with one diet, but other people havent. Is it they did something different? Perhaps even the quality of ingredients can have an effect on a specific diet formula? Or is it just the gliders themselves? To illustrate: Many people advocate the raw meat diet for dogs (I do as well), but why o some dogs do well on a cheap “kibble” diet and others do not? Cats: again I advocate the raw diet, and while some cats develop all sorts of health problems on cheap kibble, others do well on it. Is it genetics? Why do some zoos feed a certain diet to their sugar gliders and they thrive, but home kept sugar gliders get fat or have health issues? Can it be the amount of space they have, the lack of exercise? Zoos in Australia do feed a type of BML diet, but they have reduced the amount of honey, added greens, and their sugar gliders have much larger residences than the average home-kept sugar glider. These are all the factors one has to think about when discussing sugar glider diets. You cant just say “the zoos do it so it works” there are other factors involved, including even genetics. The sugar gliders kept there are from the wild, not domestically bred or 15 years or more like ours are. That may make a difference as well. I currently have 4 glider, all fed the same diet, and yet there are differences in appearance.
I personally feed a rotating diet composed of a couple different things. Quite often when I mention it, I get told its a no-no. But when you feed the same thing over and over that is how toxins build up and deficiencies start. I am told that cats need to be fed the same food over and over (wrong in my opinion) and dogs should never to get table scraps (wrong again in my opinion) and that dogs should never get cat food. Yet I had a small dog live well past 15 and every vet who saw her thought she was the healthiest dog they had ever seen. Guess what she ate? Cat food and table scraps. Perhaps that diet worked for HER. Could sugar glider diets work the same? What works for one may not work for another?
Personally I feel it is better to feed something new and exciting every day. This keeps them from getting bored and they learn to eat different things. I feel feeding one thing all the time creates a picky eater. Anything different will be shunned. Nature goes along with this as animals learn what to eat from their parents and new foods are to be looked at with caution. I also feel giving them a wider choice of foods is good because it gives the animal a chance to self regulate their diet. Wild animals instinctively know what they need (something many domestic animals have lost) and our little sugar gliders are hopefully still in touch with their “wild sides”.
I also prefer to use as little supplements as possible. I would prefer them to get the nutrients they need naturally from the foods they eat. In the way of sugar gliders however, since it is so hard to copy a natural diet for them some supplements may be needed. I only approve of supplements made for mammals, birds or humans. I do not approve of using calcium supplements made for reptiles.
So what is the diet of a sugar glider in the wild? They eat tree saps and gums, pollen and nectar, insects, excretions from insects, various fruit or vegetation and even small birds or rodents they can catch. Since this diet is hard to copy at home, there are many diets that have come about trying to mimic the nutrients of a wild diet.
One of the most common is called BML (there are many diets out there, join a forum to learn about them). Honey is a large component of this diet. And while I feel honey has a spot in the sugar glider diet, I have read some research that shows a diet high in fructose sugars can lead to various health problems with the liver. Wild diets would actually contain very little honey. While sugar gliders do consume nectar in the wild, honey is not the same as nectar. Honey is a highly concentrated form of nectar much in the same way that NATURAL maple syrup is a highly concentrated form of tree sap. For this reason I think honey, and natural maple syrup, do have a place in the sugar glider diet but in much smaller quantities than is now commonly given. Since captive sugar gliders do not need to expend as much energy to survive by hunting and making nests and such, too much sugar in the diet can lead to a weight gain and the health problems that go with it. The concern with sugar has lead me to include less fruit and more vegetables in my sugar glider’s diet.
What about this calcium to phosphorous ratio I keep hearing about?
All mammals need a specific calcium to phosphorous ratio referred to as “ca:ph”)to properly be able to support good bone health. With an animal with such small thin bones, but requiring the strength to withstand impacts that result from gliding and landing, sugar glider diets need to be properly balanced in this area. Without the proper ca:ph ratio, they can suffer from many health problems, one which is referred to as HLP or hind leg paralysis. This disease can cripple and/or kill a sugar glider. Keep in mind as well that HLP can raise its ugly head even in a sugar glider on a good diet if there are other factors involved that may disrupt how the sugar glider utilizes its food. Bacterial problems, parasites, and genetics can all play a part in a sugar glider not getting the nutrients they need even if fed a “good” diet.
Ratios are not the only thing to worry about in a sugar glider diet. For example, papaya, has a great ratio. But if you were to feed only papaya, not only would you be missing out on all the nutrients needed to be healthy, but you would end up being deficient in calcium. While the RATIO is good, it is actually low in calcium. We need to be concerned with amounts, not just ratios. The ratio is only a guideline.
Ca:ph ratios are not the only thing to consider in the sugar glider diet. There are a host of other nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are essential to good health. And do not forget that all important protein either. Why else do you think they eat bugs? The need for protein is one reason why I like to include some nuts in the sugar glider diet. Here again you will find people almost screaming at you not to. But there are certain nutrients that sunflower seeds and almonds contain that are good to include in the diet. Here’s the key: MODERATION. Nuts and seeds are high in fats and phosphorous, so you need to limit the amount.
What to use if not honey?
Benefits to using NATURAL maple syrup instead of honey: maple syrup is low in fructose and higher in sucrose. Something to think about since it was fructose that was shown to be damaging to livers in higher concentrations as opposed to sucrose. In 100 grams of honey there is 82.4 grams of sugar whereas maple syrup has 59.5... so overall there is less sugar in the maple syrup. Maple syrup also has the added benefit of lots of calcium. So my idea was to cut back on the honey drastically, add a touch of maple syrup and be able to cut back on the supplements as well. I want to stress I am talking about NATURAL here and NOT log cabin or aunt jemima. And the syrup needs to be diluted, a lot! 40 parts water to 1 part syrup is about right.
What about those pelleted sugar glider diets we see? Again, I believe they may have a place in the sugar glider diet, but a small place. Perhaps as a side dish, or a snack. I do use a couple, but not the same one every night and not ever without an accompanying dish of fruits and vegetables.
What about yogurt and yogurt drops?
I feel yogurt drops are candy so I dont use them. There is no yogurt in a yogurt drop, just junk food really. So when you want to feed a treat, how about a nice bug or a piece of dried fruit? Or a snack made specifically with a sugar gliders tastes and health in mind? (like the ones found here). Tree gums are hard to find here, but acacia tree gum is available and I make it a point to find ways to add it to the sugar glider diet. It makes for a nice treat and enrichment activity as well. If you do decide to feed a yogurt, do so occasionally and only use those sweetened with sugar, NEVER with artificial sweeteners!
Now you will hear people say you cannot give your sugar gliders hard foods. That they are sap suckers. HORSEFEATHERS! First of all they do not suck sap. They bite and tear at the tree bark until the tree is “wounded” and “bleeds” sap. Then they lap it up. They have also been seen eating the sap from old wounds and that sap can be anywhere from chewy to quite hard. Plus we already mentioned they will eat small birds and rodents if they can. Who do you think picks out the bones? Some hard foods are good or their teeth and gums.
So….what do I feed my sugar gliders?
Heavy sigh….I hate to share what I feed them, as I do not want anyone to copy what I do, just in case it isn’t the right thing to do. You need to research and decide for yourself. But I will share a sugar glider recipe or two with you.
SUGAR GLIDER CANDY
I get freeze dried crickets but always seem to end up with all these legs and heads when I get to the bottom of the container. So I take acacia gum powder, mix it up with some water till it is nice and sticky. Add a tiny bit of agave nectar for a touch of sweetness, then add a generous sprinkle of cricket heads and legs. Mixed it all up and fill up holes on their branches. The remainder I put on a tray in tiny dollop sizes and stick in the freezer for later use. When I am ready to use the frozen ones, I just drop them in a small dish.
SUGAR GLIDER STEW
Take a whole chicken thigh. put the WHOLE thigh in water, cover, simmer till fully cooked. take out the skins, take the meat off the bone but leave the bones (and the meat) in the water. add carrots, broccoli, collard greens, spinach, sweet potatoes and continue to boil until most of the water is gone. add more water and continue to simmer and keep doing this until the cartilage falls off the bone and becomes very mushy. If you do this about 4 times you will get alot of the calcium and other nutrients out of the bones. remove the bones at this point. Then I continue to boil it so most of the water is gone (the water at this point should be a yellowish beigy color) then I put it in a blender with other ingredients and freeze in small portions. My gliders love stew night!
Here are some links to sugar glider diet information and I am always willing to answer emails asking for more help in this area, in fact I have a few reports that I am happy to forward to you, but cannot include on this site, so feel free to email me. Here are some links to get you started:
The English Forum diet info
Glider Central's diet info
Diet info by Rosemary Booth
