SUGAR GLIDER DIETS
This is probably the single most argued over subject when it comes to sugar glider care.  Everyone has their own idea of what seems “right” and is often times very adamant about proving their point.  I could say the same about myself and my own sugar glider diet that I have come up with.  The truth: do I want you to feed the healthiest diet possible to your sugar glider? YES!  But let me stress here that a good diet is not all your sugar glider needs!  If you are feeding a great diet, but have a small cage, no enrichment, no out of cage time, no bonding, no exercise, then your sugar glider will not live up to its full potential.  The reverse is true.  You may provide all those things, but if offering a “bad” diet, your sugar glider will have health issues as a result.

The best sugar glider diet also does no good if you are not able to make it for some reason.  This is one of the biggest reasons why I feel buying a sugar glider is NOT an impulse buy!  Before making this commitment of buying a sugar glider you need to make sure you can properly care for ALL of its needs.  My best advice is to research, research, research!

In choosing a sugar glider diet it is also important to use a diet they LIKE!  You can put the best diet around in front of your sugar gliders, and if they wont EAT it, what good does it do?  I also feel that with captive sugar gliders it is very important to offer a large variety of foods in the diet.  There are many reasons for this.  First and foremost is for the enjoyment of eating.  It is possible for animals to get bored with their food, as well as get so used to eating one food that when you do add something different, they refuse to eat it.  So offering variety is a great way to keep them interested in their diet.  Nutritionally, it is a good idea as well to make sure we are filling up as many “holes” in the diet as possible.  Bodies digest foods differently, and the nutrients in one food may be more easily digested than the same nutrients in another food, so offering a larger variety helps to insure that more nutritional needs are being met.  I also feel a wider variety in the sugar glider diet is important to give the glider room to self regulate their nutritional needs.  I do believe that animals usually know what they need, and if given only one food, how can they decide?

There are many “diets” out there written for sugar gliders.  When I first decided to get sugar gliders, I researched diets and care FIRST.  I was amazed at the different advice out there about sugar glider diets.  I wasn’t happy with any of them, so I decided that the best way to approach “my diet” was to see what everyone else was doing, research the information available about wild sugar glider diets, research nutrition and how nutrients work together, find ingredients readily available to me in my area, and foods they LIKE.  And most important, finding a diet they eat readily, eat all of it, and makes them look and act healthy.  If it seemed as though they were not looking as “chipper” as they should I would alter the diet slightly.  I kept detailed notes on what was changed and how they were effected over the next few months.  That is how I came up with my sugar glider diet.

When researching sugar glider diets, you will here “ratios” mentioned quite a bit.  Mammals typically need a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 2 to 1 for optimum bone health. Due to a sugar gliders small bones it is very important.  Many health issues in "captive" gliders have been linked to poor diets, and especially to low calcium or too high phosphorous which can inhibit calcium absorption. The ratio is the amount of calcium compared to the amount of phosphorous. One calcium "molecule" to one phosphorus molecule would be a 1:1 ratio. The sugar gliders really need a 2:1 ratio (2 calcium molecules to 1 phosphorus).  However, and there are a lot of however in this subject, a ratio of at least 1.5:1 to 2:1 is considered by most to be acceptable.  So don’t go crazy trying to stick to that exact number.  In the wild the sugar glider diet, like any animal, will fluctuate with the seasons, so higher one day and lower the next is ok.

I also feel that stressing ratios is an inaccurate way to wholly judge a sugar glider diet anyway.  While the ratio of calcium to phosphorous IS important, it can be misleading.  To explain:  Papaya is very popular as it has a 4:1 ratio, but in reality is low in calcium.  Figs have more calcium per ounce than a papaya even though the ratio is lower (about 2.5:1).  So it SEEMS that papaya is better for it has a higher ratio, but if looking for a higher AMOUNT of calcium, you would choose the fig.  So one can not diet by ratios alone!  It the struggle to provide a better ratio it is possible to end up feeding too much calcium in the diet, and that can have as many health issues as not enough.  Perhaps even worse as the issues with not enough can be solved by adding more, but if giving too much and the organs calcify, there is nothing to be done for them.

Calcium:phosphorous ratios are not the only important element in a sugar glider diet.  There is a ton of other nutrients to worry about.  There needs to be balance in vitamins and minerals, as well as providing fiber, protein, low fat, etc.  I feel it is best to stay away from as many “processed” foods as possible.  Restrict foods with added sugars, fillers, preservatives, food colorings and such.  I also like to stay away from added supplements, feeling it is safer and healthier to provide their nutrients naturally through the foods they eat.  I do add a small amount of supplements, but VERY small when in comparison to other sugar glider diets.  And while I do inform you of the ratio of my sugar glider diet,   so you know that need is met, the main focus of my diet is to copy the nutrition in a wild diet as closely as we can in the home as well as providing a yummy diet with lots of variety.  I have looked at all the main nutrients needed in a diet and tried to make sure that all are represented in amounts that seem reasonable.  

About sugar in the sugar glider diet:  like the name suggests, they do love sugar!  However, too much is not good for them.  Being omnivores, they’re opportunists and in the wild will probably eat anything they can get their little hands on.  For too long sugar gliders have been referred to as “sap suckers” when really they are not.  They are sap eaters.  In the wild they will bite and tear at tree bark, wounding it, to get at sap and bugs.  They also eat sap that has dried onto wounded trees, have you ever touched dried sap?  It is quite chewy and sometimes even hard.  Sap, however, is far from sweet.  They will also eat nectar and pollen, insects, small birds, eggs found in a nest, and various fruits, seeds, and foliage they find.  So while they like sugar, keep the sweets to a minimum!  This brings us to the subject of honey in the sugar glider diet.  While I think honey has a place (it is after all, concentrated nectar!) I think some diets have way too much.  I do include it in my sugar glider diet, but again in much smaller amounts.  I also want to add that I feel it is important for the sugar glider to have texture and have some crunchy items thrown in there!

I want to add, at this point, a comparison of honey and maple syrup, which is concentrated tree sap.  THIS IS IMPORTANT! I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT “TABLE BLENDS” SUCH AS LOG CABIN AND AUNT JEMIMA!  I AM TALKING ABOUT 100% NATURAL MAPLE SYRUP!  I can not stress this enough!!!  Table blends are mostly corn syrup and are very unhealthy! Even humans shouldn’t eat them.  But natural maple syrup actually has nutrition to it! And is loaded with calcium and trace minerals.  And ounce for ounce has less sugar than honey, as well as different types of sugar.

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 calcium supplements as well.  HOWEVER, the syrup needs to be diluted, a lot!  40 parts water to 1 part syrup is about right, as it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.  To me this makes sense as the maple syrup is concentrated tree sap, and while it may not be the exact same species of tree, and so nutrients may be slightly different, it seems as though it has a valid place in the sugar glider diet. 

I also think that we do not add enough acacia gum to the sugar glider diet.  While the exact species of acacia they eat in the wild is different from the acacia gum powder we can provide, the amounts of carbohydrates and fiber should be comparable.  I also try to use pollen and honey from sources akin to their native lands when I can get it, including Australian bee pollen and Eucalyptus honey.

For a period of time I have followed the HPW diet plan.  I actually used the HPW Plus powder designed by Peggy B. I tried the HPW Complete, but my girls REFUSED to even try the Complete (even after a few days).  My girl gliders refused to regularly consume the diet so I found it necessary to try some alterations to it.  Each of these changes I asked Peggy if she thought it was ok before I tried them, and she agreed that it was worth trying a few.   I do NOT recommend altering the HPW diets in any way without asking Peggy about it first!   I fed the HPW plus for about 4 months, and they, for the most part, refused to eat it.  My boys however, loved it and florished on it, but the girls would not eat it.  I began to get concerned they were going too long with out the supplementation that a “staple” diet is supposed to provide, as they just plain refused to eat it. Even with the changes I made, they would eat it for one night, then refuse to eat it after a night or two.  Even when I mixed the HPW Plus with their beloved Bugs and Berries diet they would just pick out the bugs and leave everything else!  I figued 4 months was long enough to try.  It was time to either perfect my nectar or try another diet...back to the drawing board...

Addition of a "rotation" on fruits and veggies to try to control type 0f fruits and veggies fed: (to make it easier for hubby)

Some explanations about my diet:  I cut up fruit and veggies into about ½” to 1” cubes and for a dinner for 2 sugar gliders, they will get 2 pieces of each item in the list.  Exceptions:  green beans give 4 pieces about an inch long; black olives, I use the canned sliced black olives, low sodium if you can find it, and I give only 1 slice per glider.  I feed everything raw (fresh or frozen) except for butternut squash,  spaghetti squash, and sweet potato as my gliders will not eat it raw.  So for those I steam them, then mash and freeze into teaspoon portions and they will get one portion for 2 gliders.  Sometimes I will add a tablespoon of maple syrup to the spaghetti squash (a whole squash) to make it a bit yummier.  Figs: one “mission” fig (large size) either fresh or dried, half a fig for 2 gliders.  Cherries: one cherry for 2 gliders, cut in half.

I do currently use 2 types of pellets in my diet.  I alternate them every day, and do add a few things to them.  Both of the ones I use come from “Brisky” and they are the “Bugs and Berries Universal Insectivore Diet” and the “Brisky Sugar Glider Pellet Diet”.  To a one pound package of the bugs and berries I add ¼ cup dried spinach flakes (from Brisky as well), ¼ cup dried blueberries, and ¼ cup dried papaya (dehydrated myself-no additives or sulfur).  When the pellets (both types) are fed, I feed about a tablespoon for 2 gliders, and on top of that goes a teaspoon of my “Maple Water” (recipe to follow).  Every other day I feed a teaspoon (for 2 gliders) of my Nectar mix as well (recipe to follow).  My diet is easier to follow if you get an ice cube tray that makes those mini cubes about a teaspoon size.

Treats that I regularly use:  every morning I feed about 3 crickets and a couple mealworms.  Twice a week I will hide about 2-3 pieces per glider of Dick Van Pattens natural balance cat food in the cages for fun.  Once or twice a week they may get a sunflower seed (only one) or sliver of almond, or even a tiny bite of cheese or tiny bite of pasta, or a cheerio. A couple times a week, well...ok every day, they will also get 1/8 piece of one of my sugar glider cookie treats (these are a favorite!).  As my sugar gliders have full access to exercise wheels and come out of the cage every day for an hour or more for exercise I do not feel so bad giving them and extra treat or two.  

While my diet seems too complicated for some, after awhile it just becomes routine and isn’t difficult at all.  To make it easier for my hubby and myself, I made up 2 charts, a “DAILY ROTATION” and a “RATIO GROUP” chart to help us.  I feed a variety of fruits and veggies on a four day rotation, just to make sure we don’t keep repeating the same things every day.  We took a calendar and wrote 1,2,3,4,1,2, etc on each day so we can see at a glance what “day rotation” we are on.  If we mess a day up, we don’t panic, as the days are pretty well balanced.  If we are out of a certain food for any given day, I made up a chart of fruits and veggies grouped according to ratios, and any item we are out of, we will substitute an item from the same “group” or higher group to keep the ratios close to optimum.  (to illustrate: if on day one you are out of “watercress” you can substitute an item from group 3 or group 4 since they have the same or better ratios).  Do not get the RATIO GROUPS and the DAY ROTATIONS mixed up!
Ratios given are for the fruit and veggie part of the meal that day.

DAILY ROTATION:

DAY 1   ratio 1.5:1
Green beans
cherimoya
cantaloupe
papaya
Watercress-2 sprigs
“acacia candy”

"Glider Chicken Stew"

Bugs and berries diet

DAY 2   ratio 1.5:1
broccoli
carrots
mango
persimmon
Prickly pear
Black olives
Brisky diet
JM’s Nectar mix

DAY 3   ratio 1.75:1
watermelon
figs
papaya
Raspberries-2 each glider
Spaghetti squash
“Glider Chicken Stew”
Bugs and berries diet

Day 4   ratio 1.25:1  (shown in a photo at bottom of page)
carrots
cherries
Prickly pear
Sweet potato
Butternut squash
Brisky diet
JM’s Nectar mix

At times certain foods may not be available, and sometimes I like to just offer something different, such as dandelion greens or a piece of pineapple, and the ratio group chart (shown below) helps me to make substitutions once in a while, but keep the diet balanced.  Even though going by ratios alone isn’t optimum, I feel it keeps it close for a quick change once in awhile.

MY SUGAR GLIDER DIET RECIPES
I already gave you the “bugs and berries additive recipe” earlier.  But here I will give you the rest of the recipes I use in my Sugar Glider Diet.  As stated earlier I use only Australian bee pollen, eucalyptus honey, natural maple syrup, and bottled water.  I do not use tap water.  On some of my recipes, a true ratio couldn’t be done as not all the ingredients nutrient lists are available to me, so all recipes actually have a higher ratio than what is stated.


MAPLE WATER
Water *    2 cups
Syrup *    2 tablespoon

Mix thoroughly, pour into trays sized about teaspoon each. Makes about 50 to 60 servings.  One serving for 2 gliders.  Calcium amount is about .8 mg per serving.
If you want to make it even better for them, add one or two tablespoons of acacia powder.  NOTE:  put the acacia powder into a bowl and whisk the water into it, do not add powder to water as it will clump up!


JILL MARIE’S GLIDER NECTAR
Water  *    1 cup
Honey  *    ¼ cup
REAL Maple syrup *    ¼ cup
Milk thistle extract  *    1/8 teaspoon
Mix wet ingredients thoroughly
In separate bowl mix dry ingredients thoroughly

Flax seed *    1 teaspoon
Booster milk (glider - from Suz‘ site)    2 teaspoon
Glider aide powder     ½ teaspoon
Pollen pellets *    3-4 Tablespoons
Acacia powder    3 tablespoon
Cinnamon *    ½ teaspoon
“Green magma” barley grass powder*    1/2 teaspoon
baby cereal MIXED GRAIN  4 Tablespoons

NOTE: when mixing the 2 bowls together, add the wet into the dry (NOT the dry into the wet!), whisk with wire whisk as you are adding.  Once mixed thoroughly, cover and put into the fridge overnight.  Then mix again and pour into ice cube trays, that are about 1 teaspoon each, makes about 48 portions.  One portion is for 2 gliders.
RATIO:  (on foods marked with * only) 1.6:1


ACACIA CANDY
No measurements here.  I take a few crickets, or leftover heads and legs from the cricket jar. Add a tablespoon or two of acacia powder.  Add just enough water to make a sticky paste, then add some agave nectar or honey to sweeten a bit.  I then freeze in very small dollops (like the size of a dime).  It is easier to remove from the tray if you use parchment paper or grease the tray as the acacia is VERY sticky


SUGAR GLIDER CHICKEN STEW
Boil chicken in water till water boils out, then add water and boil again.  Leave bones and skin in till the second boil-down, then remove all skin and fats.  Remove chicken from bone, but leave bone in the water and boil down at least 2 more times, till the water is opaque and yellow-beige.

Remove bone and chop chicken up.  Add rest of ingredients.  You may chop everything into small bits, but I recommend putting everything into a blender so they cannot pick out the yummy bits.  Blend until smooth.  Then freeze in small ice cube trays that make about  a teaspoon size portion.  Makes about 48 servings.  
1 portion for 2 gliders.

RATIO:  1.35:1

Chicken thighs with bones and skin    1 lb
REAL maple syrup    ¼ cup
Acacia powder    2 tablespoon
Bone meal (calcifood brand)    1 1/2 tablespoon
Booster milk  1 Tablespoon
Bee pollen 1 Tablespoon

My sugar gliders love stew night!

Most nights they eat everything.  I have found that some nights they wont touch one veggie, but the next time it is fed they gobble it up.  One reason why I think variety I good, and don’t panic if they don’t eat something.

By the way…SORRY! But I will not share my cookie recipe, that is a secret!


©Jill Marie Chambers july 18th 2010 from previously handwritten material from june 2010 and from the past year of research and observation from my own sugar gliders.