Hello My name is Melissa, I am a new sugar glider owner, I need some advice maybe some quick cheep recopies I can whip up for my new baby. I got her on the 18th as a Birthday Present to my self (today is my birthday) Thats besides the point cause this is about ZOEY not me. Since it is the end of the month I can not afford a whole lot of foods. I have given her scrambled eggs with sweet peas, some oranges apples and Grapes. ( I have corn but it is canned and am unsure if that is healthy or not ) I can go to the store today and pick up a few extra things that will hold me over till the 4th and just make one big batch of food for her and freeze it. I notice She LOVES sweet peas and Oranges although I recently read it is not healthy for her to eat Oranges every night so I need to find another fruit that she likes. I also read that I can give her Corn Flakes so I am going to crunch some of that up in her dish before I lay down for bed. My email address is staryskys23@gmail.com

I have that on at all times and will receive any messages right away on there. My email is the fastest way to contact me. Please any advice at all will be greatfull, I do not want to do something wrong and end up causing her to be unhealthy or to get sick. She has been very active running on her wheel its fun watching her run on her wheel she will come out and get a piece of food and go back inside and run on her wheel with the food in her mouth stop and eat some then run again the wheel goes to fast some times for her and she goes around with it.. it is so cute to watch. Also any advice on sugar gliders as play time or toys will be great as well.

Thanks
Melissa

Welcome, Melissa. You're right, it's not good for her to eat oranges every day. Get a bag of frozen blackberries or mixed berries; they're much healthier. Peas and corn are also not good except occasionally. The reason for this is that gliders need twice as much calcium as phosphorus in their diets; corn and peas are at the bottom end of the scale for that ratio. Much better vegetables are bok choy, cucumber and celery. Read this, it explains everything: http://files.meetup.com/768852/Ratios.pdf . There's also a list of fruits and vegetables in order of what's best to what's worst. There are recipes in the Resources: Nutrition tab above that have the ratios already figured out for you, so there's no guesswork.

Corn flakes are also bad for two reasons: they're made from corn, and they're dry. Gliders don't produce a lot of saliva, and they need juicy food. They also get a great deal of their water from what they eat.

You can get some plain or fruit-flavored yogurt -- no artificial sweeteners, though. That's good for protein and calcium as well. Use it as a "licky treat": put a little on your finger and offer it to her. She'll lick it off; be sure to get more before she's cleaned your finger, or she'll bite to try to get more. That's an instinct from biting a branch to get sap. This is a great bonding tool, as she'll associate your hands with good things to eat.

My main advice to you is to read! Read threads on diet, bonding, and behavior. Read old ones as well as the most recent; there's a lot of discussion going on all the time, and a wealth of information in some of the older threads. If you go back as far as a month, you'll find the answers to most of your questions, and to questions you haven't even thought of yet!

Welcome! And thank you for coming on here and as you said-doing what is right for Zoey. I understand about finances-I was just in a car accident and am without paychecks (until the lawsuit for reimbursement) so I have had to borrow money from my mom and cut back on suggie treats a bit. Fruits and veggies are going to be the most expensive part of her diet-and one of the most critical. Check up under resources and then nutrition. There is a diet/recipe calculator where you can make a diet and see it's nutritional content. You need as close to 2:1 Calcium:Phosphorous as possible. You can also do what I do and add a sprinkle of calcium supplement like RepCal (pink label-phosphorous free in the reptile department at your local pet store). It is somewhat expensive but lasts a long time!

For protien-keep feeding egg and perhaps yogurt and cooked chicken (without spices) in the meantime. However-try going to www.thepamperedglider.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3&zenid=h75vvg16e927sgl98s76brlhq3. It sells HPW mix and bee pollen sample packs for $1.75 which includes the shipping. Then all you need to add is egg, water, and honey. That is what I use and it is super cheap and high in protien, plus a big hit with my girls!

I am going to tell you something that is the truth and you might not want to hear (and I was the same way when I first got my girl) but here goes: SUGAR GLIDERS CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE BY THEMSELVES. THEY SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN AT THE VERY LEAST A PAIR OF 2. So once you have some money saved up get your little girl a friend. They can often be okay for a short period of time by themselves with lots of human companionship, but they do need a friend. Trust me-she will not love you any less and actually be a much happier glider!

Please feel feel free to ask as many questions as you want, and I am sure you will have them answered pretty quickly. This is an amazing website and source of information with a community that often feels like family!

Oh and we are going to demand one thing from you-PICTURES!

Thank you for all the info it's a great big help I have a few pics I am going to post that I took on the 20th... she was telling me a secret in one pic :D...

NOT GRAPES!!! they can kill gliders

Hi staryskys23, I am a new suggie owner myself and had no idea how much work owning sugar gliders entailed. Thankfully this forum has helped me out an enormous amount and I have learned what is right and wrong for your gliders. I feed mine HPW since it's a pretty basic recipe and you can make a big batch of it and freeze it to use every night. This is the HPW recipe that I use:

http://www.sweet-sugar-gliders.com/sugar-glider-hpw-diet-high-protein-wombaroo-recipe.html


There are several different types of veggie relish's and fruit "smoothies" that you can make but the best ones that I found are on this site from Dahlia. Go down the page until you find Dahlia_2020, she came up with great recipe's and it makes it easier for you since you don't have to figure out any of the ratio's, just follow the recipe's!

http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/publicrecipes.asp

I have had my boys for about a month and a half now and trust me, the amount of research I have done is absolutely ridiculous!!! You have come to the right place though, everything you'll find on here is better than pretty much any other site. Stick with sugarglider.com and feel free to ask questions. The experienced members on here are more than happy to help and they really give great advice!

Hold up, since when can grapes kill gliders???

There is debate about grapes.
I have yet to see any proof that they do kill gliders, but on the same hand there has been proof of grapes being harmful in other animals (such as dogs).

Many feed grapes often without problem,
others refuse to feed them at all.

I do think that the statement of "grapes kill gliders!" as being harsh, not completely true, and needing reasoning. Without reasoning, it just puts a fear in glider owners minds, which is not something any of us need. Anyway, when making a statement like that, lets try to add in reasons as to WHY.

Anyway. Basically, you need to do your research and decide if YOU feel grapes are safe. Some will tell you yes, others will say no. I, personally, don't feed grapes.

I've been feeding grapes for four years with no ill effects. They're good in the calcium-phosphorus ratio, 1.44:1; and they're low oxalate.

I think many can agree on this: feed grapes in moderation. There hasn't been much proof in them hurting gliders, but they can kill dogs. But my girls love them. So I feed them maybe once a week as a treat. Anything fed to much isn't good for them, and variation keeps them interested in food!

my girls don't eat much of grapes,except we did notice they really scarfed down some big black globe ones,they really loved those.now,they are not in season anymore,the ones I've bought taste different,so,i guess i will need to wait until late next summer to get them again. there are many ppl who do feed them,& have for yrs. as long as it isn't a proven fact that this will happen w/gliders,having it as a treat would be ok. jmo
josefine