why wold you feed a baby cheetohs? The rule in our house, and I really think its a good one. If you wouldn't feed it to your nine month old baby don't feed it to the gliders. (honey being the only real exception to that rule.) We also have a rule that says if you don't know what it is or can't spell it don't feed it to anything. That goes for all our animals and almost all the humans. My hubby still likes is junk food.

quote:

---

Originally posted by NayluBaby

why wold you feed a baby cheetohs? The rule in our house, and I really think its a good one. If you wouldn't feed it to your nine month old baby don't feed it to the gliders. (honey being the only real exception to that rule.) We also have a rule that says if you don't know what it is or can't spell it don't feed it to anything. That goes for all our animals and almost all the humans. My hubby still likes is junk food.

---

That's what Tarzan and Jane were given regularly. Hopefully I'll have a successful before and after shot of them, although it won't be quite as dramatic as some of these stories.

I like your rules by the way

BUMP for new members

I ought to post pictures of my orange babies and how pretty snow white they are today. Perhaps when I get on the personal laptop...and not on the work laptop...on GG like I'm not 'sposed to be! Whoops...

quote:

---

Originally posted by DoubleBogey

I ought to post pictures of my orange babies and how pretty snow white they are today. Perhaps when I get on the personal laptop...and not on the work laptop...on GG like I'm not 'sposed to be! Whoops...

---

Im so glad mine arent orange anymore too :) Makes you feel so accomplished

ok so im a new owner of a sugar glider, i have had her 1 day today.. the old owner told me to feed her this nag of pellets with dried fruit in them and apples or grapes for treats and she had been giving her yogurt drops at night.. is this a bad diet? i really want her healthy.

its not a good diet. You can look up top under the nutrtion tab and choose a good diet that works for you.

here is the link
Error, missing URL. /

Cleo was fed pellets and apples for the first 8 months of her life until we got her. Today was her first vet visit. Here are the problems the pellets caused:

- Inability to digest "natural" foods, like blueberries, green beans, etc. On BML this should clear up within a few months. However, this is contributing to a belly ache and a bad temper, making bonding more difficult than need be.
- Pre-stages of HLP (lucky we got her young)
- Weak muscles from not enough protein in her diet
- Brown fur from pellets
- Coarse fur again, from pellets

Here is a picture of the day we got her. She doesn't look too bad, but you can see that her fur is brown and how she curls her hind legs under because of low muscle tone and pre-stages of HLP. Poor dear didn't even know what to do with a meal worm!

She's such a pretty girl! So glad you got her and she's on the road to a much better life!

Oh boy...I can't wait to post pics of my fosters. They are the poster children of why NOT to feed pellets.

The male is only 52 grams (he is 4,) stained a brownish-yellowish color, and is very weak and inactive.

The female (also 4) has little to no teeth which leaves her tongue hanging out all the time. She is also stained a brownish-yellowish color and has to fed soft or blended foods.

The vet they were seen by said their condition is a direct result of a pellet diet.

quote:

---

Originally posted by BlackDrappa

Oh boy...I can't wait to post pics of my fosters. They are the poster children of why NOT to feed pellets.

The male is only 52 grams (he is 4,) stained a brownish-yellowish color, and is very weak and inactive.

The female (also 4) has little to no teeth which leaves her tongue hanging out all the time. She is also stained a brownish-yellowish color and has to fed soft or blended foods.

The vet they were seen by said their condition is a direct result of a pellet diet.

---

The only reason people continue to feed pellets is that they aren't visiting the vet. Any vet in his right mind (and not in PPP's pocket) will tell you pellets are a death warrant.

Hope your fosters get healthy again. It's so sad to see innocent creatures abused, and if anyone says feeding pellets isn't abuse, they need to see your pictures!

My boyfriend and I rescued Rocky over a month ago he was being fed pellets, a slice of apple, and meal worms now and then. His fur was cracked terribly, his nails do long he got caught up in everything, in his cage he only had an old pellet food can with ripped up newspaper, no toys no pouch NOTHING. The first night we got him he got an upgrade to a mansion cage compared to what he was in, HPW with fruits and veggies and mealies, pouches and toys. He wa overwhelmed at first but happy as could be. The yellowing of his belly is lighter and improving, his huge bald spot with scab is gone, his coat is showing great improvement and only getting better and better each day! He is still very hard to handle and not bonded. We plan on getting him a cage mate after Christmas, hopeing that will help along the bonding process! Oh and his tail was so very skinny and it is fluffier however we think he may have a problem controlling it as the man we got him from told us they would hold him by his tail to keep him from running away...MADE ME CRY. We love our Rocky and will not stop working with him untill he has made a COMPLETE recovery!

quote:

---

Originally posted by b.m.k

Cleo was fed pellets and apples for the first 8 months of her life until we got her. Today was her first vet visit. Here are the problems the pellets caused:

- Inability to digest "natural" foods, like blueberries, green beans, etc. On BML this should clear up within a few months. However, this is contributing to a belly ache and a bad temper, making bonding more difficult than need be.
- Pre-stages of HLP (lucky we got her young)
- Weak muscles from not enough protein in her diet
- Brown fur from pellets
- Coarse fur again, from pellets

Here is a picture of the day we got her. She doesn't look too bad, but you can see that her fur is brown and how she curls her hind legs under because of low muscle tone and pre-stages of HLP. Poor dear didn't even know what to do with a meal worm!

---

Just an update and some hope for anyone who rescues a glider with the same damage done to Cleo. She's been on BML a month and now has the strength and nutrition to jump and climb, though while she's walking she still shows subtle HLP about 50% of the time and her run is rather hoppy. Her fur is much softer and her legs aren't as brown as they were, but her tail still is. She is digesting foods properly now and LOVES green beans. I can't feed her enough it seems. She also finally got up the courage to bite into a meal worm! And now she can't get enough of those either!

She doesn't bite as much as she did at first, and she will sometimes let me in to rub her belly. In a few days, she will be introduced to her two neutered brothers! I think diet has a major impact on bonding as well, as soon as she felt good, she was in a better mood and thus more inclined to trust me.

This is how any living creature should be treated. The first few months of her life were such a shame, I hope no one else decides that pellets, apples, and a lone glider are ok. Those people will have to square themselves away with God someday, that's all that gives me comfort.

Thanks for posting this my oldest female is adopted a month ago and her fur is like this. I wouldn't have known, the vet exam said clean health and recommended 75% pellet diet to 25% fruit and veggies. Is that wrong? She also said no worms or insects as it increases instances of aggression.

quote:

---

Originally posted by KuroNeko

---

OHhhhhh I can't watch all of this! You see it makes me all the more angry that we haven't stopped or controlled the availability of keeping these animals as pets!

In less then 20 seconds I have never wanted to cry more in my entire life other then when the sad commercials come on, on tv. How could someone do that to a poor helpless animal.

quote:

---

Originally posted by SnowShoez

Thanks for posting this my oldest female is adopted a month ago and her fur is like this. I wouldn't have known, the vet exam said clean health and recommended 75% pellet diet to 25% fruit and veggies. Is that wrong? She also said no worms or insects as it increases instances of aggression.

---

You need a new vet, if he is telling you to use the pellet diet he is probably just not wanting to admit he has NO IDEA hat these creatures are and hat they need. And meal worms are one of the best bonding tools ever. Its basically glider bait, how cool is that?

Thank you everyone, VERY MUCH for taking the time to post these pictures and information on diet. I have two adorable babies to take care of and i was given a lot of bad information from a breeder and vet. I can not tell you enough how greatly I am to all of you, I would have been way more than heartbroken to lose or hurt either one of my babies.

i also want to thank everyone for this info. ive had my two suggies for almost a year now and have been feeding them per pocket pets' advice. primarily pellets & apples w/ little variation. i will be switching them from pellets immediately. my question is on what diet to follow? it seems hpw, bml and pp are most popular. any advice on which diet i should switch to?

Winnie - they are all good diets, so it's really about picking a diet that works for you.

quote:

---

Originally posted by chewysmom

Thank you everyone, VERY MUCH for taking the time to post these pictures and information on diet. I have two adorable babies to take care of and i was given a lot of bad information from a breeder and vet. I can not tell you enough how greatly I am to all of you, I would have been way more than heartbroken to lose or hurt either one of my babies.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by winnieh80

i also want to thank everyone for this info. ive had my two suggies for almost a year now and have been feeding them per pocket pets' advice. primarily pellets & apples w/ little variation. i will be switching them from pellets immediately. my question is on what diet to follow? it seems hpw, bml and pp are most popular. any advice on which diet i should switch to?

---

I am very glad to hear that this page has helped you both. That is what it is here for.

Out of the diets you mentioned I feel like HPW is the most up to date but it has an inverse calcium to phosphorus ratio.

There are more recent up to date diets like LGRS, VGV, and then there are ways to fix HPW to make it have a good Ca:Ph ratio.
HPW with Fortified OJ
LGRS
VGV

You can read the gliderpedia page for more information about all the diets. http://www.sugarglider.com/gliderpedia/index.asp?Diet

Good Luck!

Chester looks great. Good job.

bump

bump for increase of new members

Thank you....wanted to show this to someone.

I recently got 2 sugar gliders added to my family and the female is really really fat. I dont know what they fed her but shes huge !

As a bump and contribution. I've seen a few people post recently about feeding pellets so I wanted to share little Alice's progress.


This is Alice about a week after I brought her home. She was on a diet of what I believe to be hedgehog pellets (looked like stringy trail mix), blueberries and broccoli. Her fur was already starting to look better at this point. (It's the flash on my camera that makes her look so white.)



These two pictures were taken last night during play time. About three weeks on BML with fresh fruite and veggies and a solid source of protein every night. The cracking in her fur has gotten substantially better, and her color has improved, no more yellow belly! Now if only she would let me clip more than two nails at a time before trying to eat my nail clippers.

YAY! She looks so much better already! Keep up the good work! Nail clipping tip- you can keep them distracted with treats when you clip nails. I know someone has a link to a nail clipping how to video on youtube somewhere and I'm hoping they will come along and post it... (hint hint).

My boys like to fuss a bit when I clip theirs, but I kind of put one in a pouch and reach for a hand/foot, pull it out, and clip away and keep doing so until I finish and go for another one. It they tire out from it I usually shirt them for 15 minutes and then try again.

Keep up the awesome work on the diet though! She looks so much better and probably is so much healthier and happier too!

i agree with toughcheese. when i first got my babies, the folks that were helping me gave me a pouch to clip nails in. it's doubly thicker than normal (in case someone decides to bite) and a little smaller, so you can get their little legs one at a time.