BYK_Chainsaw
the OHPW is WOMBAROO POWDER FROM AUSTRALIA, raw honey, egg, bee pollen. it has all the calcium needed already per experts at glidercentral.net http://www.thepamperedglider.com/supplements.htm

Leela
YW :) I would definately toss out the current batch and make a new one with out any added calcium before their next feeding. There is no need to change diets the one you are using is good if you follow the recipe exactly. I've only seen a couple people on here from S.A. snd I don't think they are very active on here most ask the same sort of questions you are. You may find more S.A folks on facebook and the glider groups there

Axlbabyglider
Thank you so much for all the advice, i really appreciate it! Would you suggest throwing away my previous mixture and making a new one as i have already added a teaspoon of calcium powder to it? I will definitely consider the bml diet if its possible here. Its just so difficult as sugar gliders aren't a common household pet in South Africa like they are over seas so its really difficult to find places that cater for their specific needs so thats the reason i am using the original HPW diet as its readily available. Im hoping over time that will all change here and sugar glider items will be readily available :) I haven't come across anyone on this site that is from South Africa sadly :(

Leela
sorry if it's hard to read journal replies do not allow paragraphs to break up the text...

Leela
ok thank you for specifying. If you are following the hpw recipe... HPW Recipe 2 cups warm water 1 1/2 cups treated honey 3 scrambled eggs 1/4 cup HPW powder (without bee pollen, and double the amount for nursing females) 1 tablespoon Australian bee pollen The HPW diet has a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 1.29:1 and doesn't require any added calcium. That ratio will fluctuate because the fruit and veg you feed have their own ratio that is not calculated in the hpw ratio. For this reason giving them an additional Tablespoon of calcium is drastically increasing their calcium intake . To hopefully put it in an even better perspective for you the bml diet only uses 1 TEASPOON of calcium for a months worth of that staple The ratio for bml is about 4:1 before adding the fruit and veg which are higher in phos than calcium so it evens out the 4:1 ratio to a more balanced ratio of 2:1. In comparison your diet doesn't have calcium in it's ingredient list at all because the other ingredients provide the necessary calcium and the fruit and veg used are probably higher in calcium than phos to even out the 1.29:1 ratio to closer to the 2:1 ratio kind of the reverse way that bml works. The critter love origional hpw is the same recipe as I posted above, Peggy the creator of critter developed "Salads" to be fed with her hpw recipes that have the calcium to phos ratio calculated in to take the guess work out of the ratio and balance it out. Even if you don't buy the hpw ingredients from her you can still use her salad recipes they are on her critter love website. The other issue with adding calcium to diets is the amount of calcium per teaspoon is different depending on brand of calcium and type of calcium used. With out understanding the differences and levels and body absorption etc... basically if your not a nutritionist it's almost impossible to determine how much to add. Diet creators for gliders work with labs and nutritionists to develop their recipes. So while Bml uses repcal calcium in that diet it doesn't mean it works in another diet like tpg or hpw. Each diet uses a calcium or ingredient that provides the right calcium level that works with that specific diet. One of the problems of to much calcium is it causes Hypercalcemia and a host of other medical problems, which is why most people in the glider community do not suggest sprinkling or adding calcium to established diets. If it isn't in the ingredient list do not add it. I hope this helps you understand it a bit better

Axlbabyglider
It's the original HPW diet with bee pollen and I order it from a website called sugar glider Diaries in South Africa

Leela
after reading your past journal posts I see your in s.africa so I'm going to take a guess (based on location and availability) that your using exotic nutrition hpw? If so it would be wise to look into other diets and see if they are a possibility for you. Exotic nutrition food and snacks are crap. When using a GOOD diet you don't need to add calcium because it's already in the diet and calculated by the diet creator.

Leela
which hpw are you using? There is more than 1. To much calcium can be just as harmful as not enough calcium, nothing should be added to the water. They need straight water to promote healthy functions of internal organs.