If you own a sugar glider, you may be wondering what not to feed them. The truth is that there are a number of things you should never feed your glider, so be sure to read the following guide to avoid making a mistake. Here is a list of the most common mistakes and healthy alternatives. After reading this guide, you’ll be better prepared to provide your glider with nutritious, safe food.
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Nuts
While sugar gliders can eat some fruits, it is important to limit the amount of different types of fruits and vegetables to avoid introducing a high fat content. Other treats that gliders enjoy are live insects such as crickets, mealworms and earthworms. While these insects are great treats, you should avoid feeding them raw sugar or any other type of substitute for sugar. You can also limit the amount of sugar your glider eats by providing them with calcium and D3 supplements.
Despite the fact that sugar gliders resemble flying squirrels, their internal anatomy is different. Because they cannot digest high-fat foods, they can choke. Furthermore, their esophagus is only the size of a pin head, making choking dangerous. In addition to this, they cannot digest fat-containing foods and resulting cloudiness in their eyes. Moreover, fatty deposits in the eyes can affect the health of the rest of their organs.
Artificial sweeteners
While most human beings don’t think twice about the effects of artificial sweeteners, sugar gliders aren’t the only creatures with a sweet tooth. Fruits, such as bananas, are bad for sugar gliders. Not only do the fruits contain sugar, but they are also dangerous to their health. In fact, sugar gliders aren’t allowed to eat bananas!
Sugar gliders are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal/insect material. In fact, about 40 to 50 percent of their diet consists of insects. They also consume plant material when insects aren’t available. But artificial sweeteners aren’t good for sugar gliders. Artificial sweeteners aren’t good for sugar gliders, and chocolate can lead to health issues.
Deep fried foods
Sugar gliders do not like fried food because they are high in calories and fats. Instead, try to feed your glider plain chicken or lean beef. Insects are the primary meat source for sugar gliders, but chicken and unseasoned beef are safe options as well. Deep-fried foods also contain oxalates, which are harmful to gliders and can impair calcium absorption.
Fresh fruits, vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs are common sugar glider foods. Other foods you can give them include cooked and de-boned meats. While you should avoid deep-fried foods, sugar gliders also enjoy live insects. For a balanced diet, try mixing a variety of fruits and vegetables into their daily diet. They need a variety of foods in order to stay healthy and well-fed. Deep-fried foods are particularly problematic because they are high in fat, sugar, and calories.
Processed foods
Unlike humans, sugar gliders are not vegetarians and can eat a variety of food types. Although they love fruits and vegetables, owners shouldn’t overfeed them, as this can lead to obesity and health problems. Instead, they should give them a variety of nutritious foods, ranging from whole grains to vegetable seeds. Here are some common examples of healthy food for sugar gliders.
Corn has aflatoxin, a mold found in corn. While corn isn’t a food for sugar gliders, it is often used in insect bedding. Crickets, which feed on corn, have high levels of aflatoxin, which can lethally affect gliders. You can prevent your sugar glider from contracting aflatoxins by purchasing crickets from farms that do not use corn bedding.
Fruit pits
Although sugar gliders are omnivores, their diets aren’t entirely predictable. They typically eat a mixture of plants and meat, and have an elongated caecum. Their diets include 75% gums, saps, and nectars, and they sometimes feed on bird eggs. However, their exact nutritional needs are unknown, and captive feeding programs must promote a naturalistic feeding approach.
The skin of raspberries and apple seeds should not be fed to your sugar glider. They also shouldn’t be given dried pineapple, as these contain enzymes that cause diarrhea. You can also give them plum flesh, but avoid fruit pits. Always remove the pit before serving plums to your glider. If your glider loves raspberries, leave the skin on them, as the seeds can be toxic.
Non-stick cookware
It’s important to avoid using non-stick cookware for feeding sugar gliders, as they tend to gnaw on the surface of it. Instead, use clean, hardwood shavings and non-toxic tree branches for a healthy and nutritious diet. Sugar gliders prefer a diet that contains more than 50% protein, and 50 percent fruit sugars and gums. You can also make your own insectivore/carnivore mix and feed the sugar gliders from it.
While the male and female sugar gliders have distinct features, the two species of these animals are similar. Each species has scent glands on its sternum and frontal area. Female gliders have paraclocal glands that release a whitish secretion when frightened. Sugar gliders’ tails are weakly prehensile, but the prehensile end can coil around to grasp leaves, and the tail is used as a rudder during gliding. They also have a mid-abdominal pouch, and each teat has four small openings. Female sugar gliders have large scrotums and apex pouches, and their adrenal glands are twice as big as those of male gliders.
