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Sugar gliders are both insectivorous and omnivorous. This means that they can feed on vegetables, insects, and meat, but not all foods are suitable for them to eat.
These animals are so named because of their preference for sweet foods, as they love drinking tree sap and sweet nectar in the wild.
Here are ten healthy and cheap sugar glider foods to try.
Top 10 Best Sugar Glider Foods and Diet
Are you on the quest to buy the best sugar glider food and diet? We understand that it is a challenge for most people because of the many brands currently available on the market.
But, you need not fear as we are presenting to you the top 10 best sugar glider foods and diet for sale now.
Take a quick look and choose the best calcium rich foods for sugar gliders.
Mazuri Insectivore Diet
This best sugar glider food capitalizes on the insectivorous feeding nature of this phalanger Volant.
As earlier stated, sugar gliders are insectivorous in nature and it is alright for them to eat insects frequently. But, make sure that the insects you are feeding them with are not too fatty to avoid obesity.
Plus, obesity in sugar gliders makes them more prone to illnesses.
This insect based diet is created to be complete and well-balanced for insect-eating animals, and it doesn’t require supplementation.
This is great for your pet’s health as it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and highly fortified. In addition, it also contains high fibers, which helps stimulate the chitin element in your pet’s diet.
Vitakraft Sugar Glider Food
This Vitakraft pet food is specifically formulated for a sugar glider’s diet and food, which contains a mix of carrots, parsley, a bit of honey, 5 various fruit juices, and freeze-fried meal worms.
Apart from those mixes, this VitaSmart food mix also contains a special ingredient to make it tastier for your pet to eat, while also providing it with a healthy diet.
Want to know the best part?
It contains omega-3 fatty acids that improves heart function, health development, brain enhancement and good vision.V
Exotic Nutrition High Protein Sugar Glider Food
If you are looking for a treat or other alternative healthy diet for your sugar glider, the Glider Complete would be your top bet.
This pack comes with complete nutritional diet that contains quality protein pellets, which as 8 varieties of pure fruit chunks like honey, bee pollen, apples, blueberries, peaches, apricots, golden raisins, papaya, honey, and papaya.
Additionally, this fruity treat for sugar gliders is all natural and does not contain preservatives. Mineral and vitamins is also added, which makes it a healthier treat for sugar gliders.
Exotic Nutrition Instant HPW Food
This sugar glider diet HPW is unlike any other cheap sugar glider food. It is a food packed in a powdered form where you’ll mix it in with water.
So, rather than feeding your buddy solid food, you’ll be feeding it with a specially mixed liquid. Not only is it very simple to prepare, but you also get to have a good diet food and diet plan at an affordable price.
Plus, the pack contains healthy ingredients such as 3 fatty acids and omega 6, eggs, flax seed oil, honey, bee pollen, and a ZooPro high-protein supplement.
Suncoast Sugar Gliders Fruity Flavor Food
If what you are looking for is a cooked, packed food for your little glider, then Happy Glider is what you are searching for.
Each pack contains a cooked diet for sugar gliders that contains minerals, vitamins, a mix of toasted grains, and plenty protein sources.
It also comes with whole grain formula with fruity flavor coating, which your pet would definitely love. Aside this, the Suncoast Sugar Gliders are one of the safest and made of high-quality products for your pet’s overall health.
Exotic Nutrition Fruit and Veggie Food
This is #6 on our best sugar glider foods review.
This jar of sugar glider food is packed and ready to be fed to your pet. In fact, each jar contains acacia gum, fruits, vegetables, bee pollen, eggs, and more.
It is also very nutritional and has a real vanilla bean flavor to excite your pet’s taste buds.
Once the jar is opened, ensure you refrigerate the rest to prolong its storage life. Plus, your little glider will love the veggies and fruits that are mixed with pure vanilla flavour.
It would also help support healthy bones and strong muscles with its natural protein. Just simply scoop and serve to your sugar glider.
Exotic Nutrition Insectivore-Fare
This is yet another cheap sugar glider food.
Petauro dello zucchero have a thing for vanilla bean flavouring, and this pack has that flavor. Plus, this pack contains 6 fatty acids and omega 3, bee pollen, eggs, honey, wombaroo high-protein supplements, and flaxseed oil.
This is one of the most used diet plans for a sugar gluder, as it offers an enriched diet plan with a high-protein diet.
You can immediately feed this calcium rich foods for sugar glider with no stress or you can mix this with a bit of Instant-HPW, but don’t put too much powder to avoid obesity.
Exotic Nutrition Berries and Bugs
Sugar gliders also love eating fruits like how they love eating treats and sweet foods. Each pack of this sugar glider diet food contains ingredients such as omega 3 fatty acids, bee pollen, honey, omega 6, wombaroo high-protein supplement, flax seed oil, and eggs.
It also has the vanilla bean flavor that your glider would love.
You can either leave it in its powder form that could last for one year or store it for up to six months.
Exotic Nutrition Yogurt Drops
Exotic nutrition sugar glider food is more of a treat than a planned diet.
This pack of mini yogurts drops is shaped conveniently for your oet to hold and enjoy. In addition, it is packaged in a resealable pack with a tamper-proof seal that keeps your pet’s treat always fresh.
However before you offer your glider treats, ensure it has previously consumed a nutritious meal before eating treats.
We recommend that you feed your pet no more than a couple of drops every other day, this way you can keep your pet in a healthy weight.
Exotic Nutrition Assorted Treats
Sitting on #10 of our best sugar glider food review is the Exotic nutrition assorted treats.
Is your oet getting bored of the same treat for the last few days? If yes, then you might like the idea of getting this assorted healthy treats pack made for sugar gliders.
Not only will your pet love its treats, but it gets to consume a variety of treats every other day.
This assorted treat packs a delicious mix of coconut/yogurt drops (this depends on the climate), pineapples, island blend, and papaya.
The treat can lend a monotonous or variety of diet and can add a behavioral enrichment. The treats are purely made from fruits to ensure your pet’s overall health.
The treats and food above are indeed the best lists that you can feed to your pet. Each food product has their own healthy features that can perfectly fit your glider’s diet plan, just select the product that you like and feed it to your pet depending on its required a diet.
Other FAQ
What about the Ledbetter Diet & Other Homemade?
It sounds great in theory but is in fact unlikely to be consistently repeatable, which undoubtedly can lead to one or more of these problems.
In fact, most gliders who have problems are a result of a homemade diet.
- Over calcification
- glider obesity
- too much protein
Should I Feed My Sugar Glider Meal Worms?
Yes, but in little quantity as insects contain 80-90% fat and there is very little chance for diet consisting primarily of meal worms to deliver enough nutritional content.
I’ve heard bad things about Pellets…Are they true?
Yes, pellets are the best right now. They’re consistent & are going to provide the best opportunity for an easily repeatable balanced diet.
I have a Stinky Glider – What should I do?
A smelly glider is a tell tale sign that you might be feeding foods too rich in protein. A good and balanced diet should leave a glider with very little noticeable smell. Don’t worry – after creating more balance in the diet the smell will go away :-).
What about Dental Problems?
Sugar Gliders are NOT rodents – and they only get one set of teeth… Cold extruded pellets provide a texture that allows sugar gliders to effortlessly clean their teeth, which is extremely helpful in providing dental maintenance.
What is the Ideal Sugar Glider Diet?
- 75% Pellets
- 20% Fruits and Veggies
- 5% Treats
Should I give my Sugar Glider Calcium Vitamins?
The best delivery method of delivery is 2 – 3x per week by sprinkling the powder over the food, or putting it on the fruits & veggies.
Powder on the food is preferred to the liquid variety, or the type that goes in the water bottle because it does not break down as quickly.
What about Fruit Portion Control?
Since every tooth in a glider’s mouth is a sweet one the best way to limit their sugar intake is to control the portion size.
- equivalent weight with peas or carrots
- equivalent weight with peaches & clementines
- 1/8 Average Apple Per glider per day
- for longer term option, perhaps a weekend away – use large portion of sweet potato
How should I introduce a Food or Diet Change **** VERY IMPORTANT
IF YOU get a Sugar Glider and you’re thinking about changing the diet – THINK VERY CAREFULLY. It is a process that takes over a month.
- Week 1 = 75% Old Food – 25% New Food
- Weeks 2 & 3 = 50% Old Food – 50% New Food
- Week 4 = 25% Old Food – 75% New Food
- Week 5 -> = 100% New Food
Can Sugar gliders eat egg?
Yes! Eggs are completely safe for your pet to have. However, other diary products might not.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Turkey
Yes! Sugar gliders can eat 1 teaspoon of cooked, lean, unseasoned poultry or beef as an occasional treat.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Baby Food
Yes. Sugar glider Babies also love baby food such as veggies, chicken, and fruit
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Fish
Fish is not contained in the natural sugar glider diet. However, as part of a captive diet, many keepers will offer a fish product in their variety rotation.
Fish, shell fish and other water-dwelling critters are a great source of lean protein.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Tuna
Tuna’s a great protein source, but you shouldn’t feed it from a can. They sell tuna in a pouch now, it tastes much fresher and is better for them. As a rule of thumb never feed gliders food from cans, as it generally has more sodium, sugar and preservatives.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Lemons
You can feed them lemon peel.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Scrambled Eggs?
Naturally sugar gliders in the wild would eat bird eggs when insects are scarce. So, only give cooked eggs, be it hard boiled or scrambled with no oil.
What Can Sugar Gliders Eat List?
Food & Diet
- Fruits & Vegetables. Fruits and vegetables you could feed your sugar glider are sweet corn, figs, grapes, grapefruit, mangoes, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapples, apples, avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, carrots, , sweet potatoes, and many others.
- Treats
- Supplements
- Water
- Protein Foods
- Dry Cat Food or Dog Food
What Can Sugar Gliders Not Eat?
Meat and dairy products are what Sugar gliders should not eat.
While some gliders may be able to tolerate small amounts of flavored yogurt, they are generally lactose intolerant and cannot consume dairy products such as ice cream and cheese.
Wild sugar gliders do eat insects for protein, but captive sugar gliders should not be allowed to eat insects around the house.
How Much Does A Sugar Glider Eat In One Day?
A blend of food items have been recommended to mimic their natural diet and aid them in succeeding in captivity.
They have low protein (nitrogen) requirements and only need 100 mg of protein per day. They have very low caloric requirements the average adult glider requires only 20 to 25 calories per day.
Can Sugar Glider Eat Rice?
Since sugar gliders can eat corn which is stretchy in nature. I believe they can eat rice.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Bananas?
Yes, they can eat bananas. Other favorites include: blueberries, raspberries and cherries, oranges, papayas, tangerines, pineapples, mango, cantaloupe kiwi, peaches, strawberries, that have been pitted.
If you peel a fruit before you eat it, then peel it for your sugar glider.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Bread?
Yes, they do. You can occasionally give them small pieces of wheat bread, shredded wheat squares (the kind with the raisin in the middle) or other HEALTHY cereals.
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Do Sugar Gliders Like To Be Held?
Sugar gliders are playful, little curious animals that generally love to hang out with both their their human caretakers and cage-mates. Given their natural affinity for pouches, they generally love to curl up in a in a fabric pouch or shirt pocket.
Can Sugar Gliders Have Peanut Butter?
While peanuts and other foods in the “nut” family may not necessarily be harmful to your Sugar Bear, they DO contain a VERY high fat content.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Popcorn?
Mine are particularly fond of this treat. Popcorn hulls (the brown parts) aren’t good for animals. The white fluffy part is ok, but don’t feed any of the brown parts.
Why is My Sugar Glider Shaking?
Shakiness or Trembling right after waking up from sleep is normal for a glider. But if it continues after a few moments, especially the back legs and the glider has weak limbs, it could mean a calcium deficiency problem. Treatment: Calcium supplement has to be given if it is the early stages.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Raisins?
The subject of whether to feed your pet grapes and raisins is a widely debated issue but there is no real reason to believe that they can harm your sugar glider sugar bears when fed occasionally.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Honey?
Straight honey is a little strong. You should dilute it a bit, and then feed it as a very occasional treat. By itself, honey won’t provide much of the nutritional needs little gliders need. But an occasional diluted treat is fine. As someone else said, honey is used in many diet plans used with captive gliders.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Greek yogurt?
Yes! Only if it is plain. In fact, Chocolate and dairy products (excluding plain Greek yogurt) should not be fed to your pet sugar glider.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Sunflower Seeds?
Yes. Although they love to eat sunflower seeds and nuts, these should only be offered as occasional treats.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Hamster Food?
Yes, they can. Sugar glider can also eat scrambled eggs, pinky mice, cat food, ferret food, yogurt, crickets, and mealworms.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Cucumber?
Absolutely! It’s a good source of water, potassium, and carbohydrates. And, it is totally safe for your sugar glider to consume.
Do Sugar Gliders smell?
Naturally, no. They are clean animals but when overdosed with vitamins or certain proteins, they will emanate more odor.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Coconut?
Coconut can help with weight loss (and goodness knows some sugar gliders could benefit here)… because it has a low glycemic index.
Can Sugar Gliders Have Coconut Oil?
Coconut oil can be useful for soothing minor skin irritations in your pet sugar glider.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Cottage Cheese?
Dairy products are bad for them. So, I cannot recommend feeding cottage cheese either.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Guava?
It won’t hurt to feed it when it isn’t completely ripe, but your gliders may not like it as well.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Prickly Pear/Cactus Fruit?
Yes, they can eat it. To serve, remove the skin and cut this yummy fruit into glider-sized bites. No need to remove the seeds you find, as gliders will not eat them.
Do sugar gliders eat spinach?
No, because spinach are known to be high in oxalates should be avoided as they will impair calcium absorption.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Lima Beans?
Uncooked Beans (such as Lima Beans, Black Beans, Pinto Beans…green beans are safe).
Now that we are done reviewing the best sugar glider foods and diet, look at some feeding time guide.
Sugar Glider Feeding Guide
To ensure your pet is being fed well, here are some feeding practices that you can do to help them keep your pet active and healthy.
For your sugar bear, here are the best feeding practices to employ:
Feed Your Glider with Variety of Foods
To ensure maximum enjoyment of the right amount of nutrients, and to keep them from getting bored of regular meals, it would be helpful if you can change the foods they get in their food…. Like a rotation of meals.
For instance, if you feed your pet with eggs one day as protein food, you should feed another form of protein the next day, such as yogurt or bugs.
Prepare a meal routine for your pet to make this easier..
Note: sugar gliders can sometimes get picky about their meals, where they would only pick their favorite parts in their meals and leave the rest in their bowls. To prevent them from doing this, chop and mix their food thoroughly so that they’ll eat it in balance.
Morning and Dusk Feeding Routine
It’s crucial for you to feed your glider a meal when the day starts, to prevent them from getting too hungry during the whole day.
Since gliders are night creatures, it would be a great idea for you to feed them just before the sun goes down to make sure they have eaten enough.
If you worry about your pet getting hungry outside their feeding times, you can leave a bowl of food in their cage just in case they get hungry.
Chop the Food Before Feeding
Gliders are small but they can chew on big chunks of food, so before you feed with any form of solid food, try to chop them first into small pieces.
This way it’ll be easier for your pet to eat, and it would help encourage them to eat a series of foods as well.
Don’t Overfeed
In the wild, gliders will eat around 15 to 20% of their body weight when it comes to food, but for pet gliders, they should eat less than what their wild counterparts eat, as they are not as active as the wild ones.
In fact, feeding your fur-pet with too much food can result in them getting weight gain, which could lead them to have health problems or premature death.
Remove Perishable Leftover Foods from Cages
Once you are done feeding your little glider, try to remove their leftover foods that are perishable. Gliders are quite picky sometimes, so they won’t be feeding on meals that aren’t fresh anymore.
Just keep dry foods, like freeze-dried bugs in their cages just in case they get hungry again.
Mount Their Food Bowls a bit Higher
Sugar gliders are natural tree-inhabitants, so they are great climbers. They also consume series of vegetation, therefore if their food is placed at higher positions on their cage, they would be more inclined to eat and it would also keep the feeding bowl cleaner.
Occasionally Give Treats
Do not fall into the trap of spoiling your friend or encourage them to be picky. Plus, many treats aren’t good for them to eat all the time.
This is why some product reviews often remind readers to only feed their pets twice or thrice a week.
However some recommend to only give about 5% of treat in their pet’s daily meal. However, this doesn’t mean that you could feed your pet with treats every day.
We recommend you to only feed your pet with treats every other day, and make sure they don’t eat more than two pieces a day.
What are the Foods to Avoid?
Gliders need to consume series of foods per day to make sure they get all the nutrients they need, but there are also many foods that they are forbidden to eat because of consequences.
Never feed your glider with insects, spiders, wild worms, and other small creatures as they might be contaminated with pesticide. Also, avoid feeding them with fruit pits and apple seeds.
Other types of food that they aren’t allowed to eat are artificially sweetened products, or sugar foods like chocolates, processed or deep fried foods, or high fat foods..
Final Thoughts
Having great understanding of your pet’s natural diet can help you understand how to feed them. Sugar gliders are considered cute but feeding them with the right kind of diet plan and food can prove to be quite a challenge.
But, it’s important for you to know how, when, and what best sugar glider foods they could eat to guarantee maximum nutrition they need, and so they could live a happy and healthy life.
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