Safe fruit for sugar gliders will help you easily feed them nutritious and tasty treats. Food is a big part of the daily routine of any Sugar Glider. They should have lots of fruits in their diet to ensure they are eating a healthy and nutritious meal every day. Not only do they need energy, but fruit can also be just as enjoyable as it is beneficial.
List of Foods That Sugar Gliders Can Eat
Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are omnivores — they eat insects, meat, and vegetation, but not all foods are suitable for sugar gliders. Named for their preference for sweet foods, sugar gliders enjoy drinking nectar and tree sap in the wild. They also enjoy fatty foods, such as mealworms and fly pupae. Note that sugar glider diets are challenging to replicate in captivity.
Sugar glider diets are hard to replicate at home.
In captivity, they can become obese if they eat too many sweet and fatty foods, which leads to health problems. A sugar glider’s diet should be no more than five percent treats. Sugar glider pellets are available from pet stores, but should be supplemented with proteins, nectar, and vegetables. Feed in the evening, because sugar gliders are nocturnal and eat mostly at night.
Sugar glider nectar
Sugar gliders benefit from a homemade equivalent to nectar. To make your own leadbeater’s nectar mix, you’ll need a half-cup and 2 tablespoons of warm water with an equal amount of raw honey, a shelled hard-boiled egg, a teaspoon of a sugar glider-appropriate vitamin supplement, and a half-cup of high-protein baby cereal or Wombaroo high protein supplement.
Put the water, honey, egg, and vitamin supplement in a blender, and start the blender running. Gradually add the baby cereal and continue blending until the mixture is smooth. The nectar mix stays fresh for three days in a refrigerator, and you can also freeze portions for later use. Put about 1 tablespoon of nectar mix per day in the sugar glider cage.
Sugar glider pellets and proteins
Insects and meat provide protein for sugar gliders, but these foods don’t supply the calcium the animals need. Low calcium levels cause sugar gliders problems with bones and teeth. Boost calcium levels in sugar gliders by feeding them live insects gut-loaded with a calcium supplement. Insects and sugar glider pellets should make up about 50 percent of the total diet.
Sugar glider pellets are commercial food developed for this pet. However, sugar gliders also need about 1 tablespoon of insects per day. Sugar gliders can also eat 1 teaspoon of cooked, lean, unseasoned poultry or beef as an occasional treat. Add it to the sugar glider cage for him to find — or a put a feeding box in the cage during dinner time, because sugar gliders are messy eaters.
Fruit and vegetables
Small amounts of fruit and vegetables are nutritious for sugar gliders; they add variety to their diets. Sugar gliders in zoos eat apples, bananas, grapes, kiwi fruit, oranges, pears, melons, pawpaws, and papayas. Vegetables sugar gliders eat in zoos include sweet potatoes, low calcium lettuce such as Boston lettuce, and corn. They can also eat tomatoes, carrots, squash, sprouts, and broccoli.
Vegetables are an essential part of the sugar glider’s diet because they provide essential nutrients and increases water intake. If water intake is an issue, you can even mist greens before serving. Similarly, wash fruit (and vegetables) thoroughly, and chop them into small pieces before offering them to sugar gliders. About a half-teaspoon of fruit and vegetables per day is sufficient for one sugar glider.
Sugar glider foods to avoid
Sugar gliders require a varied diet to provide all the nutrients they need, but there are many foods they should not eat. Don’t feed sugar gliders wild insects, worms, spiders, or other creatures that might be contaminated with pesticides.
Also avoid apple seeds and fruit pits. Other foods that shouldn’t be included in sugar glider diets are artificially sweetened, deep fried or processed foods, or foods high in fat or sugar, such as chocolate. However, water bottles, cleaned and changed daily, are necessary.
THE BEST SUGAR GLIDER FOOD
Unlike other rodents, your sugar glider needs more than a simple pellet mix to fulfill his dietary needs. Gliders are omnivores, meaning they can eat both plants and animals. Therefore, the best diet for sugar gliders includes a balanced variety of both.
What Wild Gliders Eat
In the wild, sugar gliders eat eucalyptus gum, tree sap, nectar, pollen, honeydew and insects or arachnids. While it would require much effort to replicate this diet exactly, you can offer your glider plenty of similar foods. Watch how much your glider eats to determine if you must supplement his menu with more protein or more plant matter.
Fruits and Vegetables
Forty percent of a sugar glider’s diet must be made up of fruits and vegetables, washed if fresh and thawed if frozen. For fruits, experiment with apples, bananas, oranges, pears, tomatoes, berries, grapefruit and melon, such as watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew. Also incorporate vegetables like carrots, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, asparagus, cucumber, lettuce and sweet pepper.
Nectar Mix and Water
You can either buy or make your own nectar mix to give to your glider each day. Though recipes differ, they include water, honey, hard-boiled eggs and vitamin or protein supplements as necessary. Make sure the nectar remains refrigerated and discard it after three weeks. Also provide clean, fresh water daily in an inverted water bottle near the food.
Pellet Mix
Manufactured pellet food serves as a dietary supplement rather than a main source of nutrition. Check the expiration date on packaging or throw it away after two months. If your sugar glider does not take to eating this dry food, entice him by mixing honey or fruit juice in it.
Meat and Treats
Insects such as meal worms or crickets are a necessary and tasty protein for the sugar glider. These may be purchased live, or frozen if you are squeamish. Though treats should only make up 5 percent of the sugar glider’s diet, this is a great way to bond with him. Give him cooked, lean meat without any seasoning. Vegetarian glider parents can also provide tofu as an alternative.
Safe Fruits & Vegetables
Sugar Gliders in the wild are opportunistic omnivores. They eat primarily vegetables, nectar from tree saps, insects, and some fruits. As their primary care taker, it is important that you feed your gliders a well-balanced diet consisting of all the nutrients they need! It’s always good to rotate your fruits & veggies with each batch to make sure and give them a variety of vitamins.
A diet too high in phosphorous will lead to intestinal problems and calcium deficiency. Low calcium levels will cause your glider to get very sick, eventually having partial or total paralysis, and inevitably an early death. Always be sure to sprinkle The Pet Glider’s Multi-Vitamin with Calcium before serving your gliders their regular meal!
Below is a list of safe fruits and vegetables that you may feed your sugar gliders. The ones highlighted are the foods that we feed our sugar gliders at TPG. Always feed fresh or frozen, never canned!
| FRUITS | VEGETABLES |
| Apples | Alfalfa Sprouts |
| Apricots | Artichoke |
| Asian Pear | Asparagus |
| Avocados | Bamboo Shoots |
| Bananas | Beet Greens |
| Blackberries | Beets (cooked and blended) |
| Blueberries | Bell Peppers |
| Cantaloupe | Black Eyed Peas |
| Cherries (no seeds) | Bok Choy |
| Coconut | Broccoli (feed in moderation) |
| Cranberries | Brussels Sprouts |
| Currants | Cabbage (red) |
| Dates | Carrots |
FOOD AND DIET
Sugar gliders require a varied diet that consists of a variety of vegetables, fruits, and basic staple. Here at NH Sugar Gliders we use HPW original (see below for instruction on how to make a batch).
Fruits and veggies should be served nightly and a variety should be given. Good nightly choices include collard greens, green beans, kale and cucumber. Peas and corn are good choices but are best for alternative nights and no more than twice a week as it can give them an upset stomach.
Good fruits include apple, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, mango and papaya, try not to give the same every night, variety is important to get a good balance of nutrients.
Each sugar glider needs about a tablespoon each of fruits and veggies every night. Fresh is best, but frozen is also good, dried all natural is fine occasionally, but keep in mind gliders get a lot of moisture from their fruits and veggies. Never ever give canned produce.
Meal worms(dried or live), yoggies, fresh eucalytus and dried fruit make great treats.
Sugar Gliders love chicken as an occasional treat and it’s a great source of protein, always boil any chicken in a pan of water until thoroughly cooked, if feeding a knuckle bone always supervise and never feed any small bones and NEVER EVER baked, roasted or otherwise cooked, must be boiled to soften.
HPW Original Instructions
Your suggie will go home with a bag of HPW powder, add honey, bottled water and 3 eggs to make up your first batch.
A single batch is enough for 2 sugar gliders for approximately 6 weeks.
1. Scramble 3 eggs being careful not to overcook them. Do not use oil or seasonings in your egg or any glider food. Put eggs to one side to cool.
2. Heat 2 cups of bottled water in a large jug or mixing bowl until it is warm but not hot, then add your 1.5 cups of honey and stir until completely mixed together.
3. Get your blender and add your 3 scrambled eggs, about a quarter of your honey water and blend on high for about 1 minute so the egg becomes liquified with honey water.
4. Add your pouch of wombaroo supplement powder and another quarter of the honey water and blend on high for another minute to incorporate the powder into the mixture.
5. Finally add the remaining honey water and blend for one more minute.
6. Pour into a large Tupperware container and place in the freezer. The mixture will take about 12-24 hours to freeze and will become the consistency of ice cream.
7. You will serve 1 tablespoon of this mix PER sugar glider every night with their fruits and veggies in a separate dish. Small heavy ceramic dishes work great as they won’t tip over.
Glider Safe Fruits and Vegetables List
Sugar Gliders should be fed a wide variety of fruits and vegetables along with their staple OHPW diet. Every night serve 1 tablespoon of fruits and 1 tablespoon of vegetables per glider. Only use fresh or frozen produce and remove in the morning to prevent spoiling. The highlighted fruits and vegetables are the ones we use frequently here at NH Sugar Gliders and that our gliders are used to being fed. Berries are a favorite fruit and green beans a favorite vegetable.
Fruits
Apples, Apricots, Asian Pear, Advocado, Bananas, Blackberries, Blueberries, Cantaloupe, Carambola, Carissa, Casaba Melon, Cherimoya, Cherries(sweet), Coconut, Crab Apples, Cranberries, Currants, Custard Apples, Dates, Elderberries, Figs, Gooseberries, Grapefruit, Grapes(green seedless), Guava, Honeydew, Jackfruit, Java Plum, Jujube, Kiwi, Kumquat, Lemon, Lime, Mandarin oranges, Mango, Mulberries, Nectarine, Oranges, Papaya, Passion Fruit, Peaches, Pears, Persimmon, Pineapple, Plantain, Plums, Pomegranate, Prickly Pear, Prunes, Pummelo, Quince, Raisins, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangerine, Tomato, Watermelon.
Vegetables
Alfalfa Sprouts, Artichoke, Asparagas, Baby Carrots, Bamboo Shoots, Beet Greens, Beets, Black Eyed Peas, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chicory Greens, Chinese Cabbage, Collard Greens, Corn, Chick Peas, Cucumber(skin on), Dandelion Greens, Eggplant, Endive, French Beans, Ginger Root, Green Beans, Green Pepper, Jicama, Kale, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Peas, Potato, Pumpkin, Radish, Red Peppers (sweet), Rutabagas, Snow Peas, Okra, Spinach, Summer Squash, Swiss Chard, Turnip, Turnip Greens, Watercress, Winter Squash, Yams, Yellow Wax Beans, Zucchini.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Fruit? [Are These 17 Fruits Safe?]
Wild sugar gliders are omnivorous by nature. They eat a large variety of different foods, most of which comes down to accessibility and availability. With a diet of such diversity, it can be challenging to know what to feed a sugar glider or what foods are optimal for them. Fruit is a particular food group that often is questioned. Here is what you need to know.
So, can sugar gliders eat fruit? Sugar gliders can eat most fruits, although any fruit should be eaten in limited quantities in moderation. Around 10-20% of total dietary intake is advised. Fruit should always be sourced ripe, offered fresh, and be appropriately prepared. This can include cutting up, removing the skin, seeds, and pits.
At the same time, some fruits are certainly better than others.
High-oxalate fruits, for instance, need to be more carefully managed and controlled.
And there are a few that are higher in this naturally occurring compound.
And here is why:
Oxalates can bind to calcium and cause calcium deficiency if left unchecked.
But ultimately, all fruit should be fed in moderation.
Despite their name, these small gliding possums do not actually need this energy-rich carbohydrate in the quantities you may have expected.
And as such, fruit should make up a small part of a much more inclusive diet.
A nutritionally balanced pelleted kibble, a nectar/sap-basted mixture, insects, and vegetables are all other essential components of the diet.
Nevertheless, let us now take a closer look at 17 of the most popular and routinely questioned fruits.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Apples?
Sugar gliders can eat the flesh of apples in moderation. Although, they should never eat the seeds and only eat the skin if the apple is grown organic or washed properly. This will remove any wax and pesticides, and insecticides.
Cutting up an apple is best before serving.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Bananas?
Sugar gliders can eat bananas but should not be offered the peels. For the most part, a sugar glider would ignore the peel anyway.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Blackberries?
Sugar Gliders can eat blackberries, but only in very limited quantities. Blackberries are high in oxalates; these compounds bind to calcium and prevent proper calcium absorption.
This is a key mineral to sugar gliders, and any prolonged calcium deficiency can result in lameness, paralysis, and difficulty moving.
For the most part, there are better other fruit options.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Blueberries?
Sugar gliders can eat blueberries, and this is a particularly good option for them. They are small, easy to consume, easy to digest, and low in calories and fruit sugars.
As blueberries contain more phosphorous than calcium, it is best to offer blueberries alongside a higher calcium item, such as fresh greens.
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Can Sugar Gliders Eat Cantaloupe?
Sugar gliders can eat Cantaloupe, but it is best that they only do so in small amounts at a time. Some owners have reported that too much Cantaloupe can cause diarrhea, which is likely a result of this fruit’s high water content.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Cherries?
Sugar gliders can eat cherries and are known to be particularly fond of them.
Although, cherries should be appropriately prepared before serving; this includes pulling out the stems, removing the pit, and making them generally easier to consume.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Grapefruit?
Sugar gliders can eat grapefruit, although should do so sparingly. This is true for both pink and red varieties.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Grapes?
Sugar gliders can eat grapes, although they should do so in small amounts and in moderation.
It is advised to remove the skin, which will likely be left anyway.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Guava?
Sugar gliders can eat guava but should only be offered the flesh.
It is best to cut this up into smaller chunks, making it easier for a sugar glider to eat. The skin and skins should be removed before serving.
SUGAR GLIDER NUTRITION
Proper diet is imperative for keeping a sugar glider healthy and happy. Nutritional problems are the most common problems seen by veterinarians and include obesity, malnutrition, low bone density, dental disease, heart disease, nervous system disorders, muscle disorders, and cataracts.
Past attempts at formulating diet for sugar gliders did their best to simulate the natural diet of sugar gliders, which consists primarily of pollen, nectars, insects and saps. Examples of these previous attempts included diet such as High Protein Wombaroo (HPW) and American Sugar Glider Diet (ASG). A person runs into problems when trying to feed these diets. Not only do they require a large amount of preparation time but they still fall short of meeting the nutritional requirements of a captive sugar glider. They tend to be inconsistent nutritionally and often are high in fat. Captive sugar gliders should be expected to live 2-3 times longer than those in the wild and spend far less time foraging. Today’s diet recommendations better reflect these two realities.
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables:
Approximately 25% of a sugar glider’s diet should consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, equivalent to 2 to 3 tablespoons daily or about 1/8 of an apple. Wash thoroughly prior to placing into the cage, placing fresh in the cage in the evening and remove leftovers the following morning to prevent spoilage. Organic may be best to avoid exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Avoid fruits and vegetables with high levels of oxalates because these can sometimes interfere with calcium absorption. These include: blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, carrots, spinach, pears, lettuce, collard greens, and beets.
Pelleted Diets:
A good, quality sugar glider extruded pellet diet should make up approximately 75% of a sugar glider diet. Recommended brands include Exotic Nutrition’s Premium Diet, Mazuri Insectivore Diet, and Nutrimax sugar glider diet. Feed approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup (2-3 oz.) daily.
It is important to control the amount of fruits and vegetables offered as sugar gliders often will choose these sweet, tastier items over the more nutritious pellets.
Calcium-Balanced Multivitamin Supplement:
A calcium-based multivitamin should be sprinkled lightly over fruits and vegetables every other day or can be mixed with organic yogurt or natural applesauce and hand-fed. Recommended brands include VitaMax or Glide-A-Mins.
Treats:
Treats should make up no more 5% of a sugar glider’s diet. Appropriate treats are live insects such as mealworms or crickets, small amounts of flavored yogurts, and preservative free commercially available treats.
Foods to be Discouraged or Avoided:
Chocolate (toxic), dairy products (except small amounts of flavored yogurt as treats), cheese, milk, ice cream, foods high in oxalates (see above), whole kernel corn (dry or fresh), grapes & raisins, bird food, dog food, cat Food, nuts and seeds.