Safe and Unsafe Foods for Sugar Gliders

[on:]

12/31/08: I have since closed my website (can no longer to afford to support the domain, ha!) so my link is gone, but I will continue providing sugar glider information on PetGrowth.

All items are listed in alphabetical order, with footnotes if I wanted to add details.

Safe Foods:
Apples
Apricots
Avocado Feed sparingly, particularly useful for weight gain. This fruit is extremely high in fat.
Bananas
Bell peppers (sweet)
Blueberries Small amounts once or twice a week - too much can give them the runs.
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Cherries
Chicken Never raw. Boil until fully cooked, no seasonings. Use organic, if possible.
Corn Only feed small amounts once a week at most. Corn is high in phosphorous which can inhibit the absorption of calcium if fed in large amounts.
Cucumbers
Eggs Always boiled or scrambled. Two gliders can share one egg.
Honeydew
Kiwi Do not worry about removing seeds.
Mango
Mealworms Excellent source of protein. General serving is 5-10 large mealworms per glider per night. They are fattening though, so if your glider has weight issues, try cutting back on the mealies.
Mushrooms (white) Store-bought only! I don't want to see anyone feeding their gliders something they found in the backyard, lol.
Oranges However, not safe regularly. Citric acid can give gliders the runs. Works well to clear up a constipated glider. Never give to joeys.
Papaya
Peaches
Pears
Pineapple High in citric acid. Only feed small amounts about once a week at the most.
Plums
Raspberries Small amounts once or twice a week - too much can give them the runs.
Soy Contrary to popular belief, soy is not harmful to gliders. A piece of tofu is a delicious treat. Just do not forget to also offer your glider his regular calcium and protein.
Spinach A great source of calcium.
Squash
Superworms Larger than mealworms and an excellent source of protein. However, I prefer mealworms because they are less messy. You have to remove the heads of superworms also (they will bite sugar gliders), which can be a disgusting task.
Sweet Potatoes I would recommend boiling them and mashing into a puree.
Watermelon Small amounts once or twice a week - too much can give them the runs.
Waxworms Fattening little larvae. I only use them as a substitute for mealies when I can't find them.
Yams
Yogurt Plain or flavored, do not use any with artificial sweetners. Avoid "sugar free".

Unsafe Foods:
Alcohol
Beef
Cat food
Chives
Chocolate
Coffee
Cottage Cheese
Dog food
Garlic
Grapes They have been known to cause renal (kidney) failure in many animals. Small amounts may be harmless, but this isn't entirely known. It is best to avoid them.
Leeks
Lima Beans
Millet
Milk
Nuts Avoid offering nuts.  Nuts are high in fat and also oxalic acid, which interferes with Calcium absorption.
Onions
Raw Eggs All eggs should be either hard boiled or scrambled.
Scallions
Seeds/nuts
Soda
Tea
Wild insects/creatures Bees, Wasps, Hornets, Ants, Beetles, Stink Bugs, Roly Poly's, Monarch Butterflies, Sow Bugs, Potato Bugs, Pilebugs, Ladybugs, Fireflies, Red Wiggler Worms, Snails and Slugs or ANY other wild animals




If you have any questions about the above lists, or have something you might like to add, please just reply to this topic and we can discuss it

[Reply #1 on:]

It's looking good, I should try to write something similar about chinchillas. 

[Reply #2 on:]

I think it would probably be helpful to do it for a number of different species. We could post them as stickies on the appropriate boards

[Reply #3 on:]

you have cat and dog food as unsafe.
though not a staple for the diet..they are not bad.

they make good treats (high quality ones)

[Reply #4 on:]

Jennifer,

I think I decided to just not touch that one because there is a vast variety of dog and cat food out there, most of which I would never even feed to my dog or cat - let alone give to my sugar gliders. There are plenty of things that are just fine for them as treats and I agree they would love a morsel of some good quality dog or cat food.

But like I said, since there's just soooo many out there and it would be a waste of time to list them by brand, I just listed them as "unsafe" So many brands contain strange ingredients (corn meal, byproducts, chemicals, etc).

[Reply #5 on:]

agreed

[Reply #6 on:]

In the glider world, keeping things as simple as humanly possible is the way to go - so no questions arise, then people get themselves in trouble, ha!

[Reply #7 on:]

I just wanted to post a quick reply to let everyone know this topic has been updated.