Sugar Glider Best Temperature

Sugar glider optimal temperature is important to know for pet owners because these animals need to be taken care of well, especially when they are babies.

Like most pets, sugar gliders are most comfortable in a warm climate, about 80-85 Fahrenheit. This is the temperature at which they are most active as it is ideal for the best metabolism. If the outside temperature is lower, then the sugar glider generates the additional heat needed through regular metabolism. This is usually fine with adult sugar gliders but babies are usually small in size and have trouble maintaining the required metabolism. Baby sugar gliders also feel cold more easily.

If it is cold outside, then it is important that you try to keep your sugar glider warm. This also happens during rainy days as in the wild, rains are not very pleasant for the animal. When it gets cold, sugar gliders usually reduce their activity and can seem dull. To warm them up, you can simply hold them against your chest.

The right and optimal temperature for your sugar glider will help it to be active and feel comfortable. Therefor it is important that you know about this.

Variety in Sugar Glider Diets

Variety is the spice of life, not just for us, but also for our winged friends. However, it is important to remember that sugar gliders are diet conscious in the sense that they do not like to try out new foods when they are adults. This is a natural reaction to sugar gliders in the wild that would like to work with established food sources that are known to be safe instead of experimenting for better survival.

Thus, it is important that you, as a breeder or pet owner, make sure that baby sugar gliders are fed a variety of diets.

This is especially the case with fruits and vegetables. Like a 5 year old kid, sugar glider adults will not like to try out different vegetables and fruits even if it is healthy. Therefore it is important that baby sugar glider diet be made of a variety of fruits and vegetables so that there are no problems in the future.

In the absence of healthy fresh fruits, sugar glider diet can be made up of supplements that contain fruit extracts. This will ensure that all the right vitamins, minerals and other requirements reach your pet.

Sugar Glider Diet: Protein

Protein is essential for your sugar glider and needs to be present comprehensively in any sugar glider diet plan. This is even more important for sugar glider joeys, which are the young ones. In fact, for any animal to grow, (humans included) they need a good source of protein.

Protein can usually be a tricky issue and very few people seem to realize this. Not all protein is the same. Proteins are made up of Amino acids that are broken down by the body. These are then used to build up different proteins. Thus the proteins we consume are never used directly by the body. Instead they are first broken down and then reassembled.

Now, there are 22 different amino acids, and thus the body needs a good supply of all these amino acids through proteins. A lot of commonly used sugar glider diets do not contain all the amino acids that are required. It is thus important to select the right protein sources.

As you know, sugar gliders are omnivores and they love eating insects. One of the best sources of protein are insects. These form a very good protein source in the wild and can do so for your pet sugar glider as well. The most commonly used insects for your sugar glider diet protein source are -

• Mealworms
• Crickets

The quantities will vary depending on the size of the insect. Usually, 3-6 is considered a good number to feed your pet sugar glider when the insects are the adult size.

Boiled eggs are also a good protein source and can be included in your sugar glider diet plan.

Sugar Glider Diet: Fruits and Vegetables

A sugar glider diet should consist of a number of different elements. If you are interested in a general sugar glider diet, read my post here.

Fruits and vegetables form an integral part of a sugar glider diet. This is so because even in the wild, contrary to the popular belief, sugar gliders are not carnivores - they are omnivores. (Read my post on other Sugar glider myths). Thus sugar gliders do eat fruits and vegetables on their own in the wild too.

Your little pets will probably love some fruits and not others. They are just like us in this respect. It is hard to predict what your particular sugar glider will like. Thus I don't want to prescribe a general formula for the diet of your sugar glider consisting of fruits and vegetables.

It is important to note how much of fruits and vegetables to be fed to a sugar glider. This is an important consideration because you want your sugar glider diet to be a balanced diet. As a general rule, fruits and vegetables should not form the staple food of your pet.

The quantity is thus an important factor while determining the right fruits for your sugar glider. Here is a general guideline: For an average adult sugar glider, 1/15th of an apple piece per day should be a good indication.

(photo credit: petlifefamily.com)

There are many reasons why the diet of your sugar glider should not be made of just fruits and vegetables. Firstly, they will not get all their nutrients. Secondly, they are omnivores and need some meat as well. Thirdly, meat products usually help with growth much better than fruits and vegetables.

For your sugar glider diet, here are some recommended fruits:

• Apples
• Sweet potato
• Pear
• Watermelon
• Carrot
• Oranges
• Cherries
• Grapes

You need to ensure that the fruits are well washed before feeding them to your sugar glider. This is important because your pet will not be as resistant as you to the pesticides and other chemicals. If possible, you can try to practice organic gardening and grow some fruits on your own but this is not always feasible.

Sugar Glider Diet: Myths

Sugar glider diets can be simple and intuitive or incredibly complex, depending on what is your source of information! Here are some common sugar glider diet myths that you need to steer clear of to really understand these lovely animals.

Myth-1: The name "sugar" glider suggests they should be fed a lot of sugar
Truth: Oh no! The sugar part of a sugar glider does indeed come from a preference that sugar gliders have for things that are sweet. However, so does your 2 year old nephew. Foods that are sweet should always be had in moderation. In the wild this isn't a problem - a sugar glider cannot get a supply of "treats" in the wild anyway. They are naturally omnivorous.

The biggest problem is, what appears to be a small quantity for us can be a whole meal for your little pet. Thus, always measure sugary diets by a proportion of the total meal. Never assume small for you is small for your pet too. Too much sugar in sugar glider diet is very unhealthy for the animal.

Myth-2: Diet is fine, but bonding is more important.
Truth: Sugar glider diet is the foremost prerequisite for bonding. You can only bond with your sugar glider when it is healthy and active. Improper sugar glider diets can lead to lethargy, obesity or even premature death. Yes, bonding is extremely important as a pet owner but that needs to be preceded by a healthy and balanced diet.

Myth-3: Sugar gliders are carnivores
Truth: Before you decide to take your shotgun out to hunt for your little pet, you should know that sugar gliders are omnivores. Insects for an especially important part of a sugar glider's diet in the wild. Insects can be a source of high protein. They also enjoy plant sap, manna and honey, so they are not strictly carnivores. They have a variety of dietary options even in the wild.

Myth-4: I'll make a perfect sugar glider diet and stick with it.
Truth: This is very unhealthy for your pet. Any pet for that matter. Nutritional enrichment for sugar gliders is very important and you should know this as a pet owner. I am sure you would never want to eat spinach everyday for the rest of your life, would you? This is so even if you know that spinach is really healthy. The same is true for your pet as well. You cannot be obsessed with healthy diets for your sugar glider. Variety is important for a balanced and healthy sugar glider diet.

Myth-5: All fruits are the same for my sugar glider.
Truth: Not really. Most fruits and vegetables are good for us, but they can have different effects on your sugar glider. Consider this simple example: carrot vs. corn. Your sugar glider will probably love both. However, carrots have a good amount of Vitamin-A and are good for your pet but corn can have a high ratio of phosphorus that makes your pet more disease prone and is not considered very healthy in general. Avoid such foods from your sugar glider diet.

Myth-6: Supplements are bad.
Truth: Not really. Your sugar glider will seldom get adequate amounts of all vitamins and minerals from a diet, irrespective of how carefully you plan it. Thus, some supplements become an integral part of a sugar glider diet and should be so. The most common supplements for a sugar glider are calcium and vitamin supplements. These can be given daily along with the regular diet. Do not mix them in water though.

Sugar Glider Diet: Water

For a complete sugar glider diet, water is an essential component. In fact, it is so important that a lot of pet owners simply take it for granted, which isn't a very good idea. Sugar gliders live naturally in the wild where there is adequate water supply. You cannot keep your sugar glider away from fresh water for long times.

Sugar glider diets can be reasonably complicated, but water is simple. All you need to do is to just put a fresh water supply in the cage of your sugar glider. This shouldn't be too hard now.

Sugar glider diets do contain some amount of water. Most notably, the fruits that you might give your sugar glider has some amount of water in it. However, this is seldom adequate for the animal to survive. Thus you need to keep an alternative water supply.

By water supply, I mean a fresh water supply. A lot of pet owners do not really understand fresh water. It simply means FRESH WATER! Do not add any vitamins or supplements to the water. These can be added to the sugar glider diet that you prepare but not to the water. Sugar glider water needs to be fresh and clean. There is nothing complicated about it, so don't complicate it, as simple as that.

Sugar Glider Diet: An Introduction

Sugar glider diet is very important to ensure that your pets are healthy and active. Sugar gliders are one of the best pets you can have but they do require some care from your side.

Firstly, beware of all the scams around. You DO NOT require all the expensive stuff that sells for $1000 per month. These are not proven to be better than what you can simply make at home using ready-made ingredients. There are a lot of "pundits" out there who want to guilt-trap you into buying very expensive sugar glider diets. They are not at all worth the money spent. Your entire sugar glider diet for a month can be covered by a few tens of dollars a month.

Sugar glider diets should be balanced, just like human diets. They need all the essential ingredients to be healthy. Let us discuss them one by one.

(photo credit: sugargliderexpress.com)

You should remember that sugar gliders live in the wild naturally and thus you will need to simulate some diet conditions accordingly. Sugar glider diets cannot consist of all treats like berries, which is what a lot of pet owners do. Never feed your sugar glider too much artificial food. At the same time, you don't need to go hunting to get the food for your pet. Strike a balance.

Ready-made food is the best for a sugar glider. They contain all the important ingredients and you do not need to make exotic concoctions that are time consuming and costly.

However, the commonly used pellets do not cover all the needs of your sugar glider. Thus sugar glider diets need to contain supplements.

Read the subsequent posts to know what ingredients are needed and what are lacking in the commonly used pellets for sugar gliders.