Diet

In feeding my gliders I’ve tried to use the manner in which they feed in the wild as a guideline for the manner in which I feed them. I give them fresh foodstuffs like fruits and vegetables along with a good source of protein on a daily basis. I also include a dry food supplement which is in the cage all the time, and a vitamin supplement that I give them several times a week (both contain calcium) to cover anything additional they might need.

As an example, here is a short list of some of the fruits and vegetables I feed:

different varieties apples and pears, apricots, strawberries, blueberries, grapes (seedless), nectarines, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, watermelon, raw sweet corn, tomatoes, baby carrots, peas, green beans, lima beans, and occasionally avocadoes.

Here also is a short list of some sources of protein I feed:

mealworms, yogurt (also good for calcium), steamed chicken, raw peanuts, bean curd, scrambled or boiled egg, and BML (a tbsp over fruit for two adults).

Protein should be 25 – 40 % of a glider’s daily diet.

Please, only use this list as a guideline as gliders are individuals and everyone’s situation is different. You should try different things to find out what your particular glider likes but remember that they need variety. As a general rule, never, feed a glider the same thing two days in a row. Varying their diet will keep them interested and eating healthily. But remember that the glider must be eating some of everything in the bowl for diet to be effective. Make the portions of each item small enough that the glider must eat some of most of what is in the bowl, and can not eat only what it likes best. Joeys can get themselves in trouble this way; they become bored with their meals and then they are not eating very well.

Understand also, that you may find it necessary to force the your glider to eat the dry food if they don’t do it on their own. You do this by slowing decreasing the amount of wet food you put in the bowl until it is all gone each day. Then you back off a just a little more so that you know the glider will be hungry when it finishes eating the wet food. You then maintain that level until the glider starts eating the dry food. The glider will need to fill its belly so it will begin eating the dry food before too long.

The wet food, and protein you give the glider will nourish it on a daily basis, but the dry food and the vitamin supplement are what will keep your glider healthy long term. For that reason it is imperative that you get the glider eating the supplements no matter how difficult it may seem. Joeys especially will not know what is good for them so it is up to you to do what needs to be done to ensure that your glider will remain healthy.

The one most important concept that a glider owner should keep in mind is that the key to everything is the diet. If you are attentive and careful with your glider’s diet, it will likely never be unhealthy and you will likely never have a reason to take it to a vet.

One last thing, I have heard that some glider owners feed cat food to their gliders. This is a very bad idea and it will lead to tragedy. DO NOT FEED CAT FOOD TO GLIDERS. This food was formulated for a cats’ physiology not a gliders’. Cat food will eventually cause an intestinal blockage which will can potentially cause the loss of life. It doesn’t happen over night but the result is usually the same. Cat food is high in protein but there are so many other great sources of protein why take the risk?