It's All in the Presentation

Sugar gliders are still relatively new in the pet world, in the last 10 years or so. Since they are an exotic and relatively new as pets, you can't go to your local pet superstore and buy a bag of glider chow.  Diets have been developed over the years to try and meet the nutritional needs of gliders. There must be a good balance of protein, vitamins and minerals. In particular there should be a 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus in their diet. Too little calcium or poor calcium uptake can result in several health issues, most notably Hind Leg Paralysis, of HLP. Most of the diets developed are a variation of the Leadbeaters Mix as a staple, and then additional fruits and vegetables. We use one called the Blended Diet, and our gliders have done very well on it. I wrote in an earlier post about how we started to see significant weight gain in the gliders when we had a feeding station for each of them. So, each night, M usually is the one who "plates" their dinner and places the glider kitchens in the cage while they are playing in the office or tent. Some owners just place the food, especially the fruits and vegetables, on the floor of the kitchen. The staple diet is liquid (about 1.5 teaspoons) and has to be in some sort of dish. Well, we found some nice "tasting plates" on clearance at a local Pier One Imports, and that's what we use for their fruits and vegetables.

Four dishes of Blended Mix Diet (top),
and the fruit (melon) and vegetable (bok choy) servings.

One dish of each is placed in a glider kitchen, and the kitchens are placed in the cage. Each kitchen (plastic storage containers we purchased)  has two 2.5 inch holes cut in the side for access.  Gliders like to play with their food, and they also tend to flick it around, so the kitchens contain the mess. They sure have made my life easier when it comes to cleaning the cage every week.

The kitchens are loaded and ready to be placed in the cage.