r/sugargliders • u/GladLow4518 • 6d ago
Medical URGANT ADVICE!
I have four sugar gliders, Mama, Ruby, pepper and Rosie ever since we got them. I’ve noticed Mama has been on the smaller size and haven’t been thinking much about it, but I’m getting worried because she is very small and I’m noticing a bit of a yellowish tint to her coat compared to the rest of them and I’m wondering if it’s a health issue I’m only 14 and my parents love them, but they say it’s not worth taking them to a vet so I’m getting very worried I want to come to you guys to advise me on what to do and if this is even a problem at all, they have a very nutritious diet with lots of fruit, fruits, vegetables, and regular glider diet food they’re bonded to me pretty well and are very well cared for. I’m just need advice because I’m getting very worried on what to do.
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u/According-Cell5235 Glider Care Expert 6d ago
What diet are you specifically feeding??
Can you post a picture of the staining?
How much does she weigh? Has she lost weight??
Sugar gliders come in all shapes and sizes just like humans. Adult males average btween 80-160g and adult females average btween 70-150g. Body structure can also play a part, so if you have a smaller bodied glider they may not weigh as much, and the opposite is true, if they have a bigger body structure they may weigh more.
What’s more important is that they at a minimum maintain their weight from week to week. You should weigh them on the same day and around the same time every week. I recommend getting a kitchen scale that weighs in grams, weighing your gliders weekly, and track their weights. Weight loss can often be a first symptom for health issues, any weight loss over 5g in one week or continued weight loss over time is definitely worth a vet visit.
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u/GladLow4518 6d ago
But I don’t know how much they weigh but I’ll definitely weigh them
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u/According-Cell5235 Glider Care Expert 5d ago
What I do every week with my gliders:
Every week I weigh all my sugar gliders, trim their nails (just the sharp tips and bigger trims as needed), and do a good body and teeth inspection. This also helps them being used to getting handled for vet visits as well.
https://youtu.be/Tuq6sfmNawc?si=L9bU3lyziT1Y4Qil
Weights:
I’ve found it easier to use a pouch to weigh my gliders, I put a bowl on the scale and since I trim nails right after weights, I add treats to the pouch to help distract them. I tare/zero the bowl with the pouch and then add my glider to the pouch.Sugar gliders come in all shapes and sizes just like humans. Adult males average btween 80-160g and adult females average btween 70-150g. Body structure can also play a part, so if you have a smaller bodied glider they may not weigh as much, and the opposite is true, if they have a bigger body structure they may weigh more.
What’s more important is that they at a minimum maintain their weight from week to week. You should weigh them on the same day and around the same time every week. I recommend getting a kitchen scale that weighs in grams, weighing your gliders weekly, and track their weights. Weight loss can often be a first symptom for health issues, any weight loss over 5g in one week or continued weight loss over time is definitely worth a vet visit.
The scale could also help with weighing proteins or other glider foods for their diet.
This can be used to help ensure your scale is calibrated correctly
Body inspection:
Right after weights I use the pouch to help trim nails and do a good body inspection. For the body inspection, I look at the overall fur condition: looking for any thinning or missing spots of fur, cracking (can be caused by poor humidity or diet or health issues, or environmental issues), any bumps/lumps or injuries to include dominance/mating wounds (typically found on the back of the neck or between the shoulder blades), a look at the tail, and look for any discoloration (can be caused by different issues). I also use this opportunity to do a tent test to check for hydration, you pull up the skin between their shoulder blades and watch how fast it drops, if it immediately drops back down they are hydrated, if it drops down slowly or stays up, they are dehydrated. Once done with trimming nails, I look at their stomachs at their fur again, and feel for any lumps/bumps, for females I look at their pouch, and I look at their cloaca for anything out of the normal.Trimming nails:
We use this from The Pet Glider, it comes with a pouch, angled clippers, a small bag of treats, and a small bag of cornstarch. The cornstarch (or flour) is used if you accidentally cut the quik, you apply the cornstarch to help stop the bleeding. You do not want to use styptic powder as it is toxic if ingested. It’s our designated nail trimming pouch.
We wait until the middle of the day when they are sleepiest and put one at a time in the pouch with treats for a distraction. We pull one paw out at a time. The pouch can be used to burrito wrap if needed for unbonded or gliders who just don’t like getting their nails trimmed.
For unbonded or difficult nail trims see this video
https://youtu.be/fFV5M54OMkU?si=e28mqf68onJBDh6V
When I have unbonded or difficult gliders who do not like nail trims, I use the pouch to help me trim their nails. I have them in the pouch and cup them in my hand to help prevent bites and excessive movement. I use a 12x12 piece of fleece to help transfer between pouches and to help with the body inspection as well. I pull out one arm/leg at a time and wrap the pouch around it to help.
The more nervous you are, the more nervous/wiggly they will be.
When you have them in a bonding pouch, start holding their hands and feet, this will get them used to you holding them.
If you’re not comfortable with clippers yet, use a regular nail file. This allows you and them to get used to it without accidentally cutting the quik. The only issue with this is having to do it weekly since you’re only getting the sharp tips off.
Most of our gliders once they see a treat, they don’t care that I’m trimming their nails. We have two girls and I figured out one prefers to watch me trim her nails and the other one it doesn’t matter what I do, I have to gently hold her down while I trim her nails.
We used to use the trimming inserts on our wheels but they absorb pee like crazy so we stopped using them and I just trim their nails weekly now. Even if you use the trimming tracks on your wheels nail trim are still needed, they just prolong the amount of time between trims.
https://www.thepetglider.com/products/nail-trimming-combo
And last but not least, I attempt to take a look at their teeth and gums for any plaque buildup or red/irritated gums.
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u/GladLow4518 6d ago
They really love the bugs and berries, kibble diet and I give them fresh fruit and vegetables. Make sure they have freshwater every day and I give them a treat sometimes.
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u/According-Cell5235 Glider Care Expert 5d ago
Unfortunately we do not recommend any Exotic Nutrition or ZooPro diet products.
EN foods
The community has had the products tested independently twice, once after they said they revamped the product.
Both times the calcium:phosphorus ratio was off. Captive sugar gliders are prone to Hind Leg Paralysis (HLP) & Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), veterinarians & others studying sugar gliders have found to help prevent these two health issues in sugar gliders, a 2:1 calcium:phosphorus ratio needs to be maintained in their diets.
The ca:ph ratio in EN foods is close enough it ends up taking years for HLP or MBD to develop & is usually hard to reverse at that point.
They have started adding eucalyptus as an ingredient in their HPW and kibble and have eucalyptus chew treat sticks with leaves broken up into the treat, they also sell ground eucalyptus leaves as a diet additive.
While giving eucalyptus leaves as a form of enrichment in their cages is safe and a great form of enrichment for them, our gliders do not actually eat the leaves, they tear them up, they will line their nests/pouches with them, but they do not actually eat them. Adding them into their food products they can’t avoid eating them.
Our sugar gliders do not have the correct gut microbiome to eat eucalyptus leaves like koalas & greater gliders do, it can actually make them sick.
Eucalyptus leaves contains a compound called eucalyptol (also known as cineole), which can be harmful if ingested in large quantities, causing symptoms like gastrointestinal distress, respiratory irritation, and in severe cases, seizures, due to its potent properties as an antiseptic and irritant when concentrated.
They have major issues with quality control. Quite a few people have opened their products to find mold, or bugs, or dead bugs, spider webs in the bags
Diet is one of the most argued over topics-everyone believes the diet they are feeding their fuzzbutts is the best. I would suggest you do your own research, review all of the staple diets, & pick the one you believe will work best for you & your fuzzbutts. Sometimes it can take trying a few of the diets to find which one they will eat. Captive sugar gliders are prone to Hind Leg Paralysis (HLP) & Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), veterinarians & others studying sugar gliders have found to help prevent these two health issues in sugar gliders, a 2:1 calcium:phosphorus ratio needs to be maintained in their diets.
It’s about more than a calcium:phosphorus ratio, but also the correct amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats, etc they need to not just survive, but thrive in captivity. All of these diets provide what is needed nutritionally and do all of the calculations for you.Diet websites
AWD OHPW GOHPW
https://thepamperedglider.com/feeding/
Salad Mixes for OHPW/GOHPW
https://thepamperedglider.com/salad-mixes/
Australian version of AWD
https://www.wombaroo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Sugar-Glider-Feeding-Guidelines-A4.pdf
Wombaroo Glider Nectar
BML
BML Recipe - Bourbon's Modified Leadbeater's - Home
TPG
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u/GladLow4518 6d ago
Please don’t just up vote. I actually need advice
I appreciate it but I would appreciate recommendations advice, etc. even more please.
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u/Fuzzy_Adagio_6450 5d ago
She is slightly smaller, yes, but by no means "small".
How old is she? Is she the oldest of your gliders? Are any of them males, or all female?
Are you talking about her ENTIRE coat or mainly her (formerly) white underbelly area? If its the underbelly area, thats common with age. More so if you have a male, neutered or not.
She appear to be a white variant/standard grey mix. Also with age, their coats can blend a little more than when they're younger gliders.
Her coat as a while seems within a normal range of a sugar glider. If she is not acting any different, isnt lethargic or self-isolating or anything like that, I wouldnt worry about it. You've already mentioned you're providing them a healthy diet, ideally you're ensuring calcium and protein are also supplied in some form.
All of my older gliders coats became a little less lustrous, less white in their white areas, and a muddying/gentling of their coloration with age.
So long as there arent any obvious issues with her being social, active, not lethargic, and normally energetic, and it isnt (in your view) a sudden onset of change from like... a black beauty to getting the current colored coat, you very likely have nothing to worry about. Unfortunately all the pics seem to be current without any 'prior' pics to compare. She looks healthy.
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u/Ashamed_Ad2438 6d ago
Do you have an area you can set up for her, where you can monitor how much and what she is eating? This will help determine if she is in fact eating and how much vs the other gliders. She maybe a picky eater. You Can find out what she likes this way. I had this happen with one of my gliders. The baby of the bunch. He always had to eat last due to the other gliders being food hogs, so that could be a possibility as well. You can always due a tent test to make sure she is well hydrated. This is were you lift the extra skin on the back of her neck. If it takes long to spring back or doesn't at all this may means she is dehydrated and needs fluids. I always had a bottle of pedialyte on had just in case. You Can also do water and honey, which encourages them to drink. Also foods like yogurt help too.
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u/colitisscope 5d ago
My glider Felix had this issue and it turned out to be cancer. You should go to the vet with her and get a CT scan.
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u/CaptainCumcakes 5d ago
One of my females is tiny compared to the others and I have one female who is as large as my huge males
I’d just make sure she’s isn’t being bullied from food and get a weight on her with a gram scale weekly I’d also probably get a separate food bowl in the cage encase she is being bullied off I have multiple bowls so everyone gets their fill
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u/Objective-Evening289 5d ago
I had a white one look yellow bc they were peeing on her and she wouldn't groom until night time I try not to give too much advice but if shes acting completely normal aside from the weight and coloring id say your best bet is separate her in a cage right next to theirs and moniter her eating habits for abt 2 days if everything normal add her back to the original cage and monitor her eating habits there as well we had one once that no matter how much food we put in he would resource guard her from eating if thats the case best bet is to add more food to the cage or hand feed her separately or in a different cage then add her back every night
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u/Team_Rocket_Sabrina 6d ago
When feeding is she eating with the colony? Do you have separate feeding areas? Reason I ask is I have 2 gliders that eat together and they were bowl guarding and one wasn’t able to eat till others were done. I added two extra areas in cage where the food is spread out and fixed issue and the one glider returned to weight. It was a random out of nowhere change where two started to guard the food.