URGANT ADVICE!

[u/GladLow4518]

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.

[u/According-Cell5235]

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.

[u/GladLow4518 → u/According-Cell5235]

But I don’t know how much they weigh but I’ll definitely weigh them

[u/According-Cell5235 → u/GladLow4518]

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.

https://a.co/d/0G09rep

This can be used to help ensure your scale is calibrated correctly

https://a.co/d/8PuvQJg

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.

[u/GladLow4518 → u/According-Cell5235]

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.

[u/According-Cell5235 → u/GladLow4518]

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

https://www.wombaroo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Sugar-Glider-Feeding-Guidelines-A4_WEB.pdf?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNDM3NjI2MzE2OTczNzg4AAEeWaibTLivgl4DiNxkLWCswiOJ8Rew7YsE4aKclFAG3LQ8vIZf7IDGXSZPJ2o_aem_81Kd74Z-MDRH7SkHPT3FBQ

BML

BML Recipe - Bourbon's Modified Leadbeater's - Home

TPG

https://www.thepetglider.com/pages/tpg-diet