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US versus UK dieting #497003
03/06/08 07:08 PM
03/06/08 07:08 PM

S
stryker2000
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stryker2000
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S



Obviously since I am in the UK I decided to look at the sugar-lumps forums and browsed the diet section and it appears that a great portion use a diet incorporating cat food or kibble? Is this a "proper" form of diet or is it just a big debate between it all?

Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497007
03/06/08 07:18 PM
03/06/08 07:18 PM

B
bluekitti01
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bluekitti01
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B



I would not reccomend using cat food at all, its specifically designed for cats and Gliders have entirely different needs. It's not balanced for Gliders. IMHO.

Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497012
03/06/08 07:20 PM
03/06/08 07:20 PM

N
NaniandLuna
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NaniandLuna
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N



No, cat food should not be given to gliders. They require special Ca:Ph ratios.

Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497018
03/06/08 07:25 PM
03/06/08 07:25 PM

L
LindsayAnnG
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LindsayAnnG
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L



around here, there is not much debate about cat food.. just dont use it.. cat food has additives that gliders should not have a lot of in their diet, specifically taurine. Its not toxic, but its an unnessecary additive which can cause an overdose over long term because the kidneys have to work harder to filter out the excess..

ALSO, the only cat food that is somewhat ok for gliders are the 100% all natural premium brand cat foods, and not friskies, ect..

Kibble also is hard, and foods that hard are no good for your gliders because they can cause absesses in their gums and do a lot of damage.. THe fact that gliders fdo like to chew it different than giving a hard food for diet.. they chew when they feel they need to, but requiring them to chew hard things just to get some food is not good, because even if they dont feel the need to chew and gnaw, they have to anyways..

SO are there any other glider diets suggested on that site?

Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497027
03/06/08 07:30 PM
03/06/08 07:30 PM

S
stryker2000
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stryker2000
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S



There are some that actually use it as a strong portion of the diet. I was just curious when I saw it. A site supplied was

http://bces.cnu.edu/documents/GliderPaper.pdf



Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497054
03/06/08 07:49 PM
03/06/08 07:49 PM

L
LindsayAnnG
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LindsayAnnG
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L



seems that from that article you posted diet B that has the kibble in it is very high in fat, and only has a 1:1 ca:ph ratio which is NOT good.. It is odd the way it is worded in there about the ca:ph because it said that diet B 9the kibble one) had the optimal ca:ph ratio since it was 1:1 and the others have from 8 to 10 times MORE calcium than Phosphorous, meaning there was too much phosphorous, but as compared to what was eaten, the gliders did not get enough calcium when they ate diet B but did get a good amount of both ca and ph from diets A and C (A being like the suncoast diet, and C being BML)

that "article" was funded by the people who run this board, and the sugar gliders were supplied by Sun Coast gliders in FLA

Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497064
03/06/08 07:55 PM
03/06/08 07:55 PM

S
stryker2000
Unregistered
stryker2000
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S



lol, you obviously know more about this than I do frown

Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497078
03/06/08 08:03 PM
03/06/08 08:03 PM

L
LindsayAnnG
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LindsayAnnG
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L



well, i have been around here reading A LOT .. especially when i first got my gliders.. the stupid petstore ofcoarse gave me ALL the wrong info!!

So yea.. i completely disagree with using cat food, BUT it is good to keep a few cans around in case of some natural disaster or emergency where all protein sources are not easily accessable. it is ONLY good in case of an emergency because it stays forever in a can and you dont have to worry about it being safe for gliders, its just not good for a long term diet.

Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497221
03/06/08 10:47 PM
03/06/08 10:47 PM
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 708
Melbourne Australia
Marz Offline
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Marz  Offline
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 708
Melbourne Australia
It is all in how much you feed which dictates whether something is good or bad. An all cat food diet is bad, as would be an all fruit diet, an all artificial nectar mix(BML,HPW,Healesville etc) or an all pellet diet.

What is good is variety and there is nothing wrong with a small portion of high quality cat food/kibble/ chow in a glider's diet providing it's not a large part of the diet.

This is why popular diets are made up of more than one component.

Gliders need the variety and they also need hard foods to maintain healthy teeth and gums. Gliders who have gum issues are usually those who have been raised on a soft food diet. In the wild, gliders chew huge gouges out of trees and crunch on hard beetles etc. In cages, often there is not the outlet for them to do that, so we must provide hard foods for them to keep those gums healthy.

My gliders as well as getting fruit/veg/insects/artificial nectar mix, also get a good blend of crunchy items. I follow the Healesville Sanctuary's recommendation of small dog kibble ( a couple of tiny pieces per glider is suffice), as well as raw carrots, raw sweet potato and lots and lots of native flora and other crunchy treats.

Oh Lindsay, I see you mention cans of cat food. As far as I know, no-one feeds wet cat food to their gliders and the reference in this thread is to the dry cat food.






Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: Marz] #497256
03/06/08 11:26 PM
03/06/08 11:26 PM

L
LindsayAnnG
Unregistered
LindsayAnnG
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L



Marz, i know that crunchy is good for their teeth, but as a staple it's not considered good because they dont have a choice BUT to eat the crunchy..

I use cork bark for my guys because they gnaw away on it and it is VERY good for their teeth, but they are forced to do it every day, just as they please..

I didn't even think about the fact that most the BML and other diets are ALL soft, and that it would cause an issue..

Yea, i only mentioned the cans as an emergency source of protien, but not as a staple or in any part of a diet..

Re: US versus UK dieting [Re: ] #497410
03/07/08 03:58 AM
03/07/08 03:58 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 3,071
u.s.a.
the gliders angel Offline
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the gliders angel  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 3,071
u.s.a.
i have been using hard food for 3 yrs and no problems with teeth. my past gliders never had hard food and did have tooth problems. these gliders get pet pro and briskeys for variety along with their other food. and they crunch it up.


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