In response to another thread I got this idea to start this one.

Looking for pros and cons to using a staple diet.

NOT speaking of a complete diet like BML or the blended diet, or HPW.

When someone mentions a "staple" diet I get the idea of a diet component that is a part of the meal every night and never changes. A part that could be fed by itself and still be nutritionally complete.

So...if BML or HPW could be fed by itself without any fruits and veggies then I guess it could be considered a staple, but I was leaning this thread more towards "packaged" glider foods such as the Suncoast products and the various other dry glider foods that have appeared in the market.

so here goes:
CONS
*not nutritionally complete by itself, generally speaking and in the opinion of most glider owners.
*for some people it would be too easy to get lazy and just rely on the packaged food.
*gliders could become bored with it and refuse to eat it

PROS
*hard foods are fun to eat and clean the teeth *exercise teeth and gums, copying behavior from the wild when they rip at tree bark
*good "base" for people to work with, just adding some fruits and veggies, and vitamins, to make it a "better" diet
*great for an emergency or when need to travel and have no refrigeration is available
*easy to use as a foraging treat
*packaged foods usually claim to be developed by experts that know the nutritional needs of the animal they are made for (true or not? I am not sure on this one)

I personally feel that a dry packaged glider food is a good component of a diet when worked into a "complete" diet of added veggies, fruits, etc. depending of course on the specific dry food in question.

CONS
*hard pellet foods cause teeth/gum problems (not sure about this ~ fact or fiction??)
*large amount of waste in pellets as glider eats "what it can" and throws the rest out. (I found mine would basically shred the pellet, but left over half of each pellet.)
*Some pellet foods (Sugar Glider Complete by Exotic Nutrition) needs refrigeration (unless that's changed ~ I haven't used it in a couple of years)

PROS
*great for an emergency or when need to travel (would rather take baby foods, dried fruits, dried mealies)

I personally don't know of any pro's to feeding a pelleted food to an animal that isn't accustomed to eating a dry food, so it'll be interesting to see what others have to say.

ETA: Of the labels I have seen of pelleted foods, all have said that fruits and/or veggies need to be fed. (Keep in mind I haven't seen them all) So I'm not sure there is one that is truly a complete staple as you've described as the intent of this post.

I can add to Pro's... Personally speaking, I use exotic nutrition with Euc. I find it nice to have as a munchie snack for them if they wake during the day.




I dont leave their food in their cage during the day, and it comes out early when its warm out (as yogurt spoils quick).. I do put a slice of bread and apple in, however having the extra pellets in there gives them the extra snack. Much like my daughters Goldfish crackers when she goes to school.

PROS: I use soft, moist pellets called Zookeeper's Secret. I only use it during the day, after I remove their dinner dishes, in case someone gets up and wants a snack that won't spoil.

CONS: They very rarely touch any of the pellets, which is an expensive waste of money. Enough so, that I've been considering not buying it anymore.

Side note: Bread isn't a good idea to feed gliders. It's full of sugar, salt, preservatives and additives. The apples are a better idea.

I think of a staple as just a constant element to the diet, but NOT nutritionally complete. For instance, rice, pasta and potatoes are all considered staples in many human meals but I don't think anyone would consider them nutritionally complete by themselves.

I keep some dry food in the cage all the time so they have something to snack on if they want (they don't eat much of it these days) and in case something happens that prevents me from getting home as planned (standard winter planning for Colorado). I don't ever want it to be the only thing they have to eat but want it there in case it is.

We use Happy Glider dry food for one MAIN reason:

We were having problems with gliders bickering over food. We introduced the dry food and the bickering stopped. Literally overnight.

So the PRO for us would be that our gliders quit being food aggressive.

I also don't feel quite as bad if I'm late feeding at night because I know they have something to snack on until their diet and fruits and veggies arrive.