Yes, my gliders are vet checked. When everything hit the fan , it went from slow symptoms to it just went downhill fast. Parasites have been ruled out and i am very diligent in fecaling, both smears and floats. No adult deaths, However I was in tears for about 4 days feeling at a loss when everything hit the fan so quick. Like I said it was gradual things then all of a sudden things changed rather quickly. I pushed sub-q fluids given by the vet and gatorade. They seemed to show improvement for a couple hrs then eliminate the fluids and we were back where we started. We looked at gliders added , which ones were added this 2010 and what else was changed in 2010. The two things changed in 2010 was diet and a couple more pairs. The deaths were of cannabalized joeys from low birth weights of 10 grams. The other joeys were pulled from ip and then cannablaized and i never got to see them other than feeling them while ip. No adults died, however right before the diet switch back to HPW, I thought it was going to happen. As soon as i switched back to HPW, the adults and joeys that were oop and survived, got so much better. Now everything is back to as it should be and has been since the switch.

Symptoms were initially cracked fur and minor weight loss at first to more weight loss, loss of energy, tails not being bushy and hairs on tails seeming like they were thinning but not in an overgrooming manner, joeys lost that were newly oop or ip by cannabalization, dehydration was last to set in with continued weight loss and continuance of the symptoms listed. Once i switched cold turkey back to HPW my last resort, everything seemed to start to improve within a week and a half. the fur of course and coats took about a month to get back to normal but dehydration, energy, even fluffier tails, and definitely weight improved more drastically than i had expected.

No, To be honest, I did not even think of that. I simply switched back to the diet that I started with.

I saw all these symptoms. Mine haven't progressed any further - no lost joeys or dehydration.

The tails thing is very noticeable. Even my joeys don't have fluffy tails.

I haven't been switched back even a week yet.

I PMed Candy a link to this thread. It was not my intention to keep it a secret from her, nor to talk behind her back. I just was sort of stunned to discover it was more than just me and my gliders, and it wasn't weather related or something like that. This is all very new to me, so I didn't really feel I had anything to contact Candy with. However, I think she should be aware of this discussion!

Alden, I noticed a change in fur in about 1-2 weeks. I still have 2 gliders that are not fully back but really close and it's been about a month maybe a little over.

I have been feeding the blended diet (original blend) since about mid-December, and as of late, I too have noticed a difference in my boys..

Now, when I first got my boys, they were on the Ensure diet. I felt that for them, the Ensure diet didn't work as they seemed a bit greasy and had a putrid smell to them(in my opinion). So I did a little research and decided on the blended diet. After switching, I did seem to notice some improvement. They had more energy, were awake during normal "glider hours" and really played. They even started feeling less greasy, and their smell improved immensely.

Now, after having fed the blended diet for a little over a month, I've noticed change in my boys yet again. They sleep a LOT now. It's rare that I ever catch them awake anymore. They have an odd smell to them now (different than before), particularly when they urinate. Their urine has a very strong smell. They also seem to be getting "greasy" again. And now that it has been brought to my attention, their fur does appear to be cracking. It is by no means severe, but it's not the smooth coat that gliders should have.

My boy's poo has been odd lately as well. It's been extremely hard an jet black, not like their "normal poo". Just putting this out there so see if maybe anyone else has noticed a difference in poo...

I can not attest to the "fluffiness" of their tails, as my boys have had scrawny tails since I've had them..

I do hope, if this IS in fact diet related, that we can quickly amend the problem.

Candy just PMed me. She is online and is aware of the thread. She is reading, then I'm sure she'll respond, if appropriate.

I feel nauseous right now. One of my girls has just dropped joeys IP (I think).

I noticed my gliders' tail fur was looking a little thin, but I didn't think anything of it (thought maybe it was the weather?). Other than that, we have had no symptoms here, but we've only been on the blended diet for about three weeks.

This anecdotal evidence is enough for me. I am going to switch to HPW.

Haleigh, I have to ask -- just for the sake of understanding fully if this problem is diet related or otherwise -- have you taken your gliders to the vet since you began noticing changes? Have they had fecals recently?

They were taken to the vet and had fecals done a few days before I got them (I got them Thanksgiving day, 2010) and the results were clear. Since then, no I haven't had them into a vet.. So they were last checked about 2 months ago.

I would have them vet checked to make sure that the changes are, in fact, diet related.

Will do!

I just received a phone call to alert me to this thread.

I have not seen any problems with my gliders, but I only have 12 and only 1 breeding pair. They have had two joeys that are both growing well.

I am sorry if any of you feel the diet has been a problem. I have no idea what changes if any would be called for.

The Blended diet does not contain any ingredients that have not been used in other glider diets - except the use of a human grade calcium supplement instead of the RepCal used in BML. But even that is not entirely new as both Darcy's diet uses human grade calcium and Priscilla Price's vitamin combination also contains a human grade calcium product.

The major difference between the Blended diet and other diets is the amounts of various ingredients.

Now, my turn to ask questions. First, I would have appreciated an email or PM from any of you that have had concerns. I have asked all along that you give me feedback on how your gliders are doing on the Blended diet. This is the first negative feedback I have had since I posted the diet over a year ago.

Those of you who have concerns, what fruits and vegetables are you regularly using with the Blended diet?

Are you offering a wide variety of different fruits and vegetables?

Are you using any of the "relish" or "smoothie" recipes that rely heavily on Bok Choi and Papaya?

What types of treats do you offer, and how much.

There are SO MANY variables involved in the way we each feed our gliders, I find it very difficult to say that the Blended diet is the only thing the 4 or 5 households that are reporting problems have in common.

How many of you switched to the Blended diet because you were having difficulty getting your gliders to eat fruits and vegetables? What changes did you see in that behavior when you changed to the Blended diet.

Are those of you seeing a problem using the Calcium Carbonate or have you chosen to use Calcium Citrate?

I am not sure the diet needs any changes. If it is not the right diet for your gliders, by all means choose another diet.

Have you discussed the Blended diet with your vet and showed your vet the comparison chart for nutrients in the Blended diet, BML and HPW? What were your vet's comments? Did your vet see any part of the diet that should be of concern? Please share the comments from your vet with me.

Thank you to those of you that had the courtesy to contact me and let me know this thread was running full speed ahead with out me.

I think that vet checks would be a good idea as well. Then that way you will know if they have a bug or not. I sure hope this isn't from the diet and just a strange coincidence. A lot of people use the Blended diet.

We have been feeding the Blended diet (variation 2) to our gliders for over a year and have had no problems. We provide a balanced selection of fruits and vegetables with the blended mix, and they usually get a little yogurt for a morning treat and meal worms as an afternoon snack. We weigh all four gliders every week and have kept a record of their weight since we got them.

We too had some problems with the diet. We have seen thinning tails, poor coats (ranging from cracked and not as nice to just TERRIBLE-greasy and discolored) small joeys- one we almost lost at 6 weeks. she was 26 grams (I started hand feeding her HPW and she has been gaining weight steadily.) cannibalized joeys from a pair that has NEVER cannibalized before-nothing outwardly wrong with the joey except she was small but about the same size as her brother that lived, pairs stopped breeding. We switched back to a modified HPW about 3 weeks ago and we just had a joey come OOP 3 days ago. she's much bigger than they have been. We have 26 gliders. just about all have been affected. we fed the original version. Out gliders all gained weight on this diet however- no one got skinny. We did have a female recently start eating her own feces. All our gliders are clean and parasite free and otherwise very healthy.

This is news to me. I've been feeding the Blended diet for 9 months now with no incident of joey weight-loss, cannibalization, poor coat health or any other issue.


Now, I do not use the exact recipe that is on the website, but I've stayed pretty close to it. I do use RepCal.


My main fruit is papaya. My main veggie is spaghetti or butternut squash. I feed the main fruit and veggie (blended with a little yogurt so they are sure to eat it) every night in addition to cut up fruits and veggies.

I have been using the blended for a while now and my glider's have looked (coat and weight wise) and ate better since we started using the blended I have had no cannibalized or rejected joey's!

EDITED TO ADD: I feed the original blend I use the veggies reccomended by Candy as well as a fruit smoothie some weeks and fresh cut up fruit others I also give the nursing mothers a small amount of extra blended!

I started using the Blended diet app. 6 weeks ago in hopes of it helping Badge and Bonnie and also Victor, my senior glider who is almost 12 yrs. old. Badge had surgery again last May to have an anal gland removed. The surgery took its toll on him and his weight dropped drastically. His fur was not "recovering" and he has been having issues with peeing on himself in the pouch making him and Bonnie both a mess. Greasy looking fur and thinning on his tail was getting worse after trying many things.

I then purchased a humidifier app. a month ago. It apparently was not the problem as nothing changed.

I went over the Blended diet with a few people and called my vet. I decided to try it since nothing else was working and vet thought it might help because of the protein combination.

Badge did gain weight from 112 to 164 which is okay for his size. However, he was getting worse with his fur and tail looking cracked and greasy. He started getting constipated again. (not good after the anal surgery)

Since he has been on the Blended diet, he has lost 18 grams which is fine, he is at 146 grams now. His fur is softer, still cracked but getting better and his tail is filling out finally.

The constipation stopped, he is active again instead of laying in the pouch not playing at night, he has his energy back. He is also eating his fruits again. (big plus there as he always loved them but stopped eating them almost a year ago)

Badge has serious gum/teeth issues and has to use his side teeth to eat as he lost the top front teeth years ago and his bottom front teeth are protruding out past his nose now due to shifting in the jaw and gums. The Blended diet has enabled him to have more "fruit" since it uses the yogurt juice.

I am using the original without varying. I give my gliders mealworms when I have them and the tiny yogurt drops among many varieties of veggies and fruits. I give them 2 days off the diet and instead feed them boiled chicken or scrambled eggs along with veggies, fruits, yogurt or other things I don't give them each night.

Victor will be 12 yrs. old on June 15th. He has lost weight in the past year and his fur is thinning pretty bad. He's tiny now. He is doing much better on the Blended diet already. He does have a lot of energy for being a senior glider now.

I started ALL of gliders on the Blended diet a week after I started those three on it. They all lick their dishes clean and eat all of their foods again. The one joey I have is 9 weeks old and has no issues with appetite, energy or weight. ALL of my gliders have a lot of energy and no issues since starting the diet. Granted, I have not been using it long but so far things are looking better here.

Glide bye Lily - are you one of Adri's 5 breeders that she opened the thread about?

Thank you all for your comments, good and bad.

Glide Bye Lily you state you use the following vegetables:


This is a somewhat short list of vegetables when variety is the goal. Mixed vegetables are usually packaged very heavy on the corn and peas, a few carrots and even fewer green beans. Are you using these frequently? Perhaps adding other vegetables - with any diet you choose to feed - would bring a wider spread of vitamins to the diet. Broccoli, sugar snap peas, spring mix greens, and green beans (with out the corn), butternut squash, yellow squash, zuccini are all others you might include on the menu for variety.

Since the problems are being reported specifically related to Breeding colonies, perhaps offering more Blended diet - 1 TBS instead of 2 tsp - might be tried even though the diet already has more protein and calcium that the HPW breeder recipe.

Another thought as come to mind. Gliders in the wild have breeding seasons and according to some they breed more when insects and protein sources are plentiful. I would have to consider the fact that feeding higher protein diets year round may be contributing to more frequent breeding in our captive glider population. Good for breeders that may be looking at profit from increased joey sales, but probably not very good health wise for the breeding gliders. Perhaps someone will study this more in the future and come up with guidelines for feeding gliders in a way that they would naturally extend the periods between joeys. That research is beyond by abilities.

There are so many variables from one glider home to another that all contribute to the health and fur condition of our gliders. I do not know if anyone could begin to name all of these variables.

Now, for those of you experiencing problems - This past year has had some unusual weather extremes. January and February 2010 were much colder (at least here in Florida) than in the past 10+ years. The summer brought new record high temperatures around the country. I think everyone has noticed this winter has brought some extreme cold and record breaking snow in many states.

Have any of you run the heat and/or air conditioning in your homes more that in past years? I know my electric bills say that I have here. This may be one of MANY differences in the environment our gliders live in. The air in my home is much drier when either the heat or AC have to run overtime to keep the temperature comfortable for humans and gliders.

I would love to hear first hand from the other 3 breeders who have expressed their concerns to Adri. (assuming that Kristy and Glide Bye Lily are two of the 5)

"Cracked" fur has been mentioned in so many situations that it does not raise a red flag for me. It has been attributed to dry air in Arizona, to not eating fruits and vegetables with the HPW diet, to dirty or small cage conditions, to pellet foods, and to general poor health to name a few issues to which this problem has been linked in board discussions.

We have fed all four of our gliders the blended mix since getting them a year ago. Two of our gliders we adopted last March, they are about to be 8 yrs. old and were on PP diet when we adopted them and switched them to the blended diet. We also give them about 11/2 T of fruit yogurt in the morning and each get 6 meal worms and share 2 T of Kiefer in the mid afternoon. I also noticed our gliders were getting very cracked fur about October, which just seemed to be getting worse. They have also been picky vegetable eater the last two months. They are favoring beans and fresh leafy vegetables and refusing to eat anything else. I blamed the cracked fur on two things. Their picky eating and the fact that the house has been dry since fall. I bought a vaporizer, warm heat, three weeks ago. I keep it next to the cage, run it all day and all night. This weekend, we noticed a dramatic change in their fur. It is much softer, fluffy tails and no cracks. We also "caught" them sitting on the side of the cage closest to the vaporizer, for minutes at a time, as though enjoying the mist. I also was interested in this thread because we had noticed a change in our glider. But, like Candy, I am wondering if they are having a difficult time with this winter, and lack of humidity in the air. Our houses are so well insulated now that they do not get an exchange of air from outside as the older homes tend to get. Just a few thoughts.. Non of our gliders are bred, so I can't comment on that.

I recently started feeding Blended about a month or so ago.

I haven't seen any negative impacts on any of my girls. Three of them were rescued January 6th. When they came to me, while having very full and fluffy coats with only very slight cracking, they were brown with malnutrition.

I brought them over to Blended right away, and they've immediately started looking better, now all very fluffy and gray, as their usual color should be.

I switched over my other glider with these three, due to the fact that she wasn't eating as well as she used to, she now cleans her plate whenever I give her any sort of fruit and vegetable. (Anyone who has seen my pervious thread would know that Daisy was a very very very picky eater.)

I'd like to mention that I have always fed more than 2 tsp. My breeding trio gets roughly 4 tablespoons a night and they practically clear their plates!

ok, we have central air and humidity... so that is not the issue we were having. The room is on auto temp control and humidity is set 24 hrs a day to keep humidity the same throughout the year. Just clarifying is all for my glider room.