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A question about safe insects & how many to feed? #1344091
06/02/13 05:15 AM
06/02/13 05:15 AM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 52
Tucson, AZ
suggie_mama Offline OP
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suggie_mama  Offline OP
Out of Pouch

Joined: May 2013
Posts: 52
Tucson, AZ
I've been thinking of changing up my sugar gliders' diet... currently I have been doing the HPW diet for them... fresh fruits & veggies (very large variety mixture, including fresh spinach, blackberries, carrots, blueberries, pears, apples, and bell pepper) - I am giving them a variety & switching it up sometimes with mango, pear, strawberries, grapes, green beans, broccoli, etc). Supplements are liquid calcium drops from our vet, bee pollen, glider booster.

So far, I have been feeding them dried mealworms as occasional treats. They are afraid of the live food... I tried & they didn't even want to touch it- weird?

Munchkee, my boy, is not a picky eater... he's super-hardy & he loves to eat.

Orbitty, my girl, is super picky. Sometimes I have to feed her by hand to get her to eat certain things.

For the past 2 days, Orbitty has not touched her fruits & veggies mix! She is at least eating the HPW mix & any treats I provide.

...but tonight, I tried something different. I had 2 dead crickets that I got from the pet store this afternoon (originally for my tarantula but they died in the car so we refrigerated them to give them to the babies when they woke up tonight), gave it to them and they SNATCHED them up soooo quick, I have never seen them sooo excited & happy about food before, not even for their most favorite foods or treats!!!

I am taking this as a sign that they are craving a more insect-based diet. What I would like to know is what are the best dried/dead insects to feed them? They seemed to LOVE the crickets, much much more than mealworms. I've tried live mealworms and a live wax worm, and they don't know or understand what to do. Any suggestions? And are crickets something I could feed them on a regular basis, or just occasional treat? Also, should I decrease the amount of HPW mixture I give them everyday if I'm increasing their amount of insects, to balance out the protein?

A little background on Orbitty... she is about 13-14 weeks OOP, and recently may have been pregnant due to me thinking she was a neutered male when I first got her & getting her an intact cagemate that I was told was still too young to neuter. I still can't really tell, but I think she may have rid herself of her joeys recently... frown

Thank you in advance for your advice smile


Danielle
gangel AZ Pocket Angels Pet Rescue, Ferret Friends Inc
Devoted sugar mama to :wfb: Orbitty, :bb: Munchkee, :grey: Brownie & :bb: Niblett
- 6 ferrets: Falcor, Little Poo, Oona, Luna, Ziggy, Bubbles
- Lola & Ludo the dogs
- :rbridge: Rikki, Tavi & Izzy our beloved ferrets. In my heart forever
Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: suggie_mama] #1344099
06/02/13 08:44 AM
06/02/13 08:44 AM
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,089
Central Connecticut
BCChins Offline
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BCChins  Offline
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Central Connecticut
Originally Posted By: suggie_mama
I've been thinking of changing up my sugar gliders' diet... currently I have been doing the HPW diet for them... fresh fruits & veggies (very large variety mixture, including fresh spinach, blackberries, carrots, blueberries, pears, apples, and bell pepper) - I am giving them a variety & switching it up sometimes with mango, pear, strawberries, grapes, green beans, broccoli, etc). Supplements are liquid calcium drops from our vet, bee pollen, glider booster.
With HPW you do not need to add other ingredients to it. Just keep giving them F&V and they might not eat all of them and then after some time they may decide they like them. They are kind of like having a 15 month old baby and one day they like what they eat then the next day they gate it!

So far, I have been feeding them dried mealworms as occasional treats. They are afraid of the live food... I tried & they didn't even want to touch it- weird?
Try cutting a meal worm in half and squeeze some inner stuff out and let them lick it, then after they decide they like it just partially cut one they will catch on that they are yummy.

Munchkee, my boy, is not a picky eater... he's super-hardy & he loves to eat.

Orbitty, my girl, is super picky. Sometimes I have to feed her by hand to get her to eat certain things.

For the past 2 days, Orbitty has not touched her fruits & veggies mix! She is at least eating the HPW mix & any treats I provide.
If you feed them separately try pouring the HPW over the fruits and veggies. Give it a few day's as they might not like it at first. When ever trying new things out give it several day's before saying they do not like it. Also try offering just 2 fruits and two veggies each night and also if you are offering more them 1 Tablespoon of fruits and 1 Tablespoon of veggies it may not look like they are eating it. They night be also leaving the skins of things like green beans. For the longest time I thought they hated green beans but to my discovery they were eating the insides!

...but tonight, I tried something different. I had 2 dead crickets that I got from the pet store this afternoon (originally for my tarantula but they died in the car so we refrigerated them to give them to the babies when they woke up tonight), gave it to them and they SNATCHED them up soooo quick, I have never seen them sooo excited & happy about food before, not even for their most favorite foods or treats!!!
Be very careful with crickets they can carry Aflatoxins as most are raised on some type of corn/corn meal. This is very bad for gliders.

I am taking this as a sign that they are craving a more insect-based diet. What I would like to know is what are the best dried/dead insects to feed them? They seemed to LOVE the crickets, much much more than mealworms. I've tried live mealworms and a live wax worm, and they don't know or understand what to do. Any suggestions? And are crickets something I could feed them on a regular basis, or just occasional treat? Also, should I decrease the amount of HPW mixture I give them everyday if I'm increasing their amount of insects, to balance out the protein?

A little background on Orbitty... she is about 13-14 weeks OOP, and recently may have been pregnant due to me thinking she was a neutered male when I first got her & getting her an intact cage mate that I was told was still too young to neuter. I still can't really tell, but I think she may have rid herself of her joeys recently... frown

Thank you in advance for your advice smile

Try looking at other diets like The Pet Glider diet,Val's Green Variety or the others. I think you will find them safer then trying to find safe bugs to feed. This is just my opinion.


Have a Good Day
Brenda &
Mr. Magoo

Friendly Reminder please have an e-collar ready before you need it......
Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: suggie_mama] #1344143
06/02/13 08:41 PM
06/02/13 08:41 PM
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,720
Perry, Iowa
josefine Offline
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josefine  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,720
Perry, Iowa
I order my crickets from grubco. I spoke @ great length to a Sheila,wanting to know as much background as I could on them. She assured me they weren't being corn from the company they buy them from. I told her I was going to trust her,& that hopefully nothing will happen to my babies.I put a pretty big guilt trip on her,I hope I did,anyway. They have about 4 different sizes, & they come in a minimum quantity of 500.


Larry & Josefine Vodenik
2014 4 St
Perry,Iowa50220
515/321-6081cell#
j.vodenik@hotmail.com
Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: suggie_mama] #1344201
06/03/13 11:03 AM
06/03/13 11:03 AM
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 20,093
North Central Ohio
GliderNursery Offline
Tech Admn
GliderNursery  Offline
Tech Admn

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 20,093
North Central Ohio
Josephine, did you speak with Sherita and not a Sheila?

suggie mama, I would continue to offer their normal diet. Do not add anything to it, especially calcium (unless specified by your vet due to a medical issue). You can offer insects along with your diet. Insects aren't typically fed in captivity as a major source of nutrients, they get that from their daily diet. Insects are more for dental hygeine and treats than anything.

Cricket, if not fed a corn based diet (which is near impossible to find since cricket food contains chick mash -->corn based) are fine, mealies are also fine. Try what Brenda suggested with cutting the mealie. Sometimes you have to show them the 'good stuff' for them to understand how good they really are! wink

I had a young pair come to me that I thought would never eat a mealie. It took quite some time, but they finally figured it out and now they LOVE them!


Shelly

Don't sacrifice quality information for convenient information.


Glider Nursery

Sugar Glider Foundation


Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: suggie_mama] #1344202
06/03/13 11:13 AM
06/03/13 11:13 AM
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 20,093
North Central Ohio
GliderNursery Offline
Tech Admn
GliderNursery  Offline
Tech Admn

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 20,093
North Central Ohio
I just spoke with Sherita at Grubco. Corn is the base for the feed that is used for the Crickets. The feed comes from a high quality source, and they have never had any issues with aflatoxins. Their cricket feed is FDA approved. There are no preservatives or additives in it. wink


Shelly

Don't sacrifice quality information for convenient information.


Glider Nursery

Sugar Glider Foundation


Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: GliderNursery] #1344297
06/04/13 12:00 AM
06/04/13 12:00 AM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 52
Tucson, AZ
suggie_mama Offline OP
Out of Pouch
suggie_mama  Offline OP
Out of Pouch

Joined: May 2013
Posts: 52
Tucson, AZ
I get my crickets from a local exotics shop - they specialize in bugs, in addition to exotic reptiles and mammals... I am going to ask them about their crickets but I am pretty sure they are high quality too because they need to be in order to keep certain reptiles & tarantulas healthy. I will still definitely double check - thank you sooo much, all of you! smile


Danielle
gangel AZ Pocket Angels Pet Rescue, Ferret Friends Inc
Devoted sugar mama to :wfb: Orbitty, :bb: Munchkee, :grey: Brownie & :bb: Niblett
- 6 ferrets: Falcor, Little Poo, Oona, Luna, Ziggy, Bubbles
- Lola & Ludo the dogs
- :rbridge: Rikki, Tavi & Izzy our beloved ferrets. In my heart forever
Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: BCChins] #1344298
06/04/13 12:11 AM
06/04/13 12:11 AM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 52
Tucson, AZ
suggie_mama Offline OP
Out of Pouch
suggie_mama  Offline OP
Out of Pouch

Joined: May 2013
Posts: 52
Tucson, AZ
Thank you Brenda, I am definitely going to try cutting one in half sometime - that would probably work with the wax worms too!

The only reason I have been adding supplements in addition to the HPW is because my babies were pretty sick when I first got them. I was instructed by my vet to keep them on the liquid calcium for a while (one had HLP, the other had seizures due to severe malnourishment).

I use the standard HPW mix but I usually add an extra tiny pinch of bee pollen & a tiny pinch of glider booster to their fruits & veggies mix. Do you think it could be too much with the HPW?

I am about to try pouring some of the mix onto the fruits & veggies tonight - I will let you know how it works out, thanks smile


Danielle
gangel AZ Pocket Angels Pet Rescue, Ferret Friends Inc
Devoted sugar mama to :wfb: Orbitty, :bb: Munchkee, :grey: Brownie & :bb: Niblett
- 6 ferrets: Falcor, Little Poo, Oona, Luna, Ziggy, Bubbles
- Lola & Ludo the dogs
- :rbridge: Rikki, Tavi & Izzy our beloved ferrets. In my heart forever
Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: suggie_mama] #1344362
06/04/13 02:41 PM
06/04/13 02:41 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 7,560
Long Island, NY
yiyo Offline
Serious Glideritis
yiyo  Offline
Serious Glideritis

Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 7,560
Long Island, NY
You should probably consult with Peggy and ask her about the supplements. As the creator of the diet, she'll be able to best guide you if it's ok to use them or not.


Alyssa

"Moving on is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard."
Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: suggie_mama] #1344459
06/05/13 10:45 AM
06/05/13 10:45 AM
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 20,093
North Central Ohio
GliderNursery Offline
Tech Admn
GliderNursery  Offline
Tech Admn

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 20,093
North Central Ohio
In this situation, I think you should follow your vets advice, but should probably contact him to determine how long to offer it. I would do this since you now have them on a much more balanced diet and too much over time isn't good for them. wink


Shelly

Don't sacrifice quality information for convenient information.


Glider Nursery

Sugar Glider Foundation


Re: A question about safe insects & how many to feed? [Re: suggie_mama] #1344480
06/05/13 01:13 PM
06/05/13 01:13 PM
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,089
Central Connecticut
BCChins Offline
Glider Addict
BCChins  Offline
Glider Addict

Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,089
Central Connecticut
I agree if you had health issues then you should consult with your vet on how long to add them into the diet and asking Peggy is a good idea also.


Have a Good Day
Brenda &
Mr. Magoo

Friendly Reminder please have an e-collar ready before you need it......

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