As a relatively new glider owner, I too have been confused about all the different information about what to feed. I got my 2 gliders from someone who was unable to care for them anymore--they are about 8 months and 11 months old. The previous owner was feeding Vitasmart pellets, organic baby food, with some fresh fruit. I researched multiple diets and have been making my own fresh food trying to balance out their diets with the proper calcium to phosphorus ratios, BUT these 2 gliders are super picky so they aren't eating the proper mix. Add to that, I'm struggling with a combination of contradictory feeding recommendations, and it's completely confusing.

I try to feed a variety of about 3-4 different foods per meal in small quantities.
They will NOT eat these fresh fruits--honeydew or most melons, rarely a bite or two of cantaloupe, kiwi, apple, papaya, pineapple, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, lime, lemon, mango, oranges, tangerines, bananas
They will NOT eat these fresh vegetables--carrots (diced, shredded, mini--cooked or raw), celery, zucchini (cooked or raw), squash (butternut, acorn), sweet potatoes, tomatoes, corn, green beans,buok choy, spinach, basil, bell peppers (any color)
I have tried mixing no salt sunflower seed spread with honey, but they turned that down too. Also tried tofu and eggs (scrambled and hard boiled, no shell), but those were a no. Diced/shredded chicken and turkey meat - only sometimes. I've tried multiple types of baby foods in pouches and jars, but most of those are ignored. Homemade smoothies-ignored.

They will eat: grapes, blueberries, dried shredded coconut, dried figs, dried apricots, peas (hit or miss), avocado, sometimes yogurt if i mix in honey, kefir is hit/miss. They also like honey, freeze dried mealworms and crickets, almonds (although this was limited to 1-2 slivers in a week). This is not a balanced diet.

Honey - raw or not raw....I have read advice to only feed raw honey and to never feed raw honey. Which is it?

Since they are so picky, I know they aren't getting the best nutrition because they are passing up their balanced diet. I make their food fresh and give it to them as they are waking up, so it's fresh.

I'm not sure if it's connected, but sometimes I wonder how well these 2 gliders can see. They are happy to see me, run up and down me like a racetrack, sometimes come when I call them, but they do bite. It seems more of confusion as to what is food--almost like they can't see. I've tried regular indoor lighting, low lighting, no lighting, flashlight lighting, night light lighting.....no difference. If food is in my flat, open hand, they'll bite me next to where the food is--or randomly on my arm, leg or back as they are hanging out. Again, not sure if this is related or not.

Thanks for any insight or ideas.

Wow, you have covered a lot of ground on lighting!!! Lol!!! Low light is best. Preferably like something that doesn't move much. I use a night light or a red light bulb in a lamp so I can see better.

As far as diet, they will always pick their favorite fruits and vegetables first.

I have fed the BML diet, OHPW, and The Critterlove diet plan. I found the Critterlove to be the best. They do pick out their favorite foods first, and come back later and mostly eat the rest. Gliders can't have much insoluble fiber. They spit it out. So some of what you may see is chewed on, or shelled out leftovers. Green beans are a good example.

Variety isn't necessarily a good thing. It can unsettle their digestive system.

In the Critterlove program, all the guesswork is taken out. There is the staple and 5 different salads to choose from. Mine like #3 &#5 the best. Chop it all up mix it together in a large container and freeze. About every hour while it's freezing, give it a good stir to keep the mixture from freezing into a solid mass. Then bag it up and store in the freezer.

So back to the picky eaters. If their food is given in correct portions, they will eventually eat what is in front of them. You will have to cut back on snacks for awhile. They will not starve themselves. Also, in the CL salads, juices from all the fruits and vegetables will mingle, so they will have the benefits of everything offered.

One other thing about what they may leave behind, they may not like carrots today, next week or next month, but if you watch their dishes closely, it may be chewed on or gone once in awhile. I hope this helps...

You need to choose one of the accepted diets such as Critterlove or BML.

BML is very strict about what vegetables and fruits that you use.

I used to feed it but my gliders were not eating the staple part of it, so I changed to Critterlove Original aka OHPW. When Critterlove came out I switched to that because the powder was made here in the US and you didn't have to wait for it to come from Australia on the slow boat.

My gliders are doing great on the Critterlove diet with the recommended salad mixtures. There are 5 different fruit and vegetable salad mixtures that you rotate through. You are to make up one salad and feed it until it is gone, then choose another and do the same. Because you only have 2 gliders I would cut the salads in half. You just mix them up, bag them in freezer bags and freeze.

Critterlove Complete you just ad water and blend it, you will have to put the liquid in ice cube trays to freeze it, for two gliders you would put 2 tablespoons in each cube.
Critterlove Plus you ad scrambled eggs, bee pollen, honey and water to it, it will freeze to the consistency of ice cream, you can freeze it in a freezer safe container and scoop it out.

Thanks for the advice.I think I'm going to give Critterlove a try--Critterlove Complete or Critterlove Plus? Do you need a calcium supplement with it? (TPG Complete Multi-Vitamins with Calcium was recommended with the current diet, but I don't see any reference to a calcium supplement in the Critterlove diet)

No suppliments needed.

I started with CL complete. You just add water. It's best to put in ice cube trays as it freezes hard.

Or you could get the sample pack and try both at first.

I now use CL plus because it's an ice cream consistency. But you have to add bee pollen and cooked eggs when mixing up a batch of staple. For the way we travel in an RV (which we are in now) it's just easier to keep it in a dish and scoop out. It takes up less freezer space.

Please read the following, grab a journal and follow along.
https://www.critterlove.com/what-should-you-feed-your-captive-bred-sugar-glider