So I have two babies Bella, and Smokey they are both 5 years old. Lately they can't eat together if they do then Smokey will eat the food and every time Bella tries to eat Smokey will yell at her, and try to attack her. So I have to separate them, but even when they are separated they will still yell at each other. They also aren't drinking much and I don't know what I can do to get them to drink. They also move very slowly, and sometimes their bodys are like stiff like they haven't groomed themselves in a while. And Bella and Smokey are thinner, and Bella was already smaller than her sister. And it really scares me because I don't know what to do! Please help so I know if they are sick or not, and what I can do to help until their vet appointment!!!


Sincerely, GliderParent

Just some questions so I have a better idea of what to tell you.

What diet are you feeding?

Do you have a water bottle or water silo in their cage?

How long have you had them?

As far as the fighting going on during eating, offer two eating stations. Do it on different levels of the cage if you can. Weigh them with a gram scale, at least once a week same day and time every week and keep a record of it.

When is their vet appointment? Have them checked for parasites and Giardia when you take them to the vet.

Do they need to have their nails trimmed, sometime gliders look unkempt if their back grooming nails get to long.

I would try to get them seen by the vet ASAP. Try to get your appointment moved up.

How warm do you keep the room they are in? Some gliders move slow when they first wake up. do they play at night?

I feed them a homemade diet, with fruits vegetables, etc. Yes I have a water bottle in there, I have had them since July of 2020. At the moment, we have a small cage for one and the bigger cage for the other, I have tried putting the food at different levels of the cage and Smokey still yells at Bella. I can try to weigh them, No they don't need their nails trimmed they just got them trimmed on Monday. The vet appointment is on the coming up Monday. Their room is at the normal temperature of 75 degrees.

The homemade diet is applesause, fruits and veggies, non-fat, dairy free yogurt, eggs, chicken. And I have separate cages only when they eat because then Smokey will yell and try to attack Bella.

Can you be a bit more specific on their diet? Nutrition is so critical to their health and even temperament.

Non dairy non fat yogurt can have artificial sweeteners. Any artificial sweeteners can be lethal to sugar gliders.

As far as fruits and vegetables, are you following the phosphorus to calcium ratios (2-1)? It's important they get a balanced diet of what they need. Most diets recommend full fat yogurt. If they eat too many f/v with phosphorus, and not enough calcium, they can develop HLP(hind leg paralysis).

There are several tested/proven diets out there that have done all the work of balancing out their nutritional needs. You can click on the blue word diet and it will take you to the database.

I have fed, BML, OHPW, and Critterlove. My gliders have done very well on these diets. I chose to keep them on Critterlove ( Critterlove.com ) and their salad recipes due to the ease of making and variety of salad choices . TPG is a popular diet but can't be proven, but gliders have been thriving on it as well. BML ingredients can be purchased in the the grocery store and the specific vitamins can be purchased a a local pet store.

Glider Central is a safe place where we don't pass judgement. We are here for the good of the gliders.

Please keep us updated on your babies.

I have got the yogurt wrong, it is plain full fat yogurt with no artificial sweeteners.

We have them on a homemade diet that is made up of fruits and vegetables that are fine for them to eat, with non dairy full fat yogurt with no artificial sweeteners, uncooked oats, pulp free orange juice with calcium in it, and unsweetened applesause, and that is pretty much it, every other day when we feed them we put sprinkle their calcium on top of their food.

*Update*
My babies came back from the vet, and they have lost a lot of weight, the weight loss is what caused the symptoms, so they are okay, The vet gave me a new food recipe for me to try to get them back to their normal weight! And some other stuff for me to try! So my babies are okay!!! I am sooo happy they are because I was really worried about them! Thank you everyone for your support and helpful advice!!

What did your vet recommend?

She recommended a new recipe with the complete diet, stuff added into it and that the vegetables and fruits should be given during the day as something they eat during the day, and also recommended that to change up their food often so they will eat like they are supposed to. So they aren't tired of the same food, she also said to sometimes give them baby food. So we are transitioning to the new diet, so in a month they will be on their new diet!