Choosing the appropriate diet for your sugar glider is a big responsibility. Your sugar baby is sensitive and certain foods can easily harm it. We’ll show you some foods that you may or may not be wondering if you can feed to your sugar glider. We’ll start with cheese.
Can sugar gliders eat cheese? What about milk? Read on for more information about what foods sugar gliders can or can’t eat.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Cheese?
Although cheese can be a great source of nutrients, it isn’t safe for your sugar glider since it’s lactose intolerant. This means that your pet’s digestive system can’t digest the lactose in any dairy product, including cheese.
Interestingly, there’s still some debate about whether sugar gliders can have cottage cheese. Therefore, you may try to feed your sugar glider small amounts of cheese every once in a while.
However, make sure to choose low-salt cottage cheese because salty cottage cheese contains high-fat content that can be harmful to your pet.
Can Sugar Gliders Drink Milk?
Just like a human being with lactose intolerance, sugar gliders can’t digest the sugar content in milk. Therefore, you should avoid feeding your little creature milk or milk by-products.
Moreover, sugar gliders can’t tolerate the bacteria in raw cow or goat milk. Even for baby sugar gliders, you should choose a milk replacement that contains all the required nutrients without the lactose naturally found in milk.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Bread?
It’s safe to feed your sugar glider bread. However, it shouldn’t be done daily.
Bread, or carbs generally, can fill up your sugar glider’s stomach fast. This leaves no room for other more nutritious foods.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Yogurt?
It depends, for not all sugar gliders can have yogurt. All sugar gliders can’t tolerate lactose, and therefore all milk by-products. However, some can have a little flavored yogurt from time to time.
Interestingly, there’s no guarantee that your furry friend in particular can digest yogurt. Therefore, it’s up to you to test it if you want. In other words, you can use the trial and error approach, giving your sugar glider some droplets of yogurt to make sure it accepts it.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Eggs?
Eggs will be a great substitute for cheese as a source of protein. Your sugar glider will enjoy eating eggs. However, make sure they’re unseasoned and thoroughly cooked to avoid infections like Salmonella.
Sugar gliders can also eat egg shells. Some people mash them together with the eggs to add some calcium to the dish. Others peel off a little bit of the shell for the sugar glider to have fun peeling off the rest.
5 Tips for an Ideal Sugar Glider’s Diet
Sugar gliders are exotic animals that are relatively new to the pet world. That’s why there’s a bit of confusion as to what to feed them.
Following are some tips to make sure you’re giving your sugar glider the best nutritional value:
1 – Balance It Out
You should offer your sugar glider a well-balanced diet. It needs to have a variety of foods that contain proteins, carbs, fibers…etc.
Do your best to provide all of those nutritional requirements to your pet. Don’t limit their diet to one or two options.
2 – Mimic Their Wild Diet
Always remember that your home isn’t your furry little creature’s natural habitat. Therefore, try to learn what they actually eat in the wild and offer it.
Typically, sugar gliders eat a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Moreover, they consume insects, birds, and bird eggs for protein.
At home, you should mirror these choices by offering fruits and vegetables in addition to some bread.
However, you shouldn’t let your sugar babies feed on insects at home as the insects may be contaminated with pesticides. Instead, substitute their protein sources in the wild with cooked chicken. You can also feed them unseasoned boiled or scrambled eggs, or reduced-salt cottage cheese.
3 – Everything in Moderation
Sugar gliders have tiny stomachs. After all, they’re tiny themselves. Therefore, it’s a good idea to give them any food in moderation, especially treats.
Overfeeding your sugar glider may lead to obesity and health problems. Moreover, if you spoil your furry pet with treats, it may become a picky eater.
If your pet becomes a picky eater, it may eat specific foods while ignoring others. This means less nutritional value and probably a total lack of some nutrients.
4 – Take It Slowly
No one knows for sure what sugar gliders actually like to eat. Thus, you should adopt a trial and error technique, unless you know for sure that some foods are harmful to them.
Introduce different foods slowly and only one at a time. Don’t let your sugar baby try two or more types of food during the same day. If you do that and your sugar glider gets sick, you won’t know which food is causing the problem.
5 – Avoid Sugar and Caffeine
Despite their names, sugar gliders can’t have any form of refined sugar. Avoid giving your pet sugar glider chocolate, candy, or canned fruit because even the tiniest bit of these foods can be fatal.
Moreover, caffeinated beverages can be poisonous. You should put coffee, tea, and soda away from these little creatures.
Remember, your pet sugar glider consumes anything it can grab. The entire responsibility falls upon you as its owner to keep potentially poisonous substances out of its reach.
What Happens if My Sugar Glider Eats Cheese?
Most non-fatal health problems that may affect sugar gliders are due to their wrong diet. If your sugar baby eats cheese by accident, it will show some digestive problems.
Just like a lactose intolerant person, sugar gliders will show the same symptoms. For instance, they’ll get gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
However, given the tiny size of your little friend, the symptoms might be fast and more severe. That being said, your best shot is always to consult your vet as soon as you notice any of these symptoms.
Final Thoughts
Can sugar gliders eat cheese? The most direct answer to this question is that they can’t. Sugar gliders are lactose intolerant. That being said, any type of milk by-product can cause serious problems.
You should serve your sugar baby a well-balanced diet to avoid exposing it to health problems. Moreover, make sure you steer clear of caffeine, chocolate, and dairy to avoid poisoning your sugar glider.
Know the glider’s natural diet in the wild to make sure your sugar baby gets the best nutritional value.
I have a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When I’m not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, I’m at home with my wife, two daughters and a dog. Outside of family, I love grilling and barbequing on my Big Green Egg and working on projects around the house. Growing up, I had pet dogs, cats, deer, sugar gliders, chinchillas, a bird, chickens, fish, and a goat.