It’s true that sugar gliders are interesting pets that many people have become enamored with. If you own a pet sugar glider, you likely know just how fun they can be.
These are affectionate little pets that aren’t too hard to care for overall. Despite being easy to care for, you still need to do things right.
You don’t want to make mistakes and accidentally hurt sugar gliders. Will exposing sugar gliders to salt hurt them in any way?
Keep reading to learn about salt and sugar gliders. The information below will help you to understand what you need to look out for.
Salt Isn’t Necessarily Dangerous
Salt isn’t necessarily dangerous to sugar gliders. It’s actually normal for them to consume salt.
However, you shouldn’t give them salt for no reason. These animals consume more than enough salt by just eating a normal diet.
The only time a sugar glider would need salt is when it’s severely dehydrated. An exotic veterinarian might choose to give the animal a salt water drip as a way to combat what’s happening.
Other than this, you shouldn’t go out of your way to give sugar gliders salt. They’ll get enough when you feed them normal things that sugar gliders like to eat.
Remember that too much salt isn’t necessarily good for anyone. Doctors generally recommend that humans stay away from high-sodium diets.
Sweets Are Very Bad for Sugar Gliders
When it comes to foods that are bad for sugar gliders, you need to watch out for sweets. Don’t even think of giving your pet chocolate as a snack.
Even a small amount of chocolate could wind up killing a sugar glider. Keep this in mind so you don’t accidentally give the animal chocolate.
There are other types of sweets that can be harmful to sugar gliders as well. Generally, you should avoid letting sugar gliders have even a little taste of sweet snacks.
This extends to sodas as well. Caffeinated beverages such as tea, coffee, and soda can be extremely toxic to sugar gliders.
Always do your best to make good decisions. Stick to giving sugar gliders recommended types of fruits and veggies.
Dairy Is Bad for Sugar Gliders
Never give your sugar gliders dairy products. Generally, dairy is going to be extremely harmful to these animals.
In some cases, they might be able to tolerate tiny amounts of flavored yogurt, but there’s really no reason to tempt fate. These pets are lactose intolerant and shouldn’t be fed any type of dairy products.
This means no milk, cheese, or ice cream products. Be very careful not to give sugar gliders dairy since it can lead to digestive complications.
No Raw Meat or Eggs
You should also know that raw meat and eggs can be bad for sugar gliders. Raw meat might be contaminated and could make sugar gliders sick.
These pets do seem to enjoy cooked chicken as a protein source, though. You simply have to be careful.
It’s a lot easier and safer to buy protein cubes from a pet store to give to these pets. In the wild, they like to eat insects as a source of protein, so you may also choose to give them certain types of bugs.
Eggs are bad for sugar gliders just like raw meat. Eggs might be contaminated and can cause serious issues.
Boiled eggs should be okay, though. Make sure you do things right if you decide to utilize meat or eggs as part of the sugar glider’s diet.
Chemicals
Chemicals have the potential to harm sugar gliders. These pets are extremely sensitive to chemicals.
You should always wash fruit and veggies before giving them to your pets. Otherwise, pesticides and other chemicals could be present on the food.
Avoid feeding these pets vegetables that are hard to wash. For example, raspberries are so pitted that it can be hard to guarantee that you washed away all traces of chemicals.
So long as you’re mindful of issues such as this, it should be simple enough to wash fruits and veggies. Don’t forget to wash things because it could harm your sugar glider or even kill it.
Seeds and Pits
When giving sugar gliders fruit, it’s generally best to avoid giving them seeds and pits. Always remove the seeds and the pits from the fruit that you give to your gliders.
You want to keep them from eating these things for specific reasons. Sugar gliders won’t get sick from eating seeds, but they have little nutritional value.
They also contain a lot of fat, so it’s not a good choice to give seeds to your pet. Pits are actually poisonous to sugar gliders.
Always remove the pits and everything should be fine. So long as you check the fruit before giving it to your pet, you won’t need to worry.
Nuts
Sugar gliders love eating nuts. They will eat them up and avoid eating other things if you give them to them.
This is why you shouldn’t give them nuts. Nuts have such a high fat content that it isn’t worthwhile.
You can give sugar gliders nuts as treats if you really want to. However, this can only be done in moderation.
It isn’t really a worthwhile food for these animals. People only give them to sugar gliders because they seem to enjoy them so much.
Final Thoughts
Learning about sugar gliders and what they cannot eat should help you. Salt isn’t really harmful to these pets, but they don’t need to be fed salt.
They get enough sodium by eating a regular diet. So don’t worry about salt and just feed your pets normal recommended foods.
Sugar gliders are supposed to avoid many types of food. They’re lactose intolerant and they cannot handle dairy products.
Never feed these animals chocolate since it could be fatal. Avoid giving them raw meat or eggs since that could lead to contamination issues.
Wash fruits and veggies before giving them to your pet. Remove pits and seeds from the fruit, too.
Always be careful and everything will be fine. You know what to do now and should feel more confident about protecting your sugar gliders.
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.