Posted By: suggie_mama
A question about safe insects & how many to feed? - 06/02/13 09:15 AM
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...
Thank you in advance for your advice
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...
Thank you in advance for your advice