Sugar Glider diet question?

Question

I have read up ALOT about sugar glider diet and I can't seem to figure out if what I'm feeding them is a nutritional and balanced diet. Here is what they get:

-Spoonful of yogurt(non-fat,live cultures,plain at the moment)

-couple pieces of fruit(they don't get the same two days in a row)

-Some frozen vegetables(green beans, corn, carrots, lima beans)

-They get some mango baby food and I add their Gliderade and some cream of wheat to it and i freeze it

-i give hardboiled egg yolk to the female and 1-2 mealworms to the male because the female shows no interest in eating the mealworms?

-I also once a week give them grape nuts(instead of bread)and some apple juice to soften it

-and i always keep some sunscription pellet food in their cage at all times

-and fresh water daily

=) any advice would be just lovely. i worried im not giving them what they NEED.

added detail would be that i do give the frozen vegetables in small quantity considering corn is in it.

the fruits my gliders get are mango, plantain, bananas, grapes, apples, plums, peaches, cantalope, watermelon, kiwi, blueberries, and strawberries. I'm assuming there are a couple I'm forgetting. I hear you can give them limited amounts of orange?

Answer 1

Their name "sugar glider" suggests that sugar and fruit make up a large portion of their diet, however, this is not the case.  Sugar gliders are omnivorous meaning they eat a variety of foods. Insects are very high in protein, so it stands to reason that breeding gliders require a significant amount of protein in their captive diet when breeding is taking place.  

Sugar gliders will rely on other food sources as the abundance of insects decrease in the colder winter months.  Plant products such acacia gum, eucalyptus sap and other nectars make up the majority of this seasonal diet.  

The original Leadbeater's formula was, as I understand it, was developed by the Taronga Zoo as just part of a rather extensive feeding schedule for captive sugar gliders.  Here is the total Taronga Zoo diet as published in one of my veterinary handbooks.

3 grams apple

3 grams banana/corn

1.5 grams dog kibble

1 teaspoon Fly pupae

3 grams blueberries / kiwi fruit

2 teaspoon Leadbeater's mixture **

4 grams orange with skin

2 grams pear

3 grams sweet potato

On Wednesdays: feed day old chick when available

or large mealworms.

** Leadbeater's mixture

150 milliliters warm water

150 milliliters honey

1 shelled hard boiled egg

25 grams high protein baby cereal

1 teaspoon vitamin supplement (Vionate)

Mix water and honey, blend egg in separate container, add water/honey mix, vitamin powder, and baby cereal, blending each until smooth.  Keep unused portion refrigerated.