How to Feed Baby Sugar Gliders
Adult sugar gliders can be sustained on a varied diet of fruits, vegetables and proteins; however, baby sugar gliders, also known as joeys, require much greater care in regards to feeding. Ideally, you will never need to feed a baby sugar glider, as it will be nursing successfully from its mother. If you find yourself raising orphaned joeys, you can attempt to feed and raise them yourself, but you should be prepared for several challenging weeks providing frequent care and attention.
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Instructions
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Mix your own formula for your joeys. Sugar gliders require such a varied diet that you cannot use a simple pre-made formula. The simplest formula you can make consists of one part puppy formula, two parts baby rice cereal and three parts apple juice. This should then be diluted with 50 percent water or Pedialyte. For a richer formula, you can also add a pureed boiled egg, chicken baby food, sweet potato baby food, yogurt, honey and Rep-Cal calcium supplements.
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Store extra formula in the fridge or freezer. Use formula stored in the fridge within 12 hours. Use frozen formula within a week.
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Warm the formula to at least room temperature, or slightly warmer. Place it in a bottle or dropper and immerse in a cup of hot water. Do not microwave it as this can cause hot spots and quickly overheat the mixture.
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Fill a small plastic dropper with 1 or 2cc of the warmed formula. Hold the dropper to the sugar glider's mouth. Do not force it in. Squirt a little formula on the joey's lips so it can taste it, then let it lap the formula from the top of the dropper. End the feeding when the baby sugar glider is no longer eating the formula, and the mixture is just dripping onto its face.
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Wipe the excess formula from the baby's face with a soft cloth dipped in warm water. Gently pat the joey dry to keep it from getting chilled while still wet.
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Stimulate the sugar glider to urinate and defecate after the feeding. This task is typically performed by the mother, but if you are raising the joey on your own, you will need to take on the responsibility. Gently rub the belly above the base of the tail until the baby urinates and defecates. This must be done after every feeding.
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Repeat this process every two hours for joeys under 4 weeks old. Around 4 weeks you can gradually space the feedings out to about every three hours, and nearing 6 weeks you can get away with waiting about four hours between feedings.
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Tips & Warnings
It can take as long as 20 minutes to feed a single baby sugar glider. If you have several, you will be dedicating the majority of your day and night to feedings and may need an extra hand.
