Sugar Glider University

It is a sincere question asked by nutritionists, veterinarians, and pet owners: What are the nutritional requirements of sugar gliders? What is the best way to provide captive gliders with their nutritional needs? The quest for an answer starts first at the dietary patterns of gliders in the wild.

According to a year-long study by A.P. Smith, (Diet and Feeding Strategies of the Marsupial Sugar Glider in Temperate Australia, Journal of Animal Ecology, 1982, Volume 51, pp 149-166), gliders living in a small patch of forest consisting of eucalyptus and acacia in Victoria, Australia, maintained a general diet (obtained from observation, as well as examination of faecal matter and autopsy of collected gliders), which varied seasonally in this manner:

Spring and Summer: Moths and beetles that have larval stages and adult stages that shelter in foliage.

Fall and Winter: Acacia gum and eucalypt sap.

It is interesting to note that insects were preferred over gums and saps in the spring and summer, in spite of the fact that gums and saps are most plentiful in spring and summer. In addition to the above, small amounts of honeydew, manna, and pollen were found.

According to the study, feeding activity was classified into one of five categories:

1. Acacia gum feeding

2. Eucalypt sap feeding

3. Eucalypt bark stripping

4. Eucalypt branch licking

5. Foliage gleaning or searching

When identifying the faecal samples obtained from the gliders in this area, some of the following items were identified:

1. Soft bodied caterpillars

2. Beetle larvae

3. Moths

4. Abdomens of large beetles