I asked Caroline MacPherson for her help on this diets issue. She agreed to allow me to put her diet her on my page. Caroline feeds only high calcium to phosphorus ratio'ed foods and doesn't believe in adding any supplementation (calcium or vit and minerals). Here is the email she had sent me. Please note the amount of cat food offered in her diet.

Date:
Sun, 30 May 1999 22:11:30 -0700
From:
"Caroline MacPherson"
To:
bourbon@iname.com
References:
1
 

Hi,

Here's a copy of my "simplified" diet that I hand out with my book. You are welcome to post it on your tree if you like:

Feeding your glider simplified.

My gliders are fed fruit, dried cat food and yogurt. I know that in the book the section on dried cat food is written in cautionary terms (I was forced to write it that way to satisfy the publisher) but in reality dry cat food works better than other sources of protein such as ground beef, chicken, insects and eggs. Use any good quality dry cat food. A small dish can be left out at all times.

Each evening offer your glider 3 or 4 different types of fruit and/or vegetable. Remember, not all fruits are created equal. Some have good calcium to phosphorus levels (more calcium than phosphorus) and these should be favored in the diet. The reason that calcium/phosphorus ratios are emphasized so much is because calcium deficiency is the leading cause
of death in captive gliders. Look in the back of the sugar glider book on page 74. This table lists the nutritional content of some common sugar glider foods. Pay special attention to the last 2 columns that list the amounts of calcium and phosphorous. You will see that items like figs, grapefruit, oranges, papaya and raspberries all have more calcium than phosphorus. These fruits should be favored in the diet. Some fruits are neutral, or close to neutral, in that they have similar amounts of calcium
to phosphorus. These can also be fed frequently. They include things like cherries, grapes, mango, pear, pineapple, plums and strawberries. Some fruits and vegetables are highly "inverse" in that they have a lot more phosphorus than they do calcium. This makes them less desirable nutritionally. A good example of this is sweet corn. Sugar gliders love it but it has calcium and phosphorus in a 1:40 ratio. It can still be fed
but in small amounts and infrequently. The same is true of nuts and seeds. You will also notice that meat products and eggs are highly inverse. So are insects. That is why it is better to use a dry cat food that has been balanced by the manufacturer.

I have found that feeding yogurt to my gliders 2 or 3 times a week is a great alternative to feeding calcium supplements. Most gliders love plain low fat or full fat yogurt but if you can't get them to eat it plain try adding a little bit of honey or a puree of their favorite fruit or try experimenting with different brands and flavors. Make sure the yogurt is free of preservatives, artificial flavorings and aspartame and other types of artificial sweeteners. On days when you feed the yogurt it is a good
idea to cut back on the fruit slightly to encourage them to eat it.