List of Unsafe Foods for Sugar Gliders

Below is a list of unsafe foods for sugar gliders and a list of foods that are considered bad and should generally be avoided. There is also a list of controversial foods that you may want to educate yourself about before choosing to offer them to your sugar gliders.

Unsafe Foods

This is a list of foods that you should NEVER feed to your sugar gliders. Please contact us if you believe a food on this list should be on the list of unsafe foods to avoid. With some of these items, we were not 100% sure and generally believe that if you are unsure, then you should not feed it to your glider.

• Baby foods that contain onions or garlic
• canned foods (most contain added salt and sugar)
• cheese
• chives
• chocolate
• coffee
• fried foods
• garlic
• insects that are not raised as small animal food
• leeks
• milk (cow or goat’s milk)
• millet
• onions
• peanuts (can cause aflatoxicosis)
• processed meat
• raw eggs
• raw meat
• rhubarb
• salt
• scallions
• soda
• sugar (granulated sugar or foods with added sugar)
• tea

Foods to Avoid

If given at all, these foods should only be fed in small quantities and not regularly.

• dog food (see the cat food controversy below)
• iceberg lettuce
• nuts
• sunflower seeds

Tofu & Soy Products: Tofu is recommended by Caroline MacPherson as a good source of protein.  But some breeders are opposed to soy products being given to sugar gliders. Research on some other animals shows tofu can have a negative effect on the digestive system. As far as we know, a negative effect on sugar gliders has not yet been proven. Some breeders object to tofu because it is a protein source from beans, rather than meat or insect.

Grapes & Raisins: Suncoast Sugar Gliders believes that there may be a connection from grapes and raisins to kidney failure in sugar gliders (as well as other pets).  Click here to read Suncoast's newsletter regarding the grape controversy.

Fruit Pits, Skins, and Seeds:  There is some debate over whether or not it is safe to leave pits, seeds, and skin on/in fruits.  I have read from several sources stating you should remove pits from any fruit that you give your gliders.  I ran across this newsletter by Suncoast, which states that although pits, skins, and seeds are bad for gliders, they have come to realize that gliders are smart enough not to eat them and that it is ok to not remove them.

Cat Food: This is something sugar gliders have been debating over for a long time.  Some diets include a high quality cat food as the main source of protein in the sugar glider diet, however many sugar glider owners are adamant that cat food should never be fed to a suggie.  In any case, cat food should never be the main course for your sugar glider.  Many healthy problems could result from feeding cat food, including intestinal blockage, lumpy jaw syndrome, and even death from improper nutritional balance.  Click here for a good article about the cat food debate.

This is by no means a complete list of unsafe foods for sugar gliders.  Many foods are just common sense items that should not be given to pets.  If you are unsure whether or not a food is safe, the general rule of thumb is NOT to feed it.  If you believe an item on this list to be in error or believe something should be added to the list, please contact us.

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