As Sugar Gliders owner, you must know how much they love to eat veggies. Even though it depends on each glider, most gliders love to eat vegetables as snacks.
For possums like sugar gliders, vegetables are one of the most essential foods you need to keep in their diet. But since sugar gliders are tiny animals, you might wonder if they can eat every vegetable with their tiny teeth.
Also, since carrots are a bit hard, you might wonder “Can sugar gliders eat carrots?” Let’s find that out.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Carrots?
Yes, sugar gliders can eat carrots. In fact, most sugar gliders love to eat carrots. This sweet vegetable makes a great snack for them.
Carrots are healthy, tasty, and a convenient snack for most sugar gliders.
Things to Consider While Keeping Carrots in Sugar Gliders’ Diet
The first thing that you need to look for while giving carrots to sugar gliders is if they like it or not. If they seem to like it, only then keep carrots in their diet.
After that, you need to know where the carrots are coming from. This part cannot be ignored since it will ensure that the carrots are healthy for your furry friends. Make sure you get all of the vegetables from farms that don’t use any pesticides.
However, if you buy the carrots without knowing if they are grown in pesticides then I have a solution for that too. Read the next section to know how you can remove the pesticides from the carrots.
Another important thing to consider while giving your sugar gliders carrots is their calcium and phosphorus ratio. Carrots are enriched with calcium. And an improper ratio might cause the sugar gliders’ abnormalities.
The last thing to consider is the portion of carrots you give them per day. You should never be ignorant about the portion.
How to Prepare Carrots for Sugar Gliders?
Preparing food for pets is one of the most important steps to take. To remove pesticides (if present) all you have to do is soak the carrots in a mixture of clean water and baking soda.
After soaking the carrots, you need to rinse the carrots and peel the skin off. Then cut the carrots into small pieces.
Well, it might seem like the sugar gliders cannot chew carrots since they are solid but they can eat raw carrots without facing any major problems. However, you can cook the carrots for them too.
Cooking carrots for sugar gliders is very simple. All you have to do is boil the carrots and be done. No need to add any seasonings like salt, pepper, or any sweets. Just keep the carrots’ natural taste alive and let them enjoy themselves.
Benefits of Carrots for Sugar Gliders
Not only are carrots a wonderful snack for sugar gliders, but they’re also very nutritious for them. Carrots contain lots of vitamins like Vitamin A, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C. Just like human beings, Vitamin A keeps the eyes of the sugar gliders healthy.
Carrots are also a good source of minerals, potassium, iron, and calcium. Potassium balances their blood chemistry and calcium and Vitamin K helps the gliders to have stronger bones.
Since carrots contain calories, carbohydrates, sugar fiber, and protein, by consuming carrots your gliders stay more active and healthier.
Another good news is: keeping carrots in your sugar glider’s diet allows them to have better digestion and also helps them to be stronger. As sugar gliders are active creatures who love to glide and jump from one place to another, they need a lot of energy. Carrots are capable enough to provide most of it too.
How Many Carrots Can Sugar Gliders Consume Per Day?
Since sugar gliders are very tiny creatures, they can not consume food as much as other average-sized pets can. Their portion of meals cannot be compared with even puppies or kittens.
When it comes to carrots, you need to keep in mind that you cannot give them carrots as their staple food. Carrots can only be fed as a snack.
And as a snack, you need to follow the percentage too. You should not fill up more than 10% of your sugar gliders’ diet with only carrots. There must be variations in their diet.
So measure the carrots in a manner that does not cross the 10% limit of their diet. As this vegetable is very rich in all its goodness that even the 10% you keep in their diet gives a good outcome and will help them to get as much nutrition as they need.
What to do If Your Sugar Glider Refuses to Eat Carrots?
As a pet owner, you must know how important it is to keep a proper diet for your pets. Also, every pet has different food habits. So you must know about their habits very well.
I’ve mentioned earlier that the first step of feeding carrots to sugar gliders is to confirm if they like it or not. You can start by giving them a little bit at first. If you see them eating carrots happily then great! Add carrots to their diet.
However, if they don’t seem to eat it or move away after eating a little then get the hint that they are not into carrots. If your sugar gliders don’t seem to like carrots then the wisest thing to do is: not to force them.
Instead, give them alternative vegetables that they might love to eat. You can add sweet fruits to their diet instead of carrots. Cucumbers, apples, berries, and sweet potatoes are sugar gliders’ favorites that can be added to the diets instead of carrots.
Conclusion
So the focus part of feeding carrots to sugar gliders would be the portion you feed them since “Can sugar gliders eat carrots?” has a clear answer- yes!
For one last time, please observe if your glider likes carrots before adding them to their diet. And make sure the portion doesn’t cross the 10% of their diet. Because a moderate amount is better than serving more.