Picky eaters

I hear so many people say that they have them. I want to hear from you all here, please.

I'm interested in this concept. I'll start off by saying that I don't believe that gliders are picky by nature. I think it is an environmental creation. Gliders, by nature, are opportunistic foragers. They eat what is available when it is available. They are not picky eaters by nature. They were created to be the opposite of picky.

So, when I see someone saying that their gliders are "picky", I find myself wondering "why is that?" In the 300 or so gliders that have come through my home, I've not experienced even one "picky" eater. Why is that?
These are the things I would like to explore with you all. What are your thoughts?

I have my own theories as to why this is, but I am hoping that through exploring it together we can identify some things that might contribute to the "picky" eater thing.... or identify those things that make gliders less picky in terms of food.

I would say I have one cage of gliders that are close to being picky eaters. They don't like yogurt. I have tried every brand and flavor and they still won't eat. I haven't found too many fruits they will eat either. I try making them forge for fruit but they still won't eat. They will devour a bowl of veggies any night but pick around the fruit.

The only thing I have noticed with only a few of my cages is that they will leave certain foods alone or at least have more of certain foods leftover. This includes any kind of squash and also mushrooms.

Mine aren't picky about the food, but the size of it. So, unless it is a beloved item (chicken, cantaloupe, prickly pear), if it's not in small cubes, they will usually ignore it. Otherwise, I can get them to eat most anything. Maybe not every single time, but I think this is a trait of all animals, including humans.

Mine eat anything I offer - except raspberries.

I do tend to be generous with the fruit and vegetable portions so I usually have plenty of leftovers.

I recently have tried to serve closer to the 1 TBS per glider of both fruits and vegetables and i "looks like" they have eaten better, because there are minimal leftovers.

I think a lot of new owners go overboard on the servings of fruits and vegetables for their often young gliders. They seem to be the ones that are always posting that their gliders are not eating or are picky. Perhaps we need to encourage them to offer variety, but in smaller amounts until their gliders grow some and begin to eat the usual portion amounts.

If too much is on the plate, it really does look like very little was eaten, when in fact the gliders may have had all they needed to meet their needs.

Ok I will tell you Magoo is one picky eater. Yes it is my fault because if he does not eat what I gave him for dinner then in the morning when I get home from work I make home something else. All this week he has not liked his staple of Priscilla's Diet. I am not sure why it s different but he does not like it. I made a new batch and he looked it. He will only eat a few fruits and veggies. I have tried hiding the same things with no luck if he likes it he eats it if he does not you are not going to hide it in anything either. I have made relish, blended, mush, whole, stung on a stick. He used to like HPW not any more. He used to like green juice not anymore.
I spoil him I admit it.
Val if you have any way of getting him to eat better PLEASE tell me. He even has a cage mate now after 6.5 years of being alone.

As I was reading this, one of my thoughts was the same as Candy, that many people will overfeed so when morning comes, they notice that there's a lot of leftovers.

I also think that there's an idea with a lot of owners that the gliders will consume every little morsel that's put in front of them. It's forgotten (or not known) that their tummies are so very small. So for instance, when they see a piece of mango that's left in the bowl, they assume that it hasn't been touched, and my guess is that it's often not the case. Gliders will pick up their food, lick it, maybe eat a bit, then toss it aside to try something else. I don't believe this is because they don't like it. I think, because of being foragers by nature, they are trying each of the foods that are in front of them. There are also those that see a pea or corn "shell" in the cage and assume the food hasn't been eaten, when really, the glider has eaten everything on the inside.

Then there are those that find out that the first thing their glider goes for is corn (as an example). They LOVE it, most gliders do. So, what do they do? They feed it often. As a result, their glider goes for the corn, because it's their favorite, sometimes leaving the other things. Again, their stomach size is underestimated, they fill up on corn and leave the rest. They ate what appealed to them the most, weren't hungry anymore and that was that. That doesn't make them picky.

I guess in my mind, picky means something else. Just because a glider doesn't eat, let's say, their mango, that doesn't qualify (to me anyway) as picky. I love food. I don't like chow mein noodles. Does that make me a picky eater? I don't believe it does. To me, if our gliders REALLY were as picky as some like to say they are, they simply would flat out refuse all but one or two things and never touch anything else.

I think we need to educate people more and try to get them away from believing their gliders are picky eaters, and these are the key things we should focus on.

1) Often, 2 Tbsp. of a fruit/veggie mixture is too much for a glider so it's likely they won't consume all of it.
2) Gliders do not "eat" everything. They consume the inside, but not the outside.
3) If you continually feed their "favorite", they will eat it above all other things and because of their size, often aren't hungry for the rest.
4) Don't feed their "favorite" all the time. Just like kids, if we put green beans and M&M's on their plate, what will they eat first?
5) Remember that just because they didn't eat it, doesn't mean they don't like it. Are YOU hungry for a big meal all the time? I know I'm not. Sometimes, I just don't want to eat.
6) You decide your glider is "picky". So, every night, they get a blended mix of food. How on earth do you think this is going to help them to be LESS "picky"? All this is doing is taking away their natural foraging and hunting instincts and doesn't allow them to be gliders.

I'm sure there will be a million more things that pop into my mind but it's early and I haven't had much coffee lol. But it's a start.