| The Sweet Spot INFORMATION concerning sugar glider health and husbandry matters |
| | Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables | |
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+9SLHamil BindiAndScrubbie Usha77 sugeebaby Something_To_Believe_In bjve GliderguyKev DCMuffin BCChins 13 posters | |
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BCChins Associate
Posts : 1652 Join date : 2010-03-09 Location : Connecticut
| Subject: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sun May 12, 2013 6:32 am | |
| I would like for those of you who feed the not so common (for some of us anyway) foods to post photo's of them so some of us who need visuals of this to be comfortable feeding it. I personally do not seem to feel comfortable going to purchase things like Yucca Root, Sweet Sop,Rambutan or ______ and bringing it home and preparing it and giving it to the gliders. I would like a photo before and after preparation so those of us can learn and feel comfortable serving these items. I am asking for a before as some of us have no idea what some of these items look like and honestly I do not trust some of the stores to label them correctly. We have a store here where I can get a few things out of the ordinary but not sure the stock clerk's have a clue. If anyone has an item they are not sure of please ask so we can all benefit from it. Thank you in advance | |
| | | DCMuffin MENTOR
Posts : 1033 Join date : 2010-06-27 Age : 53 Location : DC Metro Area (Arlington, VA)
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sun May 12, 2013 10:12 am | |
| Okay...so I don't have pictures of these things cut up, but I CAN give an explanation as to how I feed it. Yucca Root: I use a carrot peeler, take off the outer skin on the portion that I want to cut up, then do so. It's white inside. It sort of has the feel and texture of coconut. Once done cutting, I wrap the end in tinfoil, put in a baggie, and store in the fridge. It has a good shelf life. Chayote Squash: I do nothing special with this at all. I simply cut it up and feed it. Store in a baggie in the fridge. Will last several days. Guava: It will sometimes be pink in the middle, as well. There are several different kinds of guavas. Again, I do nothing special with this. I cut it up and feed. There are little hard seeds inside so use a knife that you don't want to stay especially sharp after a while LOL. But, I don't take out the seeds, the gliders will eat around them. You can either cut it into pieces, or you can pierce it through the middle, carve out a couple of places on the fruit itself, and hang it from somewhere in the cage. They will dig in. This is a favorite here. Horned Melon: Though a terribly messy fruit, it's one of the BIG favorites here. I slice it, then just cut big pieces out of each slice and feed it. The seeds are fine, they won't eat them. It's very messy, very watery and has the consistency almost of a watery gel. But they love it. Just toss the pieces in with their other food or around the cage. Beware - the seeds stick to everything LOL. Passion Fruit: I cut it into pieces and feed. Simple as that. I don't take out the seeds. I didn't think they'd like it the first time I fed it because it sort of has a sweet/sour taste but they go crazy over it! Persimmon: Not a favorite here unless it's really ripe (fruit will be just soft to the touch and may have some darker spots on the skin). Again, cut it and feed. Nothing special. Stores for only a few days in a baggie. Rambutan: I feed this one of two ways - with the skin or without. The outside is kind of "furry" so the gliders sometimes have fun digging to the middle. They won't eat the skin, as is the case with most other fruits and veggies. Or, you can gently cut the outside skin and peel it off the inside. I find that just washing and cutting them in half is easiest (they are small). Star Fruit: A HUGE HUGE favorite here. I slice them and then cut into chunks. Again, I don't worry about the seeds, the gliders won't eat them, they'll just toss them aside. Will be most ripe when yellow and even some discoloring on the outside skin. Green is not ripe and your gliders may not like them as much. | |
| | | BCChins Associate
Posts : 1652 Join date : 2010-03-09 Location : Connecticut
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sun May 12, 2013 11:05 am | |
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| | | GliderguyKev
Posts : 126 Join date : 2011-05-06 Location : Vancouver, WA
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sun May 12, 2013 4:15 pm | |
| Great stuff Aimee! Can't wait to try some of these! | |
| | | DCMuffin MENTOR
Posts : 1033 Join date : 2010-06-27 Age : 53 Location : DC Metro Area (Arlington, VA)
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 13, 2013 8:23 am | |
| And some more. Ugli Fruit: Ugli Fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and an orange. It looks sort of like a grapefruit but has a very soft and thick skin. When I feed it, I typically just cut it into big and small pieces (skin on) and let them eat the insides. When they are nice and ripe, they will often get darker spots on the outside, making it look "ugli" - hence, the name. Jicama: A favorite here. Jicama is in the root vegetable family. It's very soft and juicy inside. The outside skin is very thick and stringy, it's difficult to peel so what I typically do is just cut it into slices, cut off the outside edge and then cut into feeding chunks. Dragon Fruit: YUMMY!!! Looks really cool on the outside, too. :) Sometimes I peel the outside off, sometimes not - just depends on how I want to feed it that evening. If I peel it, then I just cut the insides into chunks. I will often purchase several of these, cut them in half and then just place them in cages and let them dig out the fruit. You needn't remove the little seeds. Artichoke: VERY much a favorite at our house. This one is fun, you can do several things with it. It may take your gliders a bit to realize that they like it, but they likely will. For prep, you will want to cut off the end of the choke, as you see in the picture. You can also cut off the stem close to the heart (bottom) of the veggie. Once you've done this, then you'll want to take a scissors and cut off the tips of each and every leaf. If you notice, they have a little spine at the end of each leaf that could poke and hurt your gliders, so be sure to remove these. Once you've done this, pull the choke open a bit and then boil it in water for about 40 minutes. Take it out with tongs, let it drain and cool, then pull the leaves off - they will likely just fall off, but some you'll need to tug just a little bit. You'll see at the end of each leaf, there is "meat" - this is what the gliders will eat. As a side note, this is how you prepare artichokes for yourself, as well. If you have never had one, do so - once cooked, melt some butter, add some garlic salt, dip the leaves and run each leaf between your teeth to scrape the meat off. Incredibly yummy. :) Another option for you in terms of feeding artichokes is to just leave it raw. Do the prep work the same as above, but then pull it open a bit harder and further, and once you get the leaves apart a bit, drop some of their other fruits and vegetables inside and let them hunt for them. Cherimoya: These have a fantastic flavor when ripe and my guys LOVE them. When they're ripe, they will be soft to the touch and the skin will become relatively brown in color. It's just fine to buy them green and let them ripen at home. You'll also notice that when ripe, there is a fragrance that comes off the base of the fruit. Yum! When ripe, cut it in half, scoop out the insides (it will be soft inside, take out the seeds, they are not edible) and drop it in bits into their feeding areas. More later. :) | |
| | | bjve Associate
Posts : 849 Join date : 2011-09-01 Age : 67 Location : Albion, MI
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 13, 2013 8:56 am | |
| I love this! Keep them coming, Aimee!! One question....when you feed these, is it at mealtime? Will they fill up and not eat their veggies? Is it a treat 1-2x a week and don't worry about eating their usual dinner? When I give a fun fruit at dinner, I find they fill up on it and I throw the veggies away. | |
| | | DCMuffin MENTOR
Posts : 1033 Join date : 2010-06-27 Age : 53 Location : DC Metro Area (Arlington, VA)
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 13, 2013 10:32 am | |
| These are just things that I feed in my home for their dinners. Some things, I just feed some of it and either refrigerate or freeze the rest, other things, I cut up and feed it all. Just depends on what it is. For instance, passion fruit is very small, so I will typically cut a couple of them up and feed both. Then there's jicama - it's relatively large, so I just cut some off of it and feed, then the rest of it gets cut up and frozen. | |
| | | Something_To_Believe_In Associate
Posts : 4565 Join date : 2009-12-10 Age : 50 Location : Texas
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 13, 2013 10:52 am | |
| Bobbie, with VGV, these are all PART OF the diet. If you are feeding them, you just toss them in the mix with the other fruits or veggies. | |
| | | DCMuffin MENTOR
Posts : 1033 Join date : 2010-06-27 Age : 53 Location : DC Metro Area (Arlington, VA)
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Tue May 14, 2013 10:10 am | |
| White Asparagus: You'll see it in most grocery stores. It's exactly the same as regular asparagus. The only difference is that it's grown in the shade, so it doesn't turn green. It's not a favorite here, but they will eat it, depending on what other things I feed. I've found that they enjoy it more if I cook it for a short time in the microwave, but I will more often just cut it up and serve it raw. The entire stalk is fine to feed. Sugar Snap Peas: If you don't feed these, start now! They are one of the most favorite things in our home. The best part about it is how easy they are because you don't have to do a thing with them. Drop them into their feeding dishes and watch them enjoy. They will open them up and eat the peas that are inside and toss the shells aside. Prickly Pear/Cactus Pear: Sweet and yummy, it's a favorite, but kind of a pain in the butt to prepare. The outer skin has both large and small, prickly spines on them so use caution when handling this fruit. My recommendation is to wear a glove or use a towel when handling it. The smaller, almost invisible spines that are on the outside are very difficult to get out of your hands. You can either keep a glove on and use a carrot peeler to get the spines off, or you can use a set of tongs to hold the fruit and a small torch or lighter to burn them off. Remove the skin and you feed what's inside. There are small seeds inside that you needn't remove - just cut it up and let your gliders enjoy. Lychees: Lychees are a small fruit that you will find in the exotic section of your grocery store. The skin is not edible, so just peel it off and there will be a little grape-like fruit that's inside a clear "shell". Both that shell and the "nut" inside are okay to feed. Cilantro: Yep - you can feed this. My gliders love it. I don't feed it all the time, but I do when I'm making a dish of my own that calls for it in the recipe. I'll take some out, chop it up and just mix it in with the rest of their fruit/veggie mixture. Brussel Sprouts: These are about as easy as they come. Simply chop them up into different sized pieces and feed. They will fall apart a bit, but that's fine, toss everything into the mix. Acorn Squash: Another favorite. Though my gliders will not touch it if it's raw. You CAN feed it raw, and your gliders might be fine with it. I prepare it by first cutting it in half and then sometimes/sometimes not dig the insides out. More often than not, I do take out the "guts" because my guys have never eaten them and they're a mess to clean up. I place the halves face-down on a plate, add a tablespoon of water, and steam it in the microwave for approximately 3 minutes or until it's tender. Sometimes, I will fill each half with some of their fruit/veggie mixture and just set it in the cage for them to dig in. It's SO much fun to watch. :) The other preparation is, once it's cooked, to cut it into big and small chunks and place them in dishes and/or around the cage for them to munch. It's always a hit in our house. | |
| | | BCChins Associate
Posts : 1652 Join date : 2010-03-09 Location : Connecticut
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Tue May 14, 2013 1:02 pm | |
| Keep them coming Aimee as you are showing things I have never fed either because I have not seen them or have seen a few but had no idea what they were and how to prepare them. I do not know if they do this in stores near you but they put F&V on the shelves but put the signs up over the top and you have to guess what it is because the signs all run together. I am going camping in a few weeks and hope to be able to find some of these while camping this summer. I will stock up if do.
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| | | sugeebaby MENTOR
Posts : 604 Join date : 2009-12-31 Age : 63 Location : Detroit,MI
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Tue May 14, 2013 2:20 pm | |
| I find a lot of my what you guys would call strange fruit and veggies at my local Asian markets. Take a walk on the wild side and find an Asian market and I bet you find a whole new world of fruit and veggies.
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| | | Usha77 MENTOR
Posts : 1808 Join date : 2009-12-13 Age : 46 Location : Greeley, CO
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Tue May 14, 2013 7:13 pm | |
| Awesome thread. Woohoo!! Thank you all & keep 'em coming! | |
| | | DCMuffin MENTOR
Posts : 1033 Join date : 2010-06-27 Age : 53 Location : DC Metro Area (Arlington, VA)
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Tue May 14, 2013 7:56 pm | |
| Well then, let's keep this going, shall we? Sweet Peppers: Small version of red, yellow, orange and green peppers. You will often find them in small and large bags at the grocery. Most times, I just cut the stem end off, then cut it up. The seeds are not hot and are also not a problem but take them out, if you wish. Spaghetti Squash: This one's fun! You can feed the whole thing. Cut it, cook it or not, chop it like you would acorn squash. But the inside is like "spaghetti" and you can feed it, cooked or not. :) Romanescu: Just another form of cauliflower. You won't find it in a lot of places, but if you do, it's fine to feed and it's yummy! Plantains: If your gliders won't eat bananas, try these. They are a bit less sweet and less mushy than bananas. Peel them and cut them into pieces, or make it fun and either peel them a little and let your gliders dig into the whole plantain, or cut them into chunks, and let them unpeel them all on their own. Mango: There are several varieties, all are good and safe. There is a very tough center to these, so you'll have to cut around it. No need to peel it, just rinse it, and cut into pieces. They will eat the meat and leave the skin. | |
| | | BCChins Associate
Posts : 1652 Join date : 2010-03-09 Location : Connecticut
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Fri May 17, 2013 2:18 pm | |
| And thanks to the the photo's and information provided above my gliders are getting Chayote Squash and Yucca tonight. I feel much more confident in feeding these since I have a photo and description of how to serve it to refer to. I bought Asian Pear also but I have fed that before. They are just had to find here sometimes.
Keep the idea's coming. Maybe add in some herbs or different vegetables you feed also?? I know Broccoli Slaw is one Val feeds.
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| | | BindiAndScrubbie
Posts : 2013 Join date : 2009-12-14 Age : 51 Location : South Florida
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sat May 18, 2013 2:11 am | |
| Wow, you feed all of this? lol What a great post, Aimee! | |
| | | DCMuffin MENTOR
Posts : 1033 Join date : 2010-06-27 Age : 53 Location : DC Metro Area (Arlington, VA)
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sat May 18, 2013 8:50 am | |
| I do/have fed these things, I try hard to give them a good variety of things to try. I'll add some herbs and veggies today :) | |
| | | BindiAndScrubbie
Posts : 2013 Join date : 2009-12-14 Age : 51 Location : South Florida
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sat May 18, 2013 11:37 am | |
| I've never even seen half of these. Lol Maybe I'll try a farmer's market instead of a grocery store, see what they have. | |
| | | SLHamil
Posts : 32 Join date : 2013-01-19 Age : 42 Location : Maryland
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sat May 18, 2013 10:14 pm | |
| My gang is trying kumquat and yucca root tonight. This post inspired me to drive down to the big asian market- so we also have dragonfruit, mini bananas, star fruit, and jicama to try this week!
Edit: not to be stupid, but yucca and jicama are veggies, right? | |
| | | BCChins Associate
Posts : 1652 Join date : 2010-03-09 Location : Connecticut
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sun May 19, 2013 6:17 am | |
| I forgot to update we fed Yucca and Asian Pear so far and they have liked both. EVEN Magoo and Oscar ate them now that is sumpthan! The Asian Pear is yummy and the Yucca is kind of like Coconut only less flavor IMO. I am heading to the city today so I am going to try to find an Asian store or go to Whole Foods fingers crossed they have some goodies for us to try.
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| | | Usha77 MENTOR
Posts : 1808 Join date : 2009-12-13 Age : 46 Location : Greeley, CO
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Sun May 19, 2013 7:47 pm | |
| I think Jicama is a root - like a potato or something? All I know is my gliders love it, and I like to sneak a piece or two when cutting it up. | |
| | | DCMuffin MENTOR
Posts : 1033 Join date : 2010-06-27 Age : 53 Location : DC Metro Area (Arlington, VA)
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 20, 2013 6:37 am | |
| Both yucca and jicama are root vegetables :)
Sorry I haven't updated like I said I would. I'll try to do it today, the last few days kind of got away from me.
Brenda, I'm glad that your gliders like these things, yay! Always fun to try new things. Shannon, how did the trio do with the kumquats and yucca? I know they were especially fond of kumquats here :) | |
| | | SLHamil
Posts : 32 Join date : 2013-01-19 Age : 42 Location : Maryland
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 20, 2013 8:22 am | |
| - DCMuffin wrote:
- Shannon, how did the trio do with the kumquats and yucca? I know they were especially fond of kumquats here :)
They threw the kumquats :-/. But there wasn't a bit of yucca left! I'll try again with kumquats | |
| | | GliderguyKev
Posts : 126 Join date : 2011-05-06 Location : Vancouver, WA
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 20, 2013 11:52 am | |
| None of my gliders are very crazy about Kumquats either.
I looked for some of these unusual items last week in fresh market, but they didn't have anything interesting, but will keep looking! | |
| | | BCChins Associate
Posts : 1652 Join date : 2010-03-09 Location : Connecticut
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 20, 2013 12:19 pm | |
| Kevin do you have a Whole foods near you. I did not get there this weekend but it might be worth a try?? | |
| | | bjve Associate
Posts : 849 Join date : 2011-09-01 Age : 67 Location : Albion, MI
| Subject: Re: Photos of not-so-common foods fed -- Fun Fruits and Vegetables Mon May 20, 2013 3:13 pm | |
| The stores around me don't have most of these fun sounding foods, either. We are trying artichoke tonight, tho. I like it, so I get to share with them :-) | |
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