Curious about YOUR ingredients

Reading the info on this forum has got me thinking. Everyone here seems to have given very careful thought and selection to their gliders' food. I would like to learn more about the choices you've made.

Many people say they feed this diet or that diet, but, in fact, they have really tweaked it to make it their own. I'm very curious to hear what everyone else feeds and why.

Yes, I know there are those who say "if you modify it, it is no longer the same diet and you shouldn't call it that". I do not disagree. But, I call what I feed HPW because I think the HPW diet is good for those starting out. If it is fed as written, it is nutritious and won't harm the gliders. So, if a newbie feeds HPW because I said I feed it, they will be doing something good for their gliders. Perhaps down the road when that newbie isn't so new he/she will make their own modifications based on what they feel is right. I've had people come to me to "confess" that they make certain modifications. That opens the door for a discussion on that subject!

I'll go first.

I feed the HPW diet. But - I do make some modifications.

First off - I don't use the 1 1/2 cups of honey. Instead, I use 1 cup of honey and roughly 3/4 cups of freshly pulped papaya. (explained below)

Except for the papaya/honey - I make the HPW as written. THEN I also add roughly 1 tsp of red palm oil and 1/2 tsp of Vionate Vitamin and Mineral Powder. http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=0&pf_id=95

Regarding the papaya: I buy several large papayas at a time at the grocery store. I pulp them in my food processor, and then store them in freezer cups and bags. I make several freezer containers of about 3/4 cup papaya pulp and store those. Then I use freezer bags to store roughly 1/2 a papaya's worth of pulp to use in the veggie/fruit relish I serve.

For the veggie/fruit relish, my gliders get the same thing every night. I do not offer them variety. They like this mix and seem to eat it well. I experimented with various combinations until I settled on this one.

1 LARGE bag of frozen green beans. I get these at Costco. It is a huge bag, and they are organic.
2 bags of frozen carrots. The gliders prefer baby carrots. I sometimes get these fresh.
2 bags of collard greens. It says "chopped" but I run it through the food processor. If the pieces aren't small enough, the gliders avoid them.
1/2 a large papaya - pulped
1 small bag peas
1 small bag corn

I run everything through my food processor until all the pieces are roughly the size of the peas. Then I stir it all together in a huge bowl. Then I pack it into ice cube trays. Each glider gets one cube a night, thawed. Several nights a week, I sprinkle freshly sprouted bean sprouts on top of this veggie mix. http://www.organicbirdfood.com/organic-bird-food/Dynamo-Sprout-Mixes/c23/p33/Dynamo-Sprout-Mixes/product_info.html

I'd love to hear your responses, and also your diets.

You buy from one of my favorite sites - organic nutrition. I buy organic alfalfa leaves from them. I usually make my own sprouting mixes from the bins at Whole Foods, but think that the dynamo mix is great for parrots, humans, and gliders.

I have one question, why do you feed corn instead of another veggie? What is the rationale for feeding corn to gliders? It's not a loaded question.

I tend to feed veggies and fruits seasonally so papayas are in season in Chile and readily available at Costco.

I have been experimenting w/feeding 1/2 honest kitchen dog food and 1/2 acacia gum rehydrated in pom juice. The gliders love it. I feed papaya chunks and fresh collard leaves from my garden on the side but not every night.

This is not my regular glider diet, but an experiment - I tend to try out new ingredients. I've used the honest kitchen food before but not as straightforwardly as this. I think it would be so great for traveling or weekends away. All I would need would be the powdered food and a bottle of pom juice.

Hmmm. I'm not surprised about the organic nutrition. I think you sent me the link some time back!

Ok - is it just me, or does this guy look like he's passing gas?

Yes Alden...he's tooting. lol

I feed HPW pretty strictly but after being made aware that I won't kill my gliders by straying or giving extra yummy stuff, I let them splurge a few times per week.
I make fruit/veggie mixes using fresh ingrediants. Occasionally frozen but for the most part, all fresh and what's in season. These are someone else's recipes but I think they're great and my gliders love them....well, most of them at least. I freeze these mixes in ice cube trays so nightly feeding is easy. There are about 12 mix recipes but I am only listing a few to save post space. I try to have at least 5 or 6 different mixes in the freezer at a time for variety.
(I weigh everything on a digital scale. Some ingrediants are pulsed, some diced small)

Mix #1
Pear 1 portion 1:1
Papaya 2 portions 9.6:2
Butternut Squash 1 portion 1.5:1 (Squash is roasted in oven, NO oil, until soft)
Total with HPW: 2.02:1

Mix #2
Cranberries (or cherries, frozen or raw) 1 Portion 0.7:1
Papaya 2 portions 9.6:2
Sweet Potato (microwaved until soft) 1 portion 0.8:1
Greenbeans 1 portion 1:1
Total with HPW: 1.86:1

Mix #3
Papaya 1 portion 4.8:1
Blueberries 1 portion 0.5:1
Collard Greens 1/4 portion 3.63:0.25 (thawed, water squeezed out)
Carrots 1 portion 0.6:1
Total with HPW: 1.97:1

Mix #4
Papaya 2 portions 9.6:2
Tangerine 1 portion 1.4:1
Broc Spears (stems only, cooked) 1 portion 1.1:1
Spag Squash 1 portion 1.9:1 (roasted in oven, NO oil, until soft)
Total with HPW: 1.9:1

Mix #5
Prickly Pear or NAVEL orange 1 portion 2.3:1
Cantaloupe 1 portion 0.6:1
Collard Greens 1/2 portion 7.26:0.5 (thawed)
Carrots 1 portion 0.6:1
Total with HPW: 2.04:1

Mix #6
Papaya 2 portions 9.6:2
Grapes 1 portion 0.8:1
Greenbeans 1 portion 1:1
Spag Squash 1 portion 1.9:1 (roasted in oven, NO oil, until soft)
Total with HPW: 1.83:1

I always use a glider kitchen but lots of times I split up their dinner, some goes in the kitchen, some go in foraging cups hung randomly around the cage, or in foraging toys with treat mugs.
I would love to get my hands on red palm oil. I've looked in our Whole Foods store and at Publix but I can't find it. If I find it, I'm going to try incorporating it.

I feed HPW and change it everytime I make it using three different pulps/juices. I alternate each batch four (4) times. The 4th time that I make it I follow the standard preparation recipe but each batch before that I substitute one cup of either papaya pulp, mango pulp or orange juice fortified with calcium and vitamin D in place of one of the cups of water.

I purchase papaya pulp and mango pulp at my local grocers in the frozen food section where the GOYA products are at. They carry a variety of frozen pulps besides papaya and mango and these are 100% pure fruit pulps. Nothing added at all.

Picture: https://servimg.com/view/14641875/7

I do this for two reasons. One is to add a little calcium to the recipe which raises the Ca:PH ratio a little from 1:1 depending on which juice/pulp I use. (ex: using a cup of Orange Juice fortified with Calcium and Vitamin D changes the ratio to: 1.43:1 or 896 mg Calcium and 628 mg phosphorus.) Second reason is to change the taste of the HPW diet and add a varity to their diet along the lines of taste.

I also feed one (1) cube Veggie Relish and one (1) cube Fruit Relish as well each night.

I have created these recipe's myself and they have a 2:1 Ca:PH ratio to them. I have made recipes for three (3) veggie relishes and four (4) fruit relishes. Most of the time I feed them frozen in cubes but on occassion I will make one (1) as a fresh food recipe. I will make at least two (2) of each and keep them bagged and frozen and will alternate them out every night as a way to change their meals and add a variety throughout the week to keep from food boredom. My gliders love their licky frozen foods.

I created these recipe's using the recipe calculator on Glider Gossip. They have a wide variety of foods in their calculator and the database was/is uploaded from the USDA website database. It shows a large varity of nutrional values as well for each recipe as a whole and for each individual item in that recipe. As I am feeding seven (7) gliders these recipes are large in quantity and makes anywhere from 4 to 6 ice cube filled trays which will last an estimated 20 to 30 days in my house per recipe.

Veggie Relishes:

http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=115

http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=116

http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=148

Fruit Relishes:

http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=114

http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=110

http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=135

http://www.sugarglider.com/nutrition/viewrecipe.asp?item=138

Twice a week as well as above I will offer a scrambled egg or some boiled chicken for food change from boredom and just because they love them.

As treats I offer dried papaya, yoggies and on occassion some pumpkin. squash or sunflower seeds.

I very rarely feed mealies but have on occassion given either some of them or crickets but these a far between. As the mommy of already fluffy gliders I try to keep these treats to a very low minimum.

I am in the process of getting red palm oil to add to my HPW as well. http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWU269/ItemDetail?SourceCode=INTL070&cm_mmc_o=7BBTkw%20-pcByplCjCWBECPyzEpwpCjC

Anita...That red palm oil you listed, are they capsules or just oil packed in a jar?

I'm assuming it's an oil because the reviews state it doesn't taste that good. I haven't gotten it yet but I'm almost positive it's an oil based on the reviews and the word oil listed by the weight of the product. There is a tab to read the product label and it says take 1 tablespoon = 14 grams daily. Must be an oil. Also says 32 servings per that bottle.

Here is a link to the kind I have.

http://www.junglepi.com/products/red_palm.html

The consistency in the jar is like Crisco.

I can tell you this stuff might be good for you/gliders but it tastes
Yes I taste almost everything. NOT tasting meal worms though!!

Davie can you PM me all of those mix recipes you have please??

Sure I'll send them now.

I am going to pick one and make it this afternoon!

The red palm oil is thick at room temp, but liquid when very slightly warmed. I put the bottle I have in hot tap water for about a minute and then it is liquid.

This is the one I use.
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AVXSSF1

My parrot won't touch it and I haven't figured out a sneaky way to get it to her yet!

For my parrots, I blend the red palm oil w/fruit, veggies to a relish texture. The birds don't have such a great sense of taste and like bitter things. Some cayenne pepper flakes sprinkled on anything makes it palatable for my birds.

In my regular glider diet that I feed, I blend the palm oil and a bit of flax oil w/the superfood or pom juice, bee pollen, alfalfa leaves, etc.

Anita why do you cook some of the veggies in the veggie mixes?

I don't really cook them but use frozen already bagged/cooked veggie's. For the most part those veggie's other than fresh may have been the only choice in the calculator to choose. If you see cooked it really is just frozen bagged/cooked. I may nook them to make it easier to blend them in the blender to thaw them out. Some people blanch their veggie's before making the veggie's relishes but I don't. I really don't COOK any of my veggie's. I use already sliced frozen carrots as an example because they are so hard to slice and time consuming. I put them in the microwave after rinsing them off to warm and soften them up to add to my blender. Makes it easier to blend them.

Although - I would like to say - research has shown that sweet potato (and possibly carrots) needs to be steamed lightly in order for the vitamins to be released and utilized.

Because of that, when I do feed sweet potatoes I make sure to get them to a softer state.

There's also question about the oxolate levels in carrots fresh vs cooked/steamed. I assume it's the same with all oxolate foods but I do not count on the calcium from those foods high in oxolates and figure my relishes without adding those foods calcium in although I still have to add in the phosphorus. I still feed them those foods though as they like them (ex: spinach) and that would be the first veggie to be eaten of I did not blend it in.

valkyriemome wrote:

Although - I would like to say - research has shown that sweet potato (and possibly carrots) needs to be steamed lightly in order for the vitamins to be released and utilized.

Because of that, when I do feed sweet potatoes I make sure to get them to a softer state.

That's sort of what I always thought. I roast my butternut and spaghettie squash first, till almost soft. Same with sweet potatoes. I tried raw not too long ago and they wouldn't touch the butternut squash but they LOVE it roasted.

Anita, I tried one of the fruit mixes and my kids LOVED it. I didn't realize how easy it would be!! Thank you for giving me the incentive to try them! I am going to try one of the veggie mixes tonight!

i use alicias modified HPW (with 1 cup honey and 1/2 cup applesauce) plus a 400 u vit e cap squeezed out. vit e is good for hair and nails and i need to see will it work!

Quote :

mizvalorie Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:03 am

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Anita, I tried one of the fruit mixes and my kids LOVED it. I didn't realize how easy it would be!! Thank you for giving me the incentive to try them! I am going to try one of the veggie mixes tonight!

You are quite welcome. I'm happy to hear not only that someone tried one but that their gliders loved it.

Remember in the veggie ones you can do fresh or frozen and either blend it or serve it chunky. However you feel your glider likes their food.

Sometimes I'll blend some of the ingredients and leave half of the rest chunky that way they will lick the liquid mix and pickup to eat the chunky and still gain alot of the nutrients by not eatting only the foods they like.

If you have little joey's and they don't eat as much you can also fill half of a ice cube slot in an ice cube tray with a veggie mix and then finish filling it with a fruit mix. Once it defrosts the foods seperate quite easily and you don't waste any food. Makes for quite a colorful ice cube.

They love it too! This has made feeding soooo much easier! Thank you!

Well, thanks guys! Now my fridge is even MORE full of glider foods and my kids are even more annoyed!

Got the green drink with spirulina. Now I'm adding that to my HPW in place of some of the water. Gliders seem to love it just as much.

Will check out the recipes you posted, Anita!

What else do I need to know about nutritious additives? I have the Red Palm Oil and the spirulina. And papaya.

I bought the green juice, too & will be adding it to HPW - not sure if I will replace some honey or some water yet. Thanks for the water idea, Alden!

I bought the Mega Green juice too and added some to their fruit and veggie cubes last night. Every drop of juice was gone as well as most of the fruit and veggie cubes. They love that Mega Green juice. I'm going to include it in the next batch of veggie cubes I make next instead of the mango pulp.

Thanks for the tip.

I add some of the green juice to my HPW. I take out 1/2 cup of honey and add the green juice instead. Been doing this since I seen Tammys gliders. I swear it makes their coats not only more plush but longer as well...prolly not a reality but it sure feels and looks like it.