On the feeding of Fruits and Veggies....

So, I know there are so many ways that people choose to feed their fruits and veggies:
* Some feed a variety of fresh every day and some feed only frozen
* Some feed only one fruit and one veggie every day and some feed a variety every day
* Some make smoothies and relishes, some give huge chunks and some make bite size pieces

And so on.

So, I would like to hear from each of you how you feed them and more importantly WHY you chose to feed your fruits and veggies the way you do.

I think there might be pros and cons to most methods. If you know the pros and cons to your particular methods and such, then please list them. Hopefully, this thread will be one we can refer new people to!

I feed fresh from the garden veggies when possible. In the winter I feed a variety of veggies.
squash/corn/sweet peas/carrots/sweet potatoes/green beans
On the nights i don't feed yogurt I feed fruit. I try to use fresh but sometimes it is the frozen stuff.
blueberries/watermelon/cantaloupe/apples/cherries/coconut/leech nut/papaya/mango
My gliders like a variety and not the same thing every night.
Twice a week a feed chicken or turkey. My gliders prefer fresh but when that isn't possible I give them frozen never canned. I don't do smoothies or relish my guys like to take their food and eat it in different spots in the cage. So they like pieces they can hold in their hands.

I feed a frozen mix of veggies and then a fruit smoothie on top of it..It varies but often I actually cut up fresh and put it into my frozen mix

My fruit smoothies vary but mostly its cantalope, apples, banana, grapes, papaya and mango....at its core...then activa and some peach yogurt

my frozen veggie mix is sugar snap peas, green beans, brocolli, sweet potato, zuccini, squash, green/red/yellow peppers, sweet peas, carrots, collared greens etc

Ive recently started adding Wellness brand liquid calcium with vit d to my hpw mix along with the Naked brand Green Machine Superfoods juice as Ive got some relatively young gliders (9 mo) that decided it was time to breed and I needed to up calcium to the female especially....will let you know how it turns out

I have found ...for me anyways...that feeding this way is the easiest and the most economical while still feeding a well balanced diet

I feed a mix of frozen and fresh - some days all fresh or all frozen. Some more variety here and there, but the basics are (usually at least 2 different kinds of fruits & 2 different kinds of veggies each night, often more):

Veggies: Green Beans, Carrots, Peas, Corn, Collared Greens, Cucumber, Spinach
Fruits: Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Watermelon, Cherries, Blueberries, Mango, Apple

I would also like to see an answer as to WHY you feed the fruits and veggies and how do you pick them and mix and match them up. Or is it what ever you have on hand or on sale(I buy alot on sale for variety) or a 2:1 ratio is the deciding factor.

I personally choose the way I was raised to eat. That you have meat, a green veg and a starch as a balanced diet. I may not be able tio follow this exactly for the suggies but it is the foundation for feeding my babies.
There is a book put out or on sale at Publix that catergorizes the fruits and I believe there is a veggie one also. So when I choose fruit or fruits I don't use two from the same grouping. Such as cantoulpoe, honeydews, watermelons are all melon category and will always be feed separately with a pear, or grape, or berry, or citrus family. No two fruits or veggie from same category on same night. I also make a smoothie with Papaya and other fruits from diff groupings as a side dish or I add a few into the variation Blended diet mixture and also add some Guava fruit nectar, A superfood juice.
Art

My gliders get a wide array of everything. Some frozen, some fresh, sometimes a bit of frozen fruit smoothie, sometimes fruit and veggie cubes that I've frozen with a 2 to 1 ratio already calculated. This would be a novel if I put down everything they got. But for the most part, they get whatever I can find at the grocery store. If it's only in season a short time like say prickly pear, I'll buy more, dice or puree it, and freeze it in ice cube trays along with papaya, collards, etc. I usually have 2 to 4 veggies and 2 to 4 fruits per night. My quad likes different things. One loves bell pepper. The others don't. Two love fresh blueberries. Two don't. That's why I have an assortment because their tastes all differ.

OK nap time is over and here I sit writing my fruits and veggie post!

My gliders get several fruits and veggies every night. Their green veggies like collard/kale/spring mix lettuces get blended into their HPW when I make it so this way I know they are eating the good stuff you know the yucky green veggies most kids push to the side of the plate. Then they get veggie relish with a variety of vegetables in it. I choose this so they can not pick out what they do not like. They get a small portion of the relish this way I can also feed them a few diced veggies they can hold onto. I buy many different kinds and offer different ones nightly. Some of the less common veggies get chopped into pieces and frozen so I can feed when it is out of season. If it seems to mushy after freezing then it gets added to the relish.

Fruits are chopped and fed in small hand size chunks and once in a while I will give a larger piece of apple or something just for fun. I buy a variety of fruits also and when they are on sale we buy mass quantity and freeze them for smoothies.

Sometimes I even make fruit and veggie relish. Sometimes I hide the foods. You can even make some dried fruits and veggies and hide them also. Again variety is important here and ratios are sort of worked out but I am not fussy over calculating every meal they eat.

My opinion is give a variety of foods with different shapes/sizes and textures and your glider might not get tired of the food you feed. If they seem to leave a certain kind of food blend it into something they love this way they will eat it. I have 2 cages who will not touch carrots well in relish they love them.

I buy a mixture of frozen and fresh. I will cut up the fresh and freeze it. I have a thing about only giving one fruit and one veggie per meal. I'm afraid that if Chico doesn't like that particular fruit and/or veggie, he won't have anything that night.

Chico will not eat blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries freshly cut up, only in a smoothie.

Other fruits he will eat: apples, pears, mango, honeydew, cantaloupe, papaya

He will only eat turnip greens and endive. Every time I have tried kale, his most hated veggie, he will literally throw or push it out of the cage! At first, I thought it was falling out of his hands, so I put the veggies in a 'kitchen.' Well, the smart little guy, took it out of the kitchen, brought it to the other side of the cage, and stuffed it out between the bars!

I'm going to try mixing veggies into a relish in hopes he'll eat more than just the two.

Honestly, I feed the fruits and veggies I do because they're the ones I can afford and buy in "bulk". I know they love the variety and I have very few picky gliders. However, there are times I have more fruit leftover the next day - I can pretty much say that nobody likes pineapple so I don't even bother with it anymore. Also, Toffee & Zoey are not fond of strawberries. Otherwise, once in a while, I will splurge on the more expensive fresh fruits and veggies and they enjoy those, as well. The nights I feed collared greens, the hpw gets put directly onto it so that they like it more - at least, that's my thought.

I feed the smoothie/relish for fruits & veggies. I use to do it occasionally for a switch up but switched to full time. I'll list my reasons/pro's in a sec. I use frozen for those that come in that form and if they don't then I'll buy fresh and add to the frozen. Each week I alternate what fruits/veggies I add to the basic mix. My basic mix that goes in every batch of fruits is
papaya, mango, strawberries & pineapple - Veggies kale, green beans, corn & carrots. I pretty much add whatever is safe, just a few different ones each week.

My reasons/pros
I don't have any picky eaters- they get a little of everything with each bite.
The gliders eat every piece of the food instead of just the pit/meat
I no longer have food aggression issues (no solid pieces to fight over)
I have the opportunity to offer them a larger variety ( my gliders wouldn't eat anything leafy- kale, mustard greens, etc)
There's something with blending/grinding the food that allows for it to go further- keeping the expenses down
I can prepare a weeks worth of food in one night & no chopping
I don't have chunks of food sitting/drying out in the cage

Ooooh, I like that!

jacknsally wrote:

I no longer have food aggression issues (no solid pieces to fight over)

This is the main reason that I may switch to smoothies at least somewhat. Currently, in my food aggressive cages, I have 3-4 feeding stations and that seems to work most nights. However, I still hear and see Tas trying to steal food from his family and Poppy stealing food from hers every once in a while.

Brenda I had that happen with 1 cage even with feeding the smoothie/relish. They would have 4 feeding bowls and there would still be squabbling. It was over the HPW- so now after measuring it out, I mix everything together nightly in their bowl. Haven't had a squabble since - I feed them with 3 dishes just to be safe since I've had the most food aggressive issues with this one cage