Can Sugar Gliders Eat Apricots?
When they are in season, apricots can be one of the most satisfying treats to spoil yourself with. They are so incredibly tasty that even when they aren’t in season, apricot’s sweet juice with the quick, tangy tartness that follows is still a popular treat.
No doubt you are aware of the health benefits of apricots for humans. It is a common mistake to think that every food that has health benefits for humans is also healthy for our sweet sugar gliders.
As a sensible sugar glider owner, be sure to always look into whether your furry friends can have any new food before you treat them to it.
So, what about apricots? Can sugar gliders eat apricots? The quick and easy answer is: Yes, sugar gliders can eat apricots, just remove the pit and thoroughly wash the skin. It’s even better to remove the skin completely or buy organic apricots. Be sure to feed apricots in moderation to your suggies, you don’t want them to over indulge on any one treat.
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Can Sugar Gliders Have Apricot Pits and Apricot Skin?
Apricots follow the basic rule of thumb for most produce that is fed to sugar gliders. If you eat it, so can they. However, with the skin there are a few more considerations when feeding apricots to sugar gliders.
Sugar gliders are much more likely to have affects from pesticides, insecticides and the like than us humans. Because of this, you want to be sure to completely clean the apricot skin before allowing your sugar gliders to eat it.
Obviously, it can be hard to clean the little crevices near the stem, so a better option would be to cut the flesh of the apricot away from the skin before feeding it to your wide-eyed pal. Even better, buy organic apricots for your sugar gliders!
As for the apricot stone, you don’t eat them, and your sugar gliders shouldn’t either. While your sugar gliders will likely eat around the apricot’s stone pit, you don’t want them to be tempted to give it a nibble. For this reason, it is better to remove the apricot pit from any piece you plan to treat your suggies too.
While sometimes it can be difficult to find a wide variety of apricots in your local grocery store, when you can, buy freestone apricots for your sugar gliders.
As the name implies, the stone of the apricot will freely pull away from the flesh, which is much cleaner than what happens when you try to pull a clingstone out.
How Much Apricot Can Sugar Gliders Eat?
Many sugar gliders will go absolutely crazy for apricots. Unfortunately for these sugar gliders though, they can not make a whole meal out of apricots. Apricots alone do not have all of the vitamins and minerals sugar gliders need to live a long and healthy life.
Additionally, apricots have a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 0.7:1. For sugar glider owners that do their best to keep the ratio at 2:1, too much apricot poses a problem. You’ll need to find a high calcium food to make up for the deficit your suggies will have when eating apricots.
Because of these two issues, and because some sugar gliders will eat apricots until they are stuffed, it is best to make sure your sugar gliders don’t get too much apricot at once.
The easiest way to do this is to slice or cube apricot to the appropriate size, and only give that portion to your sweet buddies.
If you have the rare sugar glider who doesn’t like apricots, don’t worry. Just like us humans, not every sugar glider will love every type of food.
What Type of Apricot Can Sugar Gliders Eat?
Like nearly every type of produce you can treat your sugar glider to, fresh and frozen are best. You especially want to avoid feeding your sugar gliders canned apricot (and almost all canned produce!).
The canning process usually includes additives that your sugar glider should not be consuming. So, no trying to skip ahead of skinning and slicing the apricot by using canned. On the other hand, a lot of supermarkets do sell sliced and washed frozen apricots, which make for an easy cheat.
Dried apricots are also okay for your sugar gliders to eat. However, most store bought dried fruit is covered in sugar. This extra sugar can be detrimental to your suggies.
So, be sure to buy only dried apricots without added sugar for your sugar gliders. It also isn’t too difficult to make your own dehydrated apricots, which will help you make sure there is no added sugar.
Summary: Can Sugar Gliders Have Apricots?
Can sugar gliders eat apricots? In a word: Yes! Sugar gliders can eat apricots. Just make sure you treat your furry pals to apricots in moderation. Remove the pit from any slice of apricot you feed your furry friend, and be sure to wash all the pesticides from the skin.
A better option would be to skin the apricot before feeding to your sugar gliders. And an even better option is to buy organic apricots for your sugar gliders to eat. Don’t forget, freestone apricots are much easier to pit than clingstone.
Remember, when it comes to almost all produce, including apricots, frozen and fresh are best. Avoid feeding canned apricots to your sugar gliders and if you decide to feed them dehydrated apricots, make sure there is no added sugar.
While most sugar gliders will love apricots, don’t be upset if yours doesn’t. Not every sugar glider loves every treat, and there are plenty of options out there besides apricots to spoil your lovable pal too.