Can Sugar Gliders Eat Cabbage?

Whether you buy it at the grocery store, farmer’s market or even grow it yourself, cabbage is a healthy addition to any meal.  No doubt, as you have prepared cabbage for yourself, you have wondered whether or not cabbage would be okay to feed to your sugar gliders.

You don’t want to feed your sugar gliders anything unhealthy or accidentally make them sick.  So, get in the habit of looking up any new food you want to feed your wide-eyed pals.  Unfortunately, not every fruit and vegetable that is healthy for us is healthy for our sugar gliders as well. 

So, what about cabbage?  Can sugar gliders eat cabbage? The quick and easy answer is: Yes, sugar gliders can eat cabbage.  Be sure to thoroughly rinse the cabbage before cutting it up for you sugar gliders.  And never serve your suggies canned cabbage.

How to Prepare Cabbage to Feed to Sugar Gliders

Before serving your furry friends cabbage, be sure to completely wash the outer part of the cabbage.  You do not want to unintentionally feed your sugar gliders and pesticides or insecticides. 

Even better, after rinsing the outer leaves, peel them and discard them.  And even better than that, buy organic cabbage so you don’t have to worry about pesticides at all!

Cut the cabbage into small wedges, or strips and add it to the other fruits, veggies and food you are serving your sweeties.  Hopefully, they chow down on it right away.  However, if they don’t, don’t worry. 

Often times sugar gliders need to be exposed to a food a few times before they give it a try.  So, if your sugar gliders ignore cabbage the first time, be sure to try feeding it to them a few more times before giving up. 

What Kind of Cabbage Should I Feed My Sugar Gliders?

Sugar gliders can eat cabbage raw or cooked with no problems.  In fact, many sugar gliders seem to prefer their cabbage to be lightly steamed or boiled.  When cooking cabbage for your sugar gliders do not add any spices or other flavor enhancers you use for your own cooked cabbage.  Salt, pepper, and most spices don’t belong in a sugar glider’s diet.

As with most produce, stay away from canned cabbage.  The canning process adds unwanted preservatives that can harm your suggies.

Fresh cabbage and frozen cabbage are the best for your sugar gliders’ diets.  If you decide to freeze the cabbage before feeding it to your sugar gliders, know that it will lose nearly all of its crunchiness.  Some sugar gliders won’t be happy eating limp cabbage.

Most sugar glider owners work hard to maintain a 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio in their pet’s diet.  Fortunately, cabbage fits into this very well.  As you’ll see though, if you opt for red cabbage, you’ll need to adjust your suggies’ diet some. 

Green cabbage, has a great calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1.  This makes it an excellent addition to your sugar gliders’ meals.  Red cabbage also has an okay ratio, though not quite as good at 1.2:1.

Summary: Can Sugar Gliders Have Cabbage?

Can sugar gliders eat cabbage? In a word: Yes!  Sugar gliders can eat cabbage.  Green cabbage especially has a favorable calcium to phosphorus ratio. When feeding cabbage to your sugar gliders, stick to fresh and frozen, never canned.

When serving your furry friends fresh cabbage, or preparing to be frozen, be sure to wash the cabbage well to remove all the pesticides.  Take an extra step to remove the outer leaves if you want to be more cautious.  Or, better yet, buy organic cabbage for your sugar gliders.

And don’t forget to keep an eye on your lovable friend’s calcium to phosphorus ratio.