Can Sugar Gliders Eat Pears?
While picking out pears for yourself, the thought of sharing them with your sugar gliders has likely crossed your mind. After all, sugar gliders seem to love most fruit, so why wouldn’t they like pears too?
We know pears are good for us. They have lots of the things we need to stay healthy. Before you give your fuzzy buddies any new treat it’s best to check out whether that treat is okay for them to have.
So, what about pears? Can sugar gliders eat pears? The quick and easy answer is: Yes, sugar gliders can eat pears, but remove the seeds and do not give them the stem with their slice. Most treats you want to feed your sugar gliders in moderation, however, feed pears to you sweet friends rarely.
Is There Anything Unhealthy About Feeding Pears to Sugar Gliders?
There can be some unhealthy consequences of feeding pears to your sugar gliders. However, it isn’t hard to avoid these pitfalls so you can make sure pears are a healthy and safe treat for your suggies.
Pears are high in oxalate, which makes it more difficult to absorb calcium. This is especially a problem for sugar gliders as they need to keep the correct calcium to phosphorus ratio. Keeping the size of the pear treat small and feeding pears rarely to sugar gliders is the best way to go if you want to give your suggies pear.
The first rule of thumb to follow when feeding produce to sugar gliders is to always feed them fresh or frozen produce. Canned produce can contain additives that do not belong in your tiny friend’s diet.
The second rule of thumb, which especially pertains to pears, is to wash them well. Sugar gliders cannot handle pesticides well at all, even faint traces can be very detrimental.
Pears have more than pesticides on them, often times they have wax on them as well. In our modern farming practices, this wax is used to help some produce retain its moisture.
Because there are both pesticides and wax present on many pears, a better overall practice is to just not let your sugar gliders eat the skin or stem.
When it comes to seeds, the rule of thumb to follow is; If we eat them, they can too. This applies to pears too. Like apple seeds, pear seeds contain a small amount of cyanide.
What Variety of Pear Should I Feed My Sugar Glider?
Not every pear will delight every sugar glider. While it is true that some sugar gliders will love any variety you put in front of them. Others will only gobble up the pear treat up if it is from a very sweet variety.
If your sugar gliders don’t like their slices of pear, don’t worry. Ignoring one food isn’t a sign of stress or disease. Often sugar gliders need to be given a food a few times before they decide to eat it. So be sure to offer a pear treat a few times before giving up. Your suggies may come to love pears.
If your sweet friends do like pears, but don’t go crazy for them, you can try out a few different varieties. When you find a variety, they particularly love, it will be obvious. There won’t be much left of the pear you gave them!
While pears are a great and healthy snack, each type of pair does have slightly different nutrients. But no pear has enough protein or many of the other nutrients your suggies need for a full and balanced diet. So, don’t make pears their entire meal, stick to pears as rare treats.
As with everything you feed your sugar glider, be conscious of the overall calcium to phosphorus ratio your sugar glider is consuming. This especially applies to pears since they are high in oxalate.
Summary: Can Sugar Gliders Have Pears?
Can sugar gliders eat pears? In a word: Yes! Sugar gliders can eat pears in small amounts and rarely. Be sure to wash the pear well and remove the stem and seeds before giving it to your sugar glider. Better than washing the pear, skin it to make sure you don’t accidentally feed your sweeties wax and pesticides.
As with most produce, avoid feeding your sugar glider canned pears. And due to pears being high in oxalate, be sure to keep track of your wide-eyed pals overall calcium to phosphorus ratio.
Remember, not every human likes pears, so don’t worry if your sugar glider doesn’t either