Can Sugar Gliders Eat Spinach?
If you like to eat spinach, and you like to spoil your sugar gliders, certainly you have thought about feeding spinach to your sweeties. After all, if spinach has all sorts of health benefits for us humans, it is probably healthy for sugar gliders too, right?
Rather than giving your wide-eyed friends spinach and hoping for the best. It’s always better to make sure that any new food or treat you are introducing to your sugar glider’s diet is something that is safe and healthy for them.
So, what about spinach? Can sugar gliders eat spinach? The quick and easy answer is: Yes, sugar gliders can eat spinach in moderation. Fresh and frozen spinach are the best. If you opt for fresh either buy organic or wash the spinach well before feeding it to your suggies.
Precautions to Take When Feeding Sugar Gliders Spinach
No doubt, you do not want to accidentally feed anything to your sugar gliders that can cause them problems. For that reason, when it comes to feeding sugar gliders spinach stick to the same rule as all produce: fresh and frozen are best and with few exceptions, canned produce should not be fed to your suggies.
Another precaution you should take when feeding your furry friends spinach is to do so in moderation. Spinach has a high amount of oxalate. This can inhibit the absorption of calcium.
Though some owners of suggies report feeding spinach often, it is better to rotate it with other treats. Most sugar glider guardians try to maintain a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1, which means spinach should not be fed to sugar gliders too often or in large quantities. However, as part of a variation of treats added to their regular meals, spinach can be a great addition to your sugar glider’s diet.
Finally, always rinse fresh spinach thoroughly. This will remove the pesticides from the leaves. Sugar gliders are especially prone to the negative consequences of consuming pesticides. Even better than rinsing the spinach, buy organic so you don’t have to worry about pesticides at all!
My Sugar Glider Does Not Like Spinach, Should I Be Worried?
Should you worry about your glider not eating spinach? No, that by itself isn’t a sign that your sweet baby is sick or distressed in some other way. Not every person loves spinach as much as Popeye. So, it makes sense that not every sugar glider will as well.
Some sugar gliders take a while to get used to a new food as well. If your suggies don’t gobble up the first piece of spinach you offer, try again a few more times. Your sugar glider might come to love spinach.
You can also try lightly cooking spinach to increase its appeal to your wide-eyed pals. However, if you do wilt the spinach, be sure not to add salt, pepper, oil or any other flavor enhancing goodies we use for our own wilted spinach.
While spices, salt and oil may make the spinach much more appealing to your suggies, these really don’t belong in your furry friend’s diet.
Summary: Can Sugar Gliders Have Spinach?
Can sugar gliders eat spinach? In a word: Yes! Sugar gliders can eat spinach in moderation. Never serve canned spinach and be sure to wash the spinach well. Better than washing the spinach, buy organic so you don’t accidentally feed your sweeties pesticides.
If you like to keep track of your sugar glider’s overall calcium to phosphorus ratio, be aware that spinach is high in oxalates which can inhibit calcium absorption.
Remember, not every human likes spinach, so don’t worry if your sugar glider doesn’t either.