Posted: July 27, 2012, 1:50 p.m. EDT
Q: I recently purchased a sugar glider from an individual. She was feeding it baby food and yogurt. I started it on the BML diet the day after I got him. His poop was dark, but today he pooped and it was yellow. Is that cause for concern?
A: Because I doubt that sugar gliders eat yogurt in the wild, almost any diet you change to will be an improvement over what he was being fed. BML (Bourbon’s Modified Leadbeaters) is one type of diet recipe that is recommended for sugar gliders. A number of modifications to this diet can be found on various Internet websites. Many people believe that prepared properly, the BML diet will sustain your sugar glider and keep him healthy. In short, you have taken your sugar glider off of a diet that is unbalanced for the needs of a sugar glider and put him onto a diet that is more appropriate if the recipe is followed correctly.
It is very common when you radically change the diet of your sugar glider (or any pet) that the feces may turn different colors and even change consistency as the microflora throughout the gastrointestinal tract change to accommodate the change in nutrients. If you have concerns about the change in feces, certainly bring your sugar glider and samples of the feces to your veterinarian for an examination.
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