Southern Flying Squirrel - what to give to help grind down back teeth

[sblilstinker]

What is the best food to give my Southern Flyer, Peanut, to help grind down his back teeth? I recently took him to the vet and she mentioned sugar glider kibble or dog kibble. I bought a package of Vitakraft Vita Smart Sugar Glider Food Complete Nutrition High Protein, it is in pellet form. It has been a week since I bought it and he wants nothing to do with it. I give him nuts in the shell to help with his front teeth. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Squirreleesi]

When i rehabbed my group of Flyers, i offered them antler bits and Cuttlebone to keep their teeth worn down. I believe you can pick them both up still at the website: Squirrelsandmore, or you might want to check Amazon.. they sometimes have better deals and free shipping :)

[DarkLies212]

What's your flyer's diet like? He shouldn't be getting dog or sugar glider food as these critters have totally different dietary requirements. Is he getting any rodent/rat block?

[Squirreleesi]

They need a good Rodent Block though, I would suggest Henrys Hi-Protein Blocks, which can be picked up at the website Henryspet. Flyer's diet is critical and due to their size they are easily susceptible to MBD..moreso than other kinds of Squirrels; So limit the number of nuts offered. Those are considered treats to captives.
I'll be honest, i've never heard of offering dog food to flyers... Hopefully someone with a bit more recent Flyer experiance will pop in soon, but until then here's the proper diet for Flyers.
291279
291280

[sblilstinker]

What's your flyer's diet like? He shouldn't be getting dog or sugar glider food as these critters have totally different dietary requirements. Is he getting any rodent/rat block?

He gets a variety of nuts, fruit, veggies, sunflower seeds and meal worms. I sprinkle his fruit and veggies with Calcium plus vitamin D3 powder. He actually has a deer antler bone in his cage but he doesn't chew on it.

[sblilstinker]

They need a good Rodent Block though, I would suggest Henrys Hi-Protein Blocks, which can be picked up at the website Henryspet. Flyer's diet is critical and due to their size they are easily susceptible to MBD..moreso than other kinds of Squirrels; So limit the number of nuts offered. Those are considered treats to captives.
I'll be honest, i've never heard of offering dog food to flyers... Hopefully someone with a bit more recent Flyer experiance will pop in soon, but until then here's the proper diet for Flyers.
291279
291280

Thank you for the information. It is hard for me to read the chart you included. Can you tell me where you found it?

[sblilstinker]

I found the chart. I know it says Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels, are they including flying squirrels?

[stepnstone]

I found the chart. I know it says Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels, are they including flying squirrels?

Below link is more specific to a flyers diet:
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?37700-HEALTHY-DIET-for-PET-Flying-Squirrels

This link w/ forums is for and all about flyers...
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?3-Flying-Squirrel-Forum

[Jennefer]

I had an antler for my guys but they didnt touch it! They like the lava chews (like little colored blocks of pumice) and they LOVED sticks...i gave them oak, pecan & magnolia branches from outside (no pesticides). And big name pet stores sell apple tree sticks that they liked. I also would give my guys as a treat only...an in-shell hazel nut once a week. Takes them a bit to drill thru the shell. Im not sure how much any of these things trim their back teeth, but I never had any teeth issues with my guys (6 of them). Im guessing it works b/c the food they ate wasnt really hard. My chinchilla used to eat hay to keep his back teeth worn down, but flyers dont eat hay.

As for diet, they do need more protein than other types of squirrels. I always made sure their protein was balanced with calcium so they didnt get more of one over the other. Example - my guys loved yogurt (full fat, no sugary filling though - I used Noosa brand), live mealworms or waxworms dusted with calcium, freeze dried chicken (can get it at pet store as cat treats - make sure it's 100% chicken), and scrambled eggs with the shell finely crushed up in the eggs. Balanced of course with veggies & Henrys blocks. :grin2