Over the last few years I've owned and bred several hundred sugar gliders. They make delightful pets that are easy to care for and, on the whole, have remarkably few health problems. While calcium deficiency is only seen in a tiny minority of gliders, this malady can be extremely troublesome to those owners with afflicted animals.

          I have personally seen several cases of calcium deficiency (Nutritional Hyperparathyroidism a.k.a. hypocalciemia a.k.a. metabolic bone disease) in sugar gliders and have heard of a few more cases through other glider breeders from across Canada and the United States. I have heard what sounds like the same deficiency described as Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy and heard a lot of speculation as to its cause such as vitamin D deficiency, vitamin E and Selenium deficiency etc. My vet feels that while the deficiency is a nutritional one, it is not a muscular dystrophy.

         To confirm his diagnosis, he took my sick female glider and compared her to a group of apparently healthy individuals. A series of X-rays revealed that the sick glider had much lower bone density than the healthy animals. In places, the sick female's bone density was so low that the bone appeared as a ghostly outline on the X-ray. My vet said that doing blood tests for this particular complaint would have been inconclusive as even a severely calcium deficient animal will still strive to keep its blood levels of calcium normal.

          The symptoms of calcium deficiency are varied. They include lameness, difficulty in moving across the wire of the cage, pelvic deformity, paralysis, abdominal bloating (possibly because calcium deficiency can interfere with normal muscle contraction/relaxation, which can effect the peristaltic action of the gut), lack of coordination and death if left untreated. Most animals will have slow onset of symptoms but where a bone is fractured due to brittle bones, sudden onset of symptoms such as lameness and paralysis (due to spinal fractures) may occur. I have noticed that this complaint is more often seen in females, especially those that are in the process of raising young. This is not really surprising when you consider that pregnancy and lactation make extra demands on the body for calcium. Apparently, reptiles are also prone to calcium deficiency. They become deficient for the same reason that sugar gliders do; because they are not getting enough calcium and getting too much phosphorus in their diet. It is important to balance the intake of calcium and phosphorus in a 2:1 ratio.

          Initially, I could not understand how one animal in a large group could become calcium deficient while all the others in the same cage remained healthy even though they were all being fed exactly the same diet. I came to the conclusion that the sick individual was probably specializing in just one type of food (probably nuts because they love them so much) and was not eating a healthy combination of fruits and protein based foods. When animals are separated into singles, pairs and trios, it is much easier to monitor exactly what they are eating and make adjustments to the diet if they are eating too much of the same thing. Animals in large groups are more difficult to monitor on an individual basis.

          To treat this deficiency, my vet recommended that a calcium supplement be given orally along with vitamin D3. He said that foods that are high in phosphorus in relation to their calcium content should be rationed. Foods that are high in fat should also be fed in moderation, not only because the animal has a tendency to become obese if given too much, but the fat binds with calcium in the gut to make a fat-calcium "soap" that cannot be absorbed by the body and is eliminated in the feces.

          If you have an animal that you suspect has calcium deficiency, take it to your veterinarian immediately for assessment. Remove your pet to an environment where it cannot inadvertently break a bone and does not have to struggle to negotiate cage wire. An aquarium works well. Place a heating pad under the aquarium set on low heat and monitor the bottom of the aquarium to make sure that it doesn't get too hot. Give the affected animal calcium and vitamin D3 in apple juice or mixed into a favorite food item such as apple sauce every day (or as directed by your veterinarian), and you should start to see an improvement within a few weeks. Some animals will show an immediate improvement. I prefer Rep-cal's calcium powder, which can sometimes be found in pet stores or you can order it with your credit card from the Jeffer's pet supply catalog by phoning 1-800-JEFFERS and ordering item R9-C1-15. The 4.1oz containers cost $3.50 each plus shipping and handling. Rep-cal also has a good multivitamin (R9-H1-15. 3.2 oz $7.25 plus shipping and handling). If you have an animal with severe symptoms, your vet might decide that a series of injections of calcium are warranted, especially if the glider is not eating well and is not likely to take it in orally.

          Once the animal has recovered, trim its toenails before you put it in a wire cage to make it easier for it to move around. Trimming toenails is a two person job and involves a pair of leather gloves if the glider is not tame. Be very careful to only take the very tip of the nail with the toenail clippers. It will bleed if you take off too much.

          If the convalescing animal is a female, wait a few months before breeding her to make sure that she has fully recovered. If she already had babies suckling from her when she became ill, remove the babies at the earliest opportunity (preferably once the eyes are open) and hand rear them on puppy espilac (a milk replacer available from most veterinarians. Do NOT substitute other milks as most milk replacers are higher in lactose and are therefore more likely to cause diarrhea in some babies) if necessary. For more information on hand rearing baby gliders, see page 75 of Keeping and Breeding Sugar Gliders As Pets.