Sugar glider diet — fruit-heavy diets cause nutritional osteodystrophy
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted professional veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.
Claims
*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Pet sugar gliders kept mainly on a fruit diet with few gut-loaded insects or other protein sources are very susceptible to nutritional osteodystrophy (nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism). *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* This condition results from an imbalance in dietary calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Clinical signs include posterior paresis progressing to hindlimb paralysis, muscle tremors, pathological bone fractures, and in advanced cases seizures. *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Sugar gliders have specific nutritional requirements that predispose them to deficiencies in captivity. *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Feeding insects with hard exoskeletons can help reduce tartar buildup.