by Nancy Houser

Created on: February 27, 2009

With large and rounded protruding eyes located on the sides of its small oval head, the little sugar glider is able to have an extraordinary large field of night vision. This allows it to glide over 160-feet in the wild to munch on a delicious moth or some other unsuspecting insect. With many worms and insects coming to the surface during this nocturnal time, the survival of the sugar glider resides on being able to obtain food that is not easily available during the day. Any developing eye problem will cause serious issues for this tiny little animal, as its livelihood and survival depends on its vision. In sugar glider pets, immediate attention is required when any eye damage or abnormality develops.

AVASCULAR RETINAE

This is not necessarily a problem in the eyes of the sugar glider, but has to do with the numbers of rods and cones in its eyes. This also has a lot to do with the fact it cannot see typical color, but only in grays and the color red. An avascular retina refers to the sugar glider having a small residual tuft of fluorescein-impermeable vessels in its eyes. It projects from the optic disc into the vitreous, which means the sugar glider has superior night vision and can see long distances. But of course, not in color, which is probably not necessary during the night anyway.

CATARACTS

Cataracts are white spots in the sugar glider's usual large, black and clear eyes. Many vets feel it is possible for a sugar glider to have cataracts, but many sugar glider professionals also theorize that instead of a cataract, this whiteness is caused by too much fat in the sugar glider's diet. This is an unfortunate situation, with many owners of sugar gliders mistakenly diagnosing their own pets with cataracts, when instead it is a nutrition problem that can be corrected. Look at the eyes. If the eyes are cloudy with a whitish blob floating on the inside of the eyeball, then it may be corrected by changing the diet as sugar gliders cannot digest fat well.

The best diet of the sugar glider needs to be protein sources which are high in protein yet low in fat. Do not entirely eliminate fat as some amounts are necessary, especially if the sugar gliders are breeding. Fat is very important for their lactation. Some high-fat foods to stay away from are peanut butter, any kind of nut, avocadoes, red meats, pork, butter, oil or cheese. What is the best to feed them are boiled chicken or boiled eggs, mealworms, yogurt, chicken in baby food, grasshoppers, and crickets. Remember

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>