The Importance of a Good Diet--Pika's story

As you read this blog you've probably realized I LOVE sugar gliders! I love them so much that I've dedicated a lot of time and research to make this blog for you all!

Anyway, I also love them enough to help with the Minnesota Pocket Pet Rescue as the Glider Guru (as well as adoption coordinator).

This past July we took in two gliders named Peeka and Boo. Their history is a bit blurry. All I know is that this young lady's friend moved and gave the gliders to her. The friend, by the way, thought they were both females. They are, in fact, intact males. Anyway, she posted them on Craigslist to go to a knowledgeable home. After turning down several attempts to buy the boys from her because she felt the interested parties weren't knowledgeable enough, she turned to us.

I met up with them one afternoon after work in the Chuck and Don's parking lot in Blaine. This was my first time to that particular store yet an employee knew me as having gliders! I either have a reputation or she worked at another C&D ;). Anyway, they told me to have a truck because the cage was HUGE! So I borrowed my parents' F-250 long box extended cab anticipating a mammoth cage. They show up in a similar pick-up and take out the cage. It's a standard 3'x3'x2'. The stand made it seem a lot bigger than it was.

We sat in the lot talking for awhile about the boys. She handed them over to me along with a bag of CareFresh paper bedding, box of toys/treats and their food. We said our goodbyes and were on our way.

So these are rescue gliders. In the rescue we already have a Boo (a rabbit). I had to change it. Well, I stuck with the Peeka--kind of. I renamed him Pika (Pikachu) and Bulbasaur (Bulba).

Right when I got home I set the cage up. It was a nice cage for the two of them. Then, I started to go through their things. The CareFresh wasn't needed--I use newspaper in the pan. There were literally no pouches, hammocks, toys, wheel--anything! They only had one of those fake bird branches, a coconut and a hollow eggplant toy. I dug a little bit more. I wish I wouldn't have. The bags and boxes also contained a leash and the dreaded pelleted food. Oy vey.

I personally feed oHPW as well as fresh fruits and veggies.

I got them all cozied in with bedding and toys from my gliders and served them dinner. They LOVED it and gobbled it up.

All seemed to be going well the last two months--the staining on their fur was fading and they fell in love with their wheel.

So I said before that we took them in through the rescue. That being said, they came with me to an adoption event one fateful Sunday. We get there, sit down, and wait. One of the other fosters there asked if she could see them. I said of course! They are super friendly--well Pikachu is. Bulba can be a bit nippy! Anyway, the foster is standing there holding him and all of a sudden says, "Oh! He's blowing little bubbles!" I look over expecting the worst.

It was the worst.

He was having a seizure! He froze like a statue, eyes wide and drooling/blowing spit bubbles. I took him and held him close to me until he started to snap out of it.

I quickly text my friend Gwen (the breeder for Cinnamonstix-N-Sugar). She confirmed my fear that he did in fact have a seizure. She suggested that I get him honey water and try to get his sugar levels back up. I didn't have any honey on me (go figure) so I gave him a honey yogurt drop that I made for them. Then, I ran across the parking lot to the Lunds and Byerlys. I grabbed them some warm water from the coffee station, sugar, honey and a bottle of room temperature water.

He wouldn't drink any of it and stopped eating the yogis.

I noticed how severely dehydrated he was too.

Soon after the event I went over to her house. She looked at both of them and noticed how dehydrated they really were. Both of them! She gave me sub-q fluids and recommended I either go to an e-vet or get ahold of the doctors at Lexington Pet Clinic (of course it had to be a Sunday of all days!) Thankfully I work here and was able to get the supplies I needed. I spend the next two days checking on them every two hours (and I mean EVERY) to check their hydration levels and giving fluids as needed.

Then the diarrhea came. Liquid diarrhea.

We sent off a fecal sample to a lab that could run for more parasites than we can find in clinic. Dr. Kizer gave us meds for in the meantime. I gave them pumpkin and Activia to help with it too.

Nothing. They didn't find anything in the sample!

All of a sudden, they turned around and all was well.

Until this morning at about 12:20am. I got home from a friend's house and fed them later than I usually would have. I opened the cage to grab their dishes and Pika jumped right out onto me. (This is not unusual for him.) Since he was out, I told him he would be my dinner buddy to get food for everyone. We then went into the bathroom to clean out the dishes. I let him climb up the shower curtain while I cleaned. He scurried up and then disappeared. No movement. When I was done I moved the curtain to grab him. He was frozen and drooling. He was having another seizure! I grabbed him down and held him close again. He woke up about a minute later. I offered him honey which he ate some of. He then dove right into his food dish eating his oHPW.

The first seizure we chalked up to being a combination of the dehydration and stress.

He was hydrated this time and not in a stressful situation. We had done this a hundred times before!

I got him all situated for the night with food and Gliderade. I would bring him into the vet int he morning.

The next morning I realized Dr. Kizer was out of the office until Tuesday (it is Friday today) so I had to bring him to another clinic. There, we did a physical exam and all looked good. Awesome. Then, the doctor suggested anesthetizing him so they could get a blood sample and x-rays. Okay. We can do that.

The doctor brought him back into the treatment area to put him under and he started seizing again. This time it was shorter but a seizure none the less. Great *Sarcasm*

They decided to try to put him under one last time. This time it worked. However, they were only able to get enough blood to run a blood glucose test and a CBC (looking at blood cells). They couldn't run the comprehensive test today. The two tests they did run told us two things--1: the BG test came back great so that means the seizure wasn't because of hypoglycemia, and 2: the CBC told us that his blood cells were fine so it wasn't a toxin that caused it.

Well, the x-ray told us that. In the x-rays they could tell that his bones were not very dense and that he had healed fractures on his arms. That means that he was most likely calcium deficient. I don't mean to brag, but I pride myself on my research for the perfect 2:1 calcium to phosphate ratio when making food for my gliders. He was getting calcium with me. That means that it was from the pelleted diet that he was not getting enough nutrients.

All of this could have been avoided had he been fed the right diet right away.

Now we have to struggle to get his calcium level up but not too high. For now we have to scramble eggs and grind up the shells and put in the eggs. If that doesn't help, then we will talk medication, possibly more testing and supplements.

All of this could have been avoided!!!

He also must have gone through a lot of pain having fractures--yes multiple--in his arms because he wasn't getting enough calcium.

ALL OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED!

Are you getting it? Poor diet=poor life. He now has had at least three seizures. His fur isn't the greatest. He has injuries. All because of diet. What would have happened had I not gotten them? Would they have stayed on the pellet and eventually died or got seriously hurt? Probably.

I beg of you, for Pikachu's sake, please pick a good, nutrient dense diet for your little fur baby. It's 100% worth it.


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