BML Diet

BML diet is one of the most popular diets for sugar gliders. It originated from Australia and is made out of readily available ingredients that you can find all over the world. It is balanced, tasty and it provides them with everything they need.

The BML Recipe and feeding notes are taken directly from the creator.

You can also view a step-by-step video of it here at the bottom of the post.

1/2 cup Honey

Do not use honeycomb, raw or unfiltered honey. Most store bought honey can be used unless it contains one of the three words above.

​2 Oz. Gerber or Parent’s Choice

​Mixed Fruit Juice

2 oz. Dannon Plain Yogurt

      or

2 oz of Activia Mixed Berry Yogurt

​(1/2 of 4 oz. container)

Turn on blender and add the next group of ingredients.

1/4 cup Wheat Germ

1 teaspoon Rep-Cal Herptivite MultiVitamin supplement

Blue label on a white plastic container

DO NOT SUBSTITUTE

Can be found at PetSmart

2 teaspoons Rep-Cal Calcium Supplement

​non-phosphorus with Vit. D3

Pink label on a white plastic container

DO NOT SUBSTITUTE

Can be found at PetSmart

2  2½ oz jars of Stage 1 or 2 Beechnut,

​Gerber or Heinz Chicken baby food

The chicken will say either Chicken & Chicken Gravy or Chicken with Broth. Either is acceptable.

1 Egg hard-boiled. Do not use the shell.

For the next 2 ingredients alternate them, a little cereal with a little juice, a little cereal with a little juice, going back and forth until both ingredients are mixed in.

1/4 cup of Apple Juice, just the regular apple juice that you and I would drink. Do not use frozen or baby juice, just regular bottled apple juice. You may substitute 1/2 of the apple juice with white grape juice.

1/2 cup dry baby cereal

Heinz or Gerber (Rice or Oatmeal)

***NOTE: Most gliders do not like the taste of the oatmeal. I use rice with fruit bits)

Blend well for 5 minutes. Turn off blender, then pour into Tupperware bowl or ice cube trays and FREEZE. It will freeze to the consistency of ice cream.

1 cube is approximately 2 tablespoons, depending on your ice cube trays. Measure out your first few cubes by pouring 2 tablespoons into each cube.

This mix will feed 1 glider for approximately 1 month.

Do NOT mix the fruits and veggies in before freezing.

*** There is a very strict list of vegetables and fruits to be fed with the BML diet plan.  ***

Vegetables: corn, peas, carrots, green beans.   

Fruits: apples, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, frozen pitted cherries, blueberries.

Do NOT feed the seeds of apples or the pits of cherries. You can use fresh or frozen, but do NOT used canned.

Do NOT use fruit slurries or vegetable relishes.

Feeding Instructions: 

The rule of thumb per glider is:

1 Tablespoon of the BML basic mix

1 Tablespoon of fruits

1 Tablespoon of veggies

Feed insects in the morning as a snack.

If your glider has never been introduced to insects, it may SEEM like they do not like them but that is NOT the case. Break a mealie in half, allow them to lick the guts or squeeze it onto your finger and offer it as a licky treat. This can be started very young. Mine start this at about 3-4 weeks oop, but only the insides. If they are older (over 8 weeks OOP), you may try dipping the half in their favorite licky treat.

As for insects, depending on what you feed and what size, you can feed:

2 to 3 large, jumbo or mighty mealies per day

5 to 7 small mealworms

1 superworm

Some of the most popular insects are mealworms, moths and June bugs. My gliders do not like to have their mealies in the BML mix. I offer 2 to 3 mealworms each morning. I may also offer them a few moths, June bugs or Man o’wars. If it is a bug, look out. In the summer the favorites are moths, June bugs and Man o’wars or skeeter eaters, or whatever people call them. They look like giant mosquitos.

CAUTION!  DO NOT feed fireflies/lightning bugs. Do NOT feed cockroaches, or any insects found on the floor or on the ground, which could have come in contact with pesticides, either from your place or someone else’s. We no longer suggest or advocate the use of crickets due to the problems posed with aflatoxins.

There are many ways to offer variety. Here are some of the ways I feed mine.  Please notice I am not changing the ingredients of the diet, but how it is offered.

After I spoon the BML mix into their bowl, I feed their veggies and fruits in various ways.

•  Fold in a few frozen veggies, corn, peas, carrots. etc. into the BML mix.
•  I will give them fruits and veggies during the day for treats. reducing the amount I give them at night with their meal
•  In a side bowl.
•  If I “ICE” the BML mix with applesauce or another fruit, I will reduce the amounts of fruit offered. By icing you take about 1/8 teaspoon of applesauce and spread it across the top of the BML mix. Take the edge of a spoon and cut ridges into the BML mix.

Mott’s has snackpacks of flavored applesauce. Try the different flavors to find out which ones your gliders like.

JOEY BML: You can feed BML to rejected or supplemented joeys less than 5 weeks OOP. There is no change to the recipe if the joeys are eating out of a dish. For syringe feeding, make the recipe without wheat germ. Everything else would remain the same.

​If your gliders eat it all the first night add a little more each night until they leave only a little bit.

IF they DON’T eat it all, no need to worry. Back off on everything feeding only half of the recommended amounts and only a few pieces of veggies increasing each day, until they leave only a little behind. If they are eating 3/4 of a tablespoon each then they are doing good. There are gliders that do eat more thus the reason for the tablespoon.

Young joeys up to 6 months oop may not eat the full amount offered or they may not eat as many fruits and veggies, and eat more of the mix. This is NOT cause for concern; they are just not ready for it yet. You can introduce them by offering them as finger treats.

For nursing and lactating mothers, stay with this plan.  Do not add or increase protein and calcium.  They will eat more BML if needed, and less fruits and veggies. They also may want more insects. You can increase their insects by 1 or 2.

They get up and down all night foraging, feeding and playing.

They only eat the insides of the corn, peas and green beans, so closer inspection may reveal they are eating more than you think.

Some very important things to keep in mind:

If your gliders suddenly stop eating, it could be normal. If you have more than 1 cage, notice if all the cages slow down. If so there is probably a good explanation. I tell people to keep a log of their gliders’ eating habits. When they do slow down, check the moon phase. Is there a lot of atmospheric activity, something stressful in the home or changes made? Are you famished when you go to the table each night? Of course not, so we shouldn’t expect our gliders to be either. Are we over feeding them, giving them too many treats, feeding the mealies at night before they eat? Changing their foods around too much? Offering too much? Please ask yourself these questions first. Gliders do not tire of their food. The plan allows for daily variety.

If you don’t remember anything else, please remember that your glider’s stomach is only as big as your thumbnail. It holds less than a tablespoon of foods and liquids.

If you prefer; you can skip to 2:19 when the preparation starts.