sugar glider as pet

Question
Dear Betty,

I'm a student staying in a university hostel in Malaysia. I've been keeping many pets at home. What I currently have in my hostel is a hedgehog, and am planning to get a female sugar glider.

I know that sugar gliders love companionship, however, is it alright to keep just one female? Or I need two females?

What I'm most concern of is their diet, I know there are many kind of mixes such as BML, HML, Sunrise and such. But I have one main problem, is that I don't have a freezer. It is possible for me to feed the gliders with 3 kinds of fruits and a kind of vege, mealworms, [hard boil eggs and yogurt (Occasionally)]. Which will be selected based on the 2:1 Ca:P ratio. As for calcium supplements, we only have Glider-Cal and Rep-Cal here. I have lots of human grade calcium supplements, it is called Cal-D-Vita. It contains 600mg of Calcium with 400iu Vitamin D3, whenever I'm drinking this, can I give some to the gliders as their calcium supplements?

In Malaysia, specially made sugar glider diet is hard to come by. Most people in Malaysia gives cat or dog kibbles. Do you think this is advisable? If not, what should I replace it with?

Boil unseasoned meat is occasionally given to gliders as well, such as chicken, turkey and beef? How often should the gliders be fed with these foods?

Thank you in advance, your insights is very much appreciated.

Yours,
Alex  

Answer
Hello Alex,

So what is it like living in Malaysia?  I considered teaching English there.

I think you really need to get your female a companion.  They just do not do well living alone.  They have been known to stop eating, self mutilate, and show other stress and/or emotional symptoms.  

Your other question is more difficult for me to answer.  I am not a veterinarian, pharmacologist, or chemist. I do know that gliders need sufficient protein, calcium, and other nutrients to make up a balanced diet.  These can be given in natural form as well as mixed in a formula such as BML.  You said you don't have a freezer, but do you have a refrigerator?  If you make up small batches, the BML will last a week or so, refrigerated.  Fresh fruits and vegetables, along with eggs, chicken, yogurt, meal worms, crickets, and other sources of protein would make a great diet.  I give a protein source(in the BML), fruits and veggies each evening.  The calcium supplements you mentioned are fine.  If you have a good blender, you can also grind up egg shells as a calcium supplement(be sure the shells are completely pulverized). The human calcium drink is probably okay, but I would have no idea how much they should be given.  I wouldn't give cat food.  It is not formulated with the proper balance of nutrients.  I have given it as an emergency meal, and it hasn't caused any harm, but I wouldn't recommend using cat food on a regular basis.  Dog food isn't good at all.

Do you have friends or family in America?  Do you need someone to send you stuff such as baby food, wheat germ, honey, or etc.?

Good luck.  Please keep in touch.

Betty