Sugar gliders are cute tiny possums with a sweet tooth and a built-in parachute! If you are a sugar glider owner, you might want to know: can sugar gliders eat hornworms? We will answer that question below.
Hornworms are a common feeder insect for many pets, and they are safe for you to feed your sugar glider too. Hornworms have high moisture content and are rich in proteins and calcium.
Hornworms are a type of larvae that pupate to become hawk moths. There are more than 1,000 species of hornworms, but the most common ones are tomato and tobacco hornworms.
What Do Sugar Gliders Eat?
Sugar gliders are omnivores and can eat all kinds of food in the wild, including fruits, vegetables, and insects such as moths, beetles, crickets, worms, grasshoppers, and spiders.
Their main food includes sweet fruits, nectar from flowers, plant materials, and other naturally sweet substances they can get in the forest. (that’s why they are called sugar gliders – they love sugar!)
When deciding what to feed your pet sugar glider, it would be best if you try replicating a diet similar to its diet in the wild.
Include sweet fruits, vegetables, and nuts as the major portion. Add a small portion of meat, egg, and worms.
The diet of sugar gliders must be low in oxalate, calcium, and phosphorus salts. These can cause urinary tract disorders and blockage in the UT due to the oxalate and calcium crystals.
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Hornworms?
Yes, sugar gliders can eat hornworms; you can give hornworms as an occasional treat to your glider. Hornworms are available in pet stores, and you can easily breed them in your house as well.
Hornworms have a soft exoskeleton, so they lack hard chitin plates. They are perfect for your pet as you won’t have to worry about chitin plates getting stuck in their throat.
Hornworm Nutritional Value Breakdown
Hornworms are an excellent source of moisture because of their nearly 85% water content. Additionally, they contain low amounts of fat (only 3% ) and high amounts of protein (up to 9%), making them a nutritious food source. Hornworms are also a rich source of calcium (47mg/100g of body weight).
Can Sugar Gliders Eat Hornworms I Find Outside?
Not all types of worms are safe to feed your pet glider. You should not feed wild hornworms, as the hornworms could contain toxins within them.
Wild hornworms consume leaves from plants of the nightshade family (tobacco, tomato, eggplants, etc.). These worms consume and store toxins when they chew on tobacco and tomato leaves.
Moreover, wild worms might have consumed harmful chemicals such as insecticides and pesticides, which are dangerous for your sugar glider’s health.
Only feed hornworms bought from reputable pet stores or branded online ones.
Feeding Hornworms to Sugar Gliders
You need to feed your sugar glider about 15-20% of its weight on a daily basis. Typical sugar gliders weigh between three to five ounces, which comes to about 1 oz.
Hornworms weigh around 0.15oz, so that you can give your pet one to two hornworms a day. If you have a baby glider, you can also cut hornworms in half to feed them.
Hornworms are a nutritious food, but you cannot use them as a primary feeder to your sugar glider. Sugar gliders need a balanced diet with a major portion consisting of fruits and vegetables. Hornworms are a good option for an occasional treat.
To feed hornworms to your glider, put the worm inside your glider’s cage and let it hunt down the worm. But do not just drop the worm and leave; make sure that your glider has eaten it.
Mature hornworms transform into hawk moths, and you certainly won’t want moths popping out in your pet’s cage!
Moreover, buy young hornworms in small quantities. These worms grow quickly and are ready to pupate within 3-4 weeks of hatching, so you need to feed them to your pet before that happens.
If you need a bit of time, one method is to put the hornworms in the fridge at a temperature of about 45-55F. At this temperature, their metabolism slows down, and they grow much slower. You can extend their shelf life by about two weeks in this way.
Best Time to Feed Hornworms to Sugar Gliders
Sugar gliders are nocturnal animals, which means that they are active and like to hunt at night. Veterinary experts advise feeding sugar gliders after sunset.
Sugar gliders become metabolically active after sunset. During day time, they metabolize food at a much slower rate. It would be best if you gave all meals to your glider during the evening or night.
Frequently Asked Questions
What foods are toxic to sugar gliders?
Foods rich in oxalates, such as spinach, collard greens, chard, and kale, are harmful to sugar gliders because they can lead to urinary tract disorders.
Other toxic foods for a sugar glider include chocolate, carrots, beets, figs, pears, berries, and milk and milk products. Food or insect treated with chemicals such as insecticide could also be toxic for your sugar glider.
What insects are good for sugar gliders?
It would be best if you tried to give your sugars glider a diet consisting mostly of fruits and vegetables, with the occasional insect thrown in as a treat.
Hornworms are a good option due to their soft exoskeleton. Other insects that you can feed your pet include crickets, mealworms, and butter worms.
Can sugar gliders eat earthworms?
Sugar gliders can eat a variety of insects, including earthworms, crickets, mealworms, and hornworms.
Earthworms are a powerhouse of proteins (nearly 60-70%), contain a high amount of fat (6-111%) and carbs (5-20%), and the rest is minerals and vitamins. They do not have a hard exoskeleton either.
Can sugar gliders eat live insects?
Yes, they can eat live insects. But if your pet has never been in the wild, it might be unsure about what to do when exposed to live insects for the first time.
You can start feeding them frozen insects; once they are accustomed to the new type of treatment, you can provide them with live insects. They will enjoy hunting them.
Wrap Up
Hornworms are soft caterpillars that lack an exoskeleton and contain 85% moisture in their body. They are a good source of moisture for your sugar glider.
Hornworms are easily available in pet stores, while some pet owners also like to breed them in their own houses. However, never feed a hornworm from the wild to your pet.
Thank you for reading!
8 Comments. Leave new
Great picture of a fully grown Psilogramma increta (or eventually P. menephron, as the territories of these two species partially overlap) caterpillar on its pupating trip! This beautiful caterpillar is usually seen sitting on a twig, in its green colour with charasteristic brownish, white and yellow spots and lines, which can be very variable in every single individual, in size, amount and shape, but the species can be well recognized by its typical tubercles on the thorax, final claspers and the horn. It usually feeds on Bignoniaceae (trumpet trees and relatives, like eg. Spathodea campanulata (from Africa) or Campsis radicans (from America) or Oleaceae (eg. ash, olive tree and privet) – and, occasionally, on plants of many other families, not seldom preferring adventive ornamental species. It can be found in wide parts of both tropical and moderate eastern Asia; both species migrate, but the rhythm and purpose of their migrations, as well as the relationship and status of the single species and subspecies are not yet well known. The moth is of an elegant grey (with P. menephron being generally darker), with some yellow and bluish hair around the thorax, ressembling the Meganoton genus; it feeds in a hummingbird manner hovering above the flowers. Even the pupa is very elegant.
Nice wishes from Berlin,
Bostjan
Thanks Bostjan,
I will attempt to find some links with photos.
Great picture of a fully grown Psilogramma increta (or eventually P. menephron, as the territories of these two species partially overlap) caterpillar on its pupating trip! This beautiful caterpillar is usually seen sitting on a twig, in its green colour with charasteristic brownish, white and yellow spots and lines, which can be very variable in every single individual, in size, amount and shape, but the species can be well recognized by its typical tubercles on the thorax, final claspers and the horn. It usually feeds on Bignoniaceae (trumpet trees and relatives, like eg. Spathodea campanulata (from Africa) or Campsis radicans (from America) or Oleaceae (eg. ash, olive tree and privet) – and, occasionally, on plants of many other families, not seldom preferring adventive ornamental species. It can be found in wide parts of both tropical and moderate eastern Asia; both species migrate, but the rhythm and purpose of their migrations, as well as the relationship and status of the single species and subspecies are not yet well known. The moth is of an elegant grey (with P. menephron being generally darker), with some yellow and bluish hair around the thorax, ressembling the Meganoton genus; it feeds in a hummingbird manner hovering above the flowers. Even the pupa is very elegant.
Nice wishes from Berlin,
Bostjan
What a phantastic finding!
These are caterpillars of Coelonia fulvinotata.
Thank You very much for sharing, and for this wonderful website.
Best wishes for a healthy, happy, lucky and moth-rich year 2015!
Bostjan Dvorak
Thanks for the ID Bostjan. We now realize we had another Hornworm image of this species in our archives.
What a phantastic finding!
These are caterpillars of Coelonia fulvinotata.
Thank You very much for sharing, and for this wonderful website.
Best wishes for a healthy, happy, lucky and moth-rich year 2015!
Bostjan Dvorak
What a wonderful finding. This is a fully grown caterpillar of Basiothia medea, a pretty green hawkmoth with orange coloured hindwings. The larvae and adults of this hawkmoth genus’ species differ considerably from each other; whereas Basiothia medea looks rather like a smaller Euchloron megaera, B. schencki shows the appearance of a Hippotion celerio.
Nice wishes from Berlin,
Bostjan
Thanks so much Bostjan. We will update the posting.