Testing
No sugar gliders are harmed during this testing process.
The test groups of sugar gliders will be fed four diets on a rotational basis, as directed for a 90-day time period. At the conclusion of the time period, each glider will be twilight sedated for blood draws. The following tests will be ran on the blood samples:
The test groups of sugar gliders will be fed four diets on a rotational basis, as directed for a 90-day time period. At the conclusion of the time period, each glider will be twilight sedated for blood draws. The following tests will be ran on the blood samples:
- Minerals
- Vitamin D
- Fat Soluble Vitamins (A, E & ß-carotene)
The following tests will be ran on the food in each diet plan (including the staple, vegetables, fruits and supplements where applicable):
- Protein
- Fiber
- Sugar
- Startch
- Fat
- Minerals
- Vitamin D
This process will be repeated for each diet selected as part of the Assessment of Nutritional Status phase of the project. An online poll was conducted in August 2016 to determine which diet plans were to be utilized in Phase II. The following diet plans were selected:
- BML (Bourbon's Modified Leadbeater's Diet)
- TPG (The Pet Glider Nutrition System)
- OHPW™ (Original HPW - Now referred to as Critter Love® Original)
- GOHPW
Bourbon's Modified Leadbeater's Diet (BML) needs additional testing for statistical comparison (original testing was conducted in 2015 and funded personally by Shelly Sterk).
Critter Love® products are excluded from this study (OHPW™ does not use a Critter Love® product). Because Critter Love® has conducted their own testing on their products, it is not necessary to repeat these tests. However, test results which were paid for directly by Critter Love® may be included in this report.
Critter Love® products are excluded from this study (OHPW™ does not use a Critter Love® product). Because Critter Love® has conducted their own testing on their products, it is not necessary to repeat these tests. However, test results which were paid for directly by Critter Love® may be included in this report.
Results
Results from this phase of the project will be interpreted by Dr. Dierenfeld, PhD and submitted for review. Upon completion of the review process, the results will be published in animal nutrition and/or veterinary journal(s). The publication will either be included in its entirety on this website, or a link to the publication will be provided.
Please donate to this project.
Please donate to this project.