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Sugar Glider Store Posting Page
Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Pellet type Sugar glider foods …


The majority of Exotic Nutrition foods are pelletized. This means, the ingredients used in our foods including grains, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fruits, vegetables etc. are initially mixed together in large mixing bin with an auger. The ingredients are then put through a pelleting machine. Basically
the pellets are formed from the exact ingredients provided; there is no ‘puffing’ therefore the finished product is solid food (no air). This finished pellet contains an extremely large amount of nutrition per volume. One ounce of a pellet food can provide as much nutrition as 4 ounces of an extruded product.

In reality, offering a ¼ dish of pellet food is similar to offering an entire dish of an extruded food. Our pellet diets are nutrient-dense, made fresh with locally harvested ingredients, and shipped direct to your door. Visit the Sugar Glider Food Department

Extrusion process Sugar glider foods …


Extrusion processing is a manufacturing method that some companies elect to use to produce their Sugar glider foods. Unbelievably, even some of the Sugar glider foods currently sold as ‘Vet Recommended’ are manufactured this way. Some veterinarians are highly knowledgable about food ingredients and nutrition, but do not know much about pet food manufacture, nor do they take into consideration the processing methods involved to arrive at a finished product ... especially how manufacturing processes affect the nutritional values of the ingredients. Here at Exotic Nutrition ... we are experts in this field. Our 10 years of hands on manufacturing experience and sucessful pet food formulations, have enabled us to develop some of the highest quality, freshest exotic pet foods available.

Examples of extruded sugar glider foods are:

1) Pretty Pet
2) Glider-R-Chow
3) Happy Glider
4) Vets Pride (Nutrimax)
5) Wholesome Balance


Extrusion processing destroys much of the nutrients in the grains. It destroys the fatty acids; it even destroys the chemical vitamins that are added at the end. The amino acids are rendered very toxic by this process. The only advances made in the extrusion process are those that will cut costs … regardless of how the processes will alter the nutrient content of the final product. The amino acid lysine, a crucial nutrient, is especially denatured by extrusion. Cooking and other processing of meat and by-products used in pet food can greatly
diminish their nutritional value.

To make extruded pet food nutritious, pet food manufacturers must “fortify” it with
vitamins and minerals. Why? Because the ingredients they are using are not wholesome, their quality may be extremely variable, and the harsh manufacturing practices destroy many of the nutrients the ingredients had to begin with.
Proteins are especially vulnerable to heat, and become damaged, or “denatured,” when
cooked. Because dry food ingredients are cooked twice — first during rendering and again in the extruder — problems are much more common than with pelleted, canned, or homemade foods. Altered proteins may contribute to food intolerances, food allergies, and inflammatory bowel disease.

During extrusion the food expands or “puffs” into its final shape. An extruded food is ‘puffed’which means high volume and low weight … a cup of extruded food can weigh half as much as a cup of pellet food. Less weight per volume also means less nutrition for the same volume of food.

The microscopic effects of extrusion on the proteins "Zeins," which comprise the majority of proteins in corn, are located in spherical organelles called protein bodies. During extrusion, these protein bodies are completely disrupted and deformed. The extrusion process breaks down the organelles, disperses the proteins and the proteins become toxic. When they are disrupted in this way, you have absolute chaos in your food, and it can result in a disruption
of the nervous system.

In conclusion, most extruded sugar glider foods are extremely hard. Extruded foods will typically last for up to a year, but be aware of companies that try to sell you a large volume ‘2 year supply’. This is typically done because the food is not very palatable (doesn’t appeal to your pet’s taste) hence you are stuck with 2 years worth. Along with that, the entire 2nd. year … you would be feeding a product that has been sitting around, getting stale, for a long time.


by: Sugar Glider Store

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