Quick Help Guide for Rejected Joeys

If you see any symptoms of Joey Rejection, you need to immediately pull the joey from its parents and start Hand Raising. For complete, specific information, please go to my page about Hand Raising A Joey; however, for quick, how-to-start information, this page will get you going…

Symptoms of Rejection include, but are not limited to:

Determining Your Joey's Actual Age

In all likelihood, your joey is not actually 8 weeks out of pouch, as you were told by the person who sold your joey to you. Therefore, the first thing you need to determine is how old the joey actually is. The best way to do this is to compare the joey's weight to the chart below. Pick the age bracket that your joey's weight is in and use that age as your joey's baseline.

Joey's WeightJoey's Age
10 - 15 grams1st Day Out of Pouch
15 - 25 grams 1 Week Out of Pouch
25 - 30 grams2 Weeks Out of Pouch
30 - 35 grams3 Weeks Out of Pouch
35 - 40 grams4 Weeks Out of Pouch
40 - 45 grams5 Weeks Out of Pouch
45 - 50 grams6 Weeks Out of Pouch
50 - 55 grams7 Weeks Out of Pouch
over 55 grams8 Weeks Out of Pouch
The basis for this chart is the Joey Development Study that was conducted from 2007 through 2016. This data was collected from breeders across the United States who weighed their joeys daily for 60 days, then submitted the data. Statistical analysis then averaged the results.

Feeding Amount Reference Guide

Now that you have determined your joey's approximate age, you can use the following chart to determine how much formula you will need to feed your joey and how frequently you will need to do so.

Age of JoeyAmount to FeedFrequency
Newly oop - 2 weeks oop0.3 - 0.5 cc'sEvery 1-2 hours
2 wks oop - 4 wks oop0.5 - 1.0 cc'sEvery 2-3 hours
4 wks oop - 6 wks oop1.0 - 2.0 cc'sEvery 3-4 hours
6 wks oop - 8 wks oop2.0 - 4.0 cc's**
**At this age, your joey should be starting to eat on its own. For further information, read the section about 6-8 wk oop joeys on the page about Hand Raising A Joey.

What Do You Need to Feed the Joey?

If under 6 weeks out of pouch, then your joey is unlikely to be able to eat and digest solid foods yet. This means that you will need to feed Suz' Joey Formula using a feeding syringe and tip. This formula is made with a specially formulated milk replacer devised for marsupials: Wombaroo Sugar Glider Milk Replacer, along with Impact Colostrum Supplement. Marsupials need colostrum until they are fully weaned in order to be able to thrive.

To make Joey Formula you will need:

For feeding, you will need one of the following:

*Do NOT use Kitten Formula, nor cow or goat milk products. They are too high in lactose and young joeys are lactose intolerant. Bloating and other issues can be caused by high-lactose products.

How to Feed Your Joey

To prevent aspiration into the lungs, it is important to follow these steps:

Weaning Your Joey

Once 6 weeks out of pouch, your joey will be ready to be introduced to other foods. Purchase a variety of fruit and vegetable baby foods. Mix equal parts Suz’ Joey Formula with baby food. Offer two different flavors plus plain formula each night. Your joey will be able to pick and choose which foods it wants each night. Refrigerate any unused portions of baby food for use a few nights later. You will probably throw out more than half of each jar of baby food since it should not be kept for longer than a week in the refrigerator. For this reason, only buy the smallest jar possible. You should place the food into the cage each evening so that your joey can eat at will throughout the night. Take out the leftovers each morning. Your joey may not touch a certain fruit or vegetable one night but then will eat it with gusto another night. Therefore, don’t assume your joey doesn’t like it if you have only offered a particular flavor once or twice.

Your joey should no longer need to be fed during the daytime. Slowly start introducing solid foods to your joey a bit at a time. Start with soft fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, tomatoes, avocado, etc. As your joey gets used to eating softer foods, you can gradually start introducing the harder fruits and vegetables, such as apples, peaches, sugar snap peas, etc. Don’t limit yourself on variety. Offer a wide variety to your joey including all fruits and vegetables except onions & garlic.

Once 8 weeks out of pouch, you can stop feeding the Joey Formula entirely and switch to an adult glider diet. There are many different “proven” diets out there. Personally, I feed my gliders the Australian Wombaroo Diet with great success. It has several components including a protein nectar, fresh fruits & vegetables, a protein source and insects, such as meal worms.