Whether you like papaya or not, your gliders will thank you if you feed it. It’s incredibly healthy, and if perfectly ripe, it’s creamy, musky sweet and just wonderful!

If you’re not looking to feed it right away, find green fruits and let them ripen on you counter for a handful of days. If you’re wanting to feed it soon, find those fruits that are more yellow than green and soft to the touch. A blemish or two on the skin is just fine.

If you aren’t aware of the insides of a papaya, you may be a little surprised to find a bunch of little black seeds inside when you cut it open. The choice is yours whether you want to leave them in the mix. They are OKAY to feed and will NOT hurt your gliders. In fact, bite into one sometime. They taste a bit peppery. Your gliders will likely not try to eat them, but it won’t hurt them if they do.

Prep is simple. Cut and feed. Scoop out the seeds if you want, or leave them. Either is fine. If you get a large papaya, you can cut it into cubes, spread the cubes out (not touching) on wax paper and pop them in the freezer. Once frozen, toss them into a ziploc and you’ve got more papaya to use in the future!