Hedgehogs can take care of themselves. Only sick or weak animals should be fed. The wrong food can also damage the hedgehog.
If a hedgehog is spotted in the garden, it is almost automatically seen as hungry and in need of help and given milk or cat food. Many people misjudge the situation and harm the animals more than they are really helped. In some situations, however, hedgehogs actually need our help. How to behave properly towards the animals and what really belongs in the hedgehog's food bowl can be read below.
Hedgehogs don't usually need feeding!
Normally, nature offers the hedgehog a well-filled menu and additional feeding is not necessary. A hedgehog rarely skips a meal and will readily accept the offer of food from concerned animal lovers. However, the cycle of the animals can be disturbed by the constant availability of food. When food becomes scarce in nature, hedgehogs retreat to their winter quarters to hibernate. If there is enough food when it gets colder, the animals miss the hibernation.
Young hedgehogs seem particularly vulnerable to us. If they are fed regularly, they rely on the food bowl and do not learn to search for insects as nature intended. In addition, most people do not know what really belongs on a hedgehog's menu. Malnutrition can result in developmental disorders, malformations and digestive disorders. If feeding places are created, they must be cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis. If the feeding place is visited by different hedgehogs, diseases can be transmitted.
Warning: Feeding hedgehogs is strongly discouraged. Only in certain exceptional cases do the animals depend on our help.
When should you feed hedgehogs?
In spring and summer it is usually not necessary to feed hedgehogs. Depending on the weather, hedgehogs prepare to hibernate between October and November. Animal lovers should now take a closer look at roaming hedgehogs.
In order for the animals to survive the winter unscathed, they must have reached a certain weight. Mothers who have lost energy through the birth and rearing of their young are particularly at risk. Even late-born offspring often have a hard time putting on the winter fat they need.
The rule of thumb is:
- Young animals must weigh 500 to 700 grams
- older hedgehogs should weigh 1,000 grams
Of course, this is not obvious at first glance. The following signs indicate that the hedgehog needs help:
- Hedgehog looking for food by day
- his eyes are sunken
- indentations appear behind the head
- his build looks like a pear
If the hedgehogs are found in the garden in autumn, they are fed outside. Hedgehogs that are still out and about after the frost has set in or have woken up too early from hibernation must be cared for by humans.
Tip: You can contact the local animal shelters or the hedgehog help.
After hibernating, the starving animals have to find food quickly. In mild weather there will be sufficient insects on the way. Unsettled weather and ground freeze may warrant supplemental feeding.
What can hedgehogs eat?
Unfortunately, when it comes to feeding hedgehogs, there is a growing lack of knowledge about the species-appropriate nutrition of the animals.
The hedgehog's natural diet is as follows:
- Earthworms
- Beetle
- Snails
- larvae
- spiders
If you go looking for snails and earthworms, you are not doing the weakened animals any favors. These small animals can transmit indoor parasites. He althy and strong hedgehogs can fight back. For weak and sickly animals, on the other hand, natural food can become dangerous.
Possible alternatives
Hedgehog dry food
Ready-to-use dry hedgehog food is commercially available. However, this is only suitable to a limited extent and should not be used as a complete feed over a longer period of time. When buying, pay attention to the composition.
Some mixtures contain mostly nuts, cereals or fruit. In the wild, hedgehogs only eat these food components in exceptional situations and have difficulty digesting them. Anyone who uses ready-made mixtures should aim for a high proportion of crude protein (30 percent and more) and crude fat (from the age of 20).percent).
Tip: We did some research to find out which ready-made food is suitable for hedgehogs and came across the Dehner Natura hedgehog food on Amazon. It's a bit more expensive, but meets the requirements of good hedgehog food.
Cat Food
Cat food is generally regarded as the ideal food for hedgehogs. However, this is only partially true. There are clear quality differences in cat food. Cheap feed has an exceptionally low meat content and is mostly made from slaughterhouse waste and artificial additives. Inferior cat food often contains sugar.
Cheap cat food leads to deficiency symptoms, diarrhoea, loss of spines and tooth problems in hedgehogs.
Wet food for cats is suitable for feeding if the meat content is 60 percent and above. Cat food can be upgraded with hedgehog kibble, boiled meat, fish or egg.
Put together nutritious hedgehog food
Anyone can mix their own nutritious hedgehog food:
- Cat Food
- Hedgehog dry food
- Oatmeal
- Wheat Bran
- cooked meat
- boiled egg
- boiled fish
Tip: Dog owners can also use their four-legged friend's wet food. However, cat food is generally more suitable due to the higher protein content.
Hedgehogs like these delicacies:
- Minced beef - seared with sunflower oil or corn oil
- Poultry meat - cooked with bone
- Eggs - unseasoned scrambled eggs or hard boiled
Only fresh water belongs in the drinking bowl. Weakened animals that are eating poorly can be given warm water, chamomile or fennel tea, if necessary using a disposable syringe.
Tip: If a hedgehog does not eat well, give them a ripe avocado.
What are hedgehogs not allowed to eat?
The biggest sin on the hedgehog's diet is the almost obligatory bowl of milk. Hedgehogs suffer from lactose intolerance and consequently cannot digest the lactose contained in whole milk. The result is severe diarrhea. Animals that are already severely weakened can die from it.
The following foods are also poorly tolerated by hedgehogs:
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Nuts
- Dried Fruits
- cake
- Rice
- pasta
- Bread
The hedgehog food should not contain any spices.That's why leftovers from the family table don't belong in the feeding bowl. Meat, fish or eggs should never be fed raw.
The assumption that mealworms enrich the hedgehog's diet is widespread. Feeding mealworms is not really necessary. The number should be reduced to three worms a day. Mealworms deprive hedgehogs of vitamins. Paralysis may result as a result.
As already mentioned, sick and weak animals in the care of humans should never be fed snails, earthworms or other small living animals. These are considered carriers of lungworms or intestinal hairworms. This means that the natural food for weak and underweight animals, which are usually already infested with parasites, can become a deadly trap.
For quick readers: the hedgehog's menu
allowed food for hedgehogs
• Hedgehog dry food
• high-quality wet food for cats or dogs
• oat flakes
• wheat bran
• cooked meat
• cooked fish
• boiled or fried eggs
• fried ground beef
• water
unsuitable hedgehog food
• milk
• raw meat
• raw fish
• raw eggs
• spices
• fruit
• Vegetables
• Nuts
• Earthworms
• Snails