There are many animal lovers who would feed a hedgehog in their garden, and if you are one of them, you have come to the right place. These popular mammals today often struggle to find enough suitable food in the wild due to numerous factors. It is therefore important for garden owners to be more informed about the type of feeding. This means they do not endanger the animals' health and can at the same time offer them a hospitable refuge. Here are some useful information and tips on feeding such wild animals that can help you with such a charitable project.
Provide a natural environment and feed hedgehogs in the garden
The hedgehog's natural diet consists ofmainly from earthworms, ground beetles, caterpillars and millipedes. Of course, it's hard to find such food, but you can still treat such a visitor like an honored guest. However, in cold or dry periods, the creepy crawlies are much less likely to be seen in gardens. Therefore, hedgehogs benefit enormously from shallow water bowls and additional feeding during these times. Hedgehogs drink water from natural sources such as puddles. However, leaving them with a shallow bowl of fresh water will ensure they stay hydrated throughout the year.
Additionally, hedgehogs hunt by sniffing through the undergrowth and using their keen senses of smell and hearing to capture any prey they disturb. While invertebrates are high on their menu, hedgehogs are opportunistic eaters. Carrion, fallen fruit and the eggs of ground-nesting birds can be taken if they encounter a hedgehog. A likely reason for the lack of food for these wildlife is the reduced number of invertebrates due to agricultural intensification and the use of pesticides.
Why care about the beneficial insects outdoors?
Although they have been endangered in recent decades, hedgehog populations are beginning to stabilize, especially in urban areas. One of the main reasons for this is that more and more people are feeding hedgehogs in their garden and even making their outdoor areas and courtyards animal-friendly. For example, many garden owners feed birds in their gardens because they enjoy watching the animals at the table and at the feeders. However, this is not entirely the case with hedgehogs. The mammals are nocturnal and typically feed when most people are sleeping. So if you don't have a night camera, you probably won't be able to see a hedgehog eating.
Loss of habitat and increasing use of pesticides mean that it is difficult for hedgehogs to find the food they need from natural sources, even though they forage all night long. However, the supplementary food you offer them doesn't mean hedgehogs won't still forage naturally. Think of it as replacing the food that humans have stolen from hedgehogs by destroying their natural food sources. This makes the difference between a hungry hedgehog and a healthy one that can survive hibernation. In addition, hedgehogs can be useful in the garden by feeding on some pests and protecting your plants from unwanted guests.
Suitable food for the common hedgehog species
There is now a whole range of homemade hedgehog food on the market. Some people also swear by cat food and you can even find recipes for homemade hedgehog food on the internet. But what type of food can you feed a hedgehog in the garden? As opportunistic animals, hedgehogs readily eat food left in the garden area, and meat-based cat or dog food is ideal for them. So hedgehogs will enjoy any combination of meaty wet dog or cat food or dry cat food as these are high in protein. Remember that they get most of their food from insects and worms in the wild, and this food is only supplementary.
Place it in a shallow dish and place it in a sheltered area of your garden or at a feeding station around sunset. Dividing food into several places can also reduce aggression at food bowls. Don’t forget to provide water bowls too. There is also specially made hedgehog food in both dry and wet forms that you can purchase at most pet and garden stores. However, it is not entirely clear how much urban hedgehogs rely on food provided by humans. However, it is believed that it would complement rather than replace their natural diet. High quality and professionally made hedgehog food is the best thing you can feed wild hedgehogs in your garden. It is nutritionally balanced to provide just the kind of healthy addition to your foraging diet. Some manufacturers have spent years perfecting their recipes.
When and how much can you feed hedgehogs in the garden?
It's a good idea to put out food for hedgehogs all year round. In the spring it will give a boost to those coming out of hibernation, while in the late summer and fall it will help animals build up the all-important fat reserves to get through the winter. Furthermore, their hibernation is not constant. With their fat reserves depleted, many wake up to look for food before going back to sleep. This is especially true for young animals that are born later in the year. A bowl of cat food left covered will remain dry and edible for at least a week. Providing food and water for visiting hedgehogs is especially important during times of dry, hot weather when natural resources can become scarce.
When offering dry food to hedgehogs visiting your garden, aim for around 25 grams per night. This is about a third of the 75 grams of food hedgehogs eat most nights. You might be able to increase this amount in the fall before the animals go into hibernation when they are working hard to gain weight. If you have a hedgehog in your care that does not forage for food on its own, you will also need to increase the amount and provide approximately 100 grams of food per day. If you offer wet food, also remember that it has a high water content, so you may want to provide a little more. Whenever possible, always put water next to the food.
What are hedgehogs not allowed to eat?
While hedgehogs are very adaptable when it comes to their diet, eating both meat and fruit, there are some foods you should avoid splurging on them.Violationis, for example, something that many people traditionally give to hedgehogs and of course birds to eat. However, it has little nutritional value and only serves to fill them up, meaning they then don't go looking for more nutritious food.Milchis another food traditionally left out of hedgehogs. However, it will do them more harm than good due to their lactose intolerance. Here is a more complete list and some background information on why the following foods are bad for hedgehogs.
- Dairy products:Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, and while a little cheese won't hurt them, milk can make them pretty sick.
- Bread, cake, pasta, rice:These are high-carbohydrate foods, while the hedgehog's natural diet is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. However, they like to grab a lot of these foods.
- Mealworms, peanuts and sunflower seeds:This food has a calcium to phosphorus ratio that is unsuitable for hedgehogs and can lead to metabolic bone diseases.
- Honey and dried fruits:Hedgehogs often have a sweet tooth, but eating too much of it can leave them with no teeth left. Therefore, you should avoid these products.
How to stop cats or foxes from eating hedgehog food and prevent disease
Be aware that putting out food of any kind can also attract other wildlife, including predators. To avoid feeding your spiny friends from being eaten by pets or foxes, you could set up a feeding station. This should be difficult for anything larger than a hedgehog to access. You could use a piece of pipe or build a shelter out of bricks and pavers. Placing a shallow water dish at the entrance and/or a maze in a feeding station should also prevent cats from accessing the food.
In general, hedgehogs are solitary creatures. By putting out food, you are more likely to attract multiple animals. Because they share food from the same feeding station, it is possible that they can transmit diseases to each other. This could also increase the risk of the animals passing diseases to you. Therefore, clean your food bowls regularly and do not wash them with your own plates and bowls. This means you can take the right safety measures and prevent any possible disease transmission.
Also read:“MAKE YOUR OWN HEDGEHOG FOOD: SUPPORT PICKY FRIENDS IN THE GARDEN FINDING FOR FOOD IN THE AUTUMN!”
