Besides poor calcium:phosphorus ratio grub, another big no-no is dairy.
Leave out foods like tinned dog or cat food and crushed cat or dog biscuits. Supply good quality, meaty hedgehog food from wildlife food suppliers. Never feed hedgehogs milk or bread - milk can cause diarrhoea and bread isn't very nutritious.
Insects and other invertebrates are the hedgehog's main natural food source. A typical diet includes: Beetles. Earwigs.
Fruits: Dried fruit should be avoided, but a small amount of fresh fruit can be offered to your hedgehog as treats. Apples, bananas, berries, and melons are popular choices among hedgehogs. Vegetables: Fresh tomatoes, fresh green beans, and cooked squash are some options that your hedgehog may enjoy.
Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and therefore cheese, milk or any dairy products should never be given to them.
Insects are a favorite for hedgehogs. You can offer live bugs, which will also give your tiny buddy the chance to 'hunt' his dinner. Frozen ones are fine as well. Mealworms, wax worms, silk worms and crickets are all good options.
Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant. Milk and cheese will give them bad diarrhoea and can lead to serious illness as well.
Can hedgehogs eat tuna? Yes, only if the tuna is freshed, unseasoned and no oil drizzled on it. Canned tuna that is usually drenched in oil is a strict NO for your hedgehogs. As canned tuna is being preserved with a high salt content, it might not be ideal for your hedgehog in terms of its health.
Pet hedgehogs can eat: Courgette. Green pepper. Cucumber.
Hedgehogs mostly eat invertebrates at ground level that are inactive. They are opportunistic omnivores though and will sometimes eat eggs, small mammals, chicks, frogs, flies and carrion.
If you're determined to give your hedgehog some peanut butter, start by ensuring that it is smooth peanut butter only. You should also only shop for organic peanut butter that has no added ingredients, artificial or otherwise. The label should literally read: peanuts. There should be no sugar, salt, or oil.
Hedgehogs are active during the night, so the best time to put out food is just after dusk, when they are starting to search for food. The Autumn and Winter months are the most important for them to find food to put on enough weight before hibernation, so always make sure you put out food at this time of year.
Yes, Hedgehogs Can Eat Broccoli
The thicker stalks of the broccoli plant are also safe for hedgehogs to eat, although they're a little tougher and may not appeal as much to your pet. Petkeen.com recommends you avoid feeding your hedgehog raw broccoli, but boiled and steamed vegetables are completely okay.
A badger and a hedgehog feeding together on a lawn. Badgers are hedgehogs' main predators in the UK. They are the only animals strong enough to tackle a hedgehog's spiny defences. Hedgehogs and badgers share what's known as an asymmetric intraguild predation relationship.
Tea Tree oil/ Eucalyptus/Thieves - this includes: tea tree shampoo, tea tree oil, tea tree sprays and anything tea tree. Even Candles inhaled can harm your hedgehog!
Ponds also provide a water source so it's important to ensure garden ponds have sloping sides or an exit ramp so 'hogs don't fall in and get stuck. You can also leave out a shallow dish of water for hedgehogs and other wildlife to drink from.
Hedgehogs are lactose-intolerant and will have stomach problems after consuming most dairy products, though occasional plain lowfat yogurt (yogurt contains bacteria that naturally process lactose) or cottage cheese seem to be well tolerated. Sugar intake should be restricted to fruits, avoid any treat with added sugar.
What should I NOT feed my pet hedgehog? Avoid lettuce and celery, which are low in nutritional value.
Keller says, “With appropriate care and keeping, your hedgehog will live about five years, and some even live longer than eight years.” If you have any questions about hedgehogs, contact your local veterinarian.
Bread, cakes, pasta, rice.
These are high carbohydrate food, and the hedgehog's natural diet is high protein, low carb. Hogs will happily snaffle up many of these foods. They will get full and feel like they don't need to forage and eat anymore when they haven't had the nutrition they need for the night.
Sunflower hearts and peanuts are very fatty, and hedgehogs enjoy them for this reason, so feed them only as a treat or within a balanced diet. Hedgehogs can often be seen foraging under bird feeders, and it's believed that it's the food that attracts them.
Hoglets should be fed with a milk substitute such as Esbilac which contains all the fats, vitamins and minerals they need. Under no circumstances should you give them cow's formula which will kill them. Goat's milk with Goat's colostrum may be used for a short period of time if nothing else is available.
Hedgehogs, like other animals, are lactose intolerant. A cup of milk to drink is never okay, and don't try ice cream either. Dairy just cannot be broken down inside their bellies and will result in discomfort for your hedgehog, so avoid this on your hedgehog food list.
Hedgehogs can carry Salmonella germs in their droppings even if they look healthy and clean. These germs can easily spread to their bodies, habitats, and anything in the area where they live.