Yes, pet hedgehogs can have small amounts of plain, cooked mashed potatoes as an occasional treat, but it's generally discouraged as a regular food due to high calories and low nutrients, and it must be free from salt, butter, milk, or seasonings, which are bad for them. Wild hedgehogs eat insects and shouldn't get potatoes; for pets, it's better to offer insects or meat-based foods as treats to avoid obesity.
Vegetables make great hedgehog snacks! Please be aware that not all vegetables are safe though. Hedgehogs cannot eat starchy vegetables such as corn, potatoes and carrots, as well as all dried vegetables.
Cooked and fresh
Your African Pygmy Hedgehogs diet can be supplemented with cooked foods such chicken, beef or lamb mince, boiled rice, or scrambled egg (without milk). They may also appreciate fresh vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, mashed potato, peas, sweetcorn, mashed swede.
Avoid lettuce and celery, which are low in nutritional value. Do not feed avocados, as they are toxic to your hedgehog. Do not feed raw meats or raw eggs to your hedgehog. Hedgehogs are not able to digest milk.
The short answer to “Can dogs eat mashed potatoes?” is yes, but with important caveats. Potatoes themselves are non-toxic to dogs when cooked properly. However, the way mashed potatoes are typically prepared—with butter, milk, salt, and seasonings—can pose risks to your dog's health.
Mashed or finely chopped, cooked potatoes can be easy for birds to eat and digest. They're especially attractive to ground-feeding birds such as blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, and doves, though you may see other species sampling the snack as well.
Thick or sticky foods such as peanut butter or mashed potatoes (could potentially be a choking hazard)
What not to feed hedgehogs The following foods should be avoided when feeding hedgehogs:-
Hedgehogs mainly eat creepy crawlies
The majority of their diet is made up of invertebrates (or creepy crawlies). We know what they eat from scientific studies that have analysed hedgehog poo or looked in the stomachs of hedgehogs killed on roads.
Hedgehogs can occasionally eat human foods, such as cooked lean meat, fruits, and vegetables. Always check with a veterinarian before feeding anything new to your hedgehog, and remember that human food should not make up the majority of their diet.
The British Hedgehog Society recommends that in captivity adults should be fed a meat- based tinned dog or cat food mixed with unsweetened cereal (Weetabix, oats or bran). Complete dry cat biscuits are good for the teeth.
Make sure that these foods contain almost exclusively meat and, above all, no flour. Hedgehogs also eat minced meat, boiled eggs or scrambled eggs. In any case, avoid seasoning these foods. You can also feed oatmeal and bran.
Feeding hedgehogs:
Hedgehogs will not usually eat and sleep in the same place so it's best not to offer food inside the home (except perhaps to tempt them in initially). Once there is a resident, move food away from the box so as not to attract predators or rival hedgehogs to the site.
Swine may be fed four pounds of cooked potatoes for each pound of concentrate. Poultry may be fed equal weights of cooked potatoes with grain. Potatoes may be substituted for corn silage in fattening beef cattle.
Plain cooked chicken (unseasoned, no bones, no skin) can be offered in small amounts, but avoid salty, spicy, or processed meats, which can be harmful. Think of meat as a useful protein base, but not a replacement for a specialist hedgehog diet.
Leaving food and fresh water out in the garden each night will encourage visiting hedgehogs to return regularly. Try tinned meaty cat or dog food and crushed cat or dog biscuits. Place the food and water in shallow bowls so they can access them easily. Refresh daily, disposing of food if it's not been eaten.
Despite their preference for limited physical affection, once your pet hedgehog has adapted to being handled and settled into its environment, you can gently stroke their quills and allow them to climb up your arms and explore various areas under supervision.
Hedgehog Treat Tips at Olympia Veterinary Hospital
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.
Sunflower seeds or peanuts
Sunflower seeds and peanuts should not be fed to hedgehogs as they can also cause MBD due to high levels of phosphorus. As hedgehog food mixes are not regulated, it's important to check that you don't buy any that contain nuts, seeds or mealworms.
Potatoes are high in calories and low in nutrients and since domesticated hedgehogs don't forage for food and are prone to obesity it's best to avoid this food. In addition, raw potatoes can be toxic to hedgehogs and other animals.
Only solid bottom cages are suitable for hedgehogs, any wire bottom cages could trap their legs or rip off toenails. Provide a soft bedding free of dust, such as recycled paper pellets or if you use wood shavings use only kiln dried pine or aspen. Do not use cedar shavings as they could irritate your hedgehog's lungs.
Yes, dogs can eat plain mashed potatoes in moderation, but avoid seasonings and additives. Potatoes provide vitamin C, vitamin B6, and iron, which are beneficial for dogs. Overfeeding your dog mashed potatoes can lead to weight gain, and raw potatoes can cause solanine poisoning.
The fastest way to get rid of rats involves an integrated approach: immediately set snap traps with strong bait (peanut butter/oats) perpendicular to walls for quick kills, block all entry points with steel wool/caulk, and remove food/water sources by cleaning thoroughly and storing food in sealed containers to starve them out, preventing recurrence. While baits work, traps are faster for immediate control and avoid the odor of hidden poisoned rats, but require careful handling.
Dogs should not eat raw potatoes. When raw, potatoes contain a compound called solanine — which can be found in other vegetables that are part of the nightshade family, such as eggplants. Solanine is a naturally occurring compound found throughout the plant as a way to deter insects and disease.