There are plenty to choose from that a good for hedgehogs, these include:
- Apples – eaten in moderation, apples are a deliciously crunchy treat for hedgehogs. They are high in natural sugars, so...
- Leafy greens – hedgehogs love veggies like broccoli, cucumber, lettuce and more. You might have to cook some of the...
- Berries – organic blueberries and raspberries in...
What is the best thing to feed a hedgehog?
Recommended hedgehog treats include:
- mealworms
- boiled chicken
- scrambled / hard boiled eggs
- apples
- bananas
- berries
What is the best food for a hedgehog?
- Live crickets, mealworms, or silkworms
- Bits of plain, cooked meat with no seasonings or salt (no processed meats)
- Raw or cooked vegetables and fresh fruit (no citrus)
- Unsweetened “stage 1” pureed baby food (no grains)
- Hard-boiled or scrambled eggs (plain: no salt or butter)
What foods are safe for hedgehogs?
- Romaine lettuce
- Arugula
- Dandelion greens
- Collard greens
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Sweet potato
- Asparagus
- Radish, turnip
- Green pepper
How much food do I give to my Hedgehog?
There are plenty to choose from that a good for hedgehogs, these include:
- Apples – eaten in moderation, apples are a deliciously crunchy treat for hedgehogs. ...
- Leafy greens – hedgehogs love veggies like broccoli, cucumber, lettuce and more. ...
- Berries – organic blueberries and raspberries in particular are okay for hedgehogs to eat, opt for organic if you can because these will less likely have been sprayed with possibly ...
What should you not feed hedgehogs?
Feeding hedgehogsLeave out foods like tinned dog or cat food and crushed cat or dog biscuits. ... Never feed hedgehogs milk or bread - milk can cause diarrhoea and bread isn't very nutritious.Check the food and water bowls each day to top them up with fresh water and food, and remove any food that hasn't been eaten.More items...
What can you feed wild hedgehogs?
Insects and other invertebrates are the hedgehog's main natural food source....What do hedgehogs eat?Beetles.Earwigs.Caterpillars.Earthworms.Millipedes.Fly larvae.
Is it OK to have hedgehogs in your garden?
Few people know that hedgehogs are actually valuable pest controllers in gardens. They eat snails, slugs, and insects, protecting your lovely plants from disease and pest infections. It's official: hedgehogs are a gardener's best friend.
Do hedgehogs return to the same garden?
Hedgehogs are not territorial, however they do seem to follow a regular routine, visiting the same gardens and even specific areas at roughly the same time each night.
What vegetables can hedgehogs eat?
Pet hedgehogs can eat:Courgette.Green pepper.Cucumber.Broccoli.Leafy greens.Peas.Corn.Carrots.
Can I feed hedgehogs cat biscuits?
What food should I feed to wild hedgehogs? Good quality proprietary hedgehog biscuits, dog biscuits and cat biscuits are best in that order. Along with plenty of fresh drinking water offered in a shallow sided dish. Cooked meaty dog and cat food are also good alternatives.
Can hedgehogs eat lettuce?
Dark, Green and Leafy Veterinarian-recommended hedgehog fruit and veggie mixes are based on nutritious greens. Kale, romaine or leaf lettuces and collard greens are all good choices.
Can wild hedgehogs eat cooked chicken?
Hedgehogs can eat chicken, in fact, they can eat a variety of lean meats since they are a great supplement to their regular commercial food. Chicken is high in healthy proteins that hedgehogs need, you just must ensure you are properly cooking the chicken and only offering lean cuts.
What is the best food for a hedgehog?
Chitin is a necessary component to a hedgehog's diet but it isn't the only thing a hedgehog needs from its food, so various items should be fed in addition to insects. Mealworms: Live or freeze-dried mealworms are a good source of chitin for hedgehogs.
When do hedgehogs eat?
If there is more than a 10 percent weight gain you should cut back on how much food is offered. A hedgehog may eat more at night when it is most active and running on its wheel, so don't worry if you don't see it eating much during the day.
What are some good treats for hedgehogs?
Waxworms: Live waxworms are higher in fat but lower in chitin content than mealworms so these should be saved as treats for hedgehogs. Crickets: Also available live or freeze-dried, crickets provide chitin as well as mental stimulation for a hedgehog.
Do hedgehogs eat cat kibble?
Hedgehogs are prone to obesity, so it is of utmost importance to monitor how much you are feeding it. The hedgehog or cat kibble should make up the majority of the daily diet, and even though a hedgehog is very active at night and burns a lot of energy, you'll want to control how much kibble it gets.
Do hedgehogs need cat food?
Being insectivores, hedgehogs need nutrients that may not be found in many other pet foods. Historically, cat food was often used to feed these spiky pocket pets, but there are also quality hedgehog foods that provide ideal nutritional components for a hedgehog to eat.
Is a hedgehog an omnivore?
Hedgehogs are considered either omnivores or insectivores, depending on the source referenced. If you look at the actual diet of a hedgehog you'll see that the omnivore description is probably a more accurate one since hedgehogs in the wild will eat a variety of foods, not just insects. Different species of hedgehogs will have slightly varied diets depending on the part of the world they are from, but most pet hedgehogs are African Pygmy hedgehogs so being a hybrid, their diet isn't the same as a wild hedgehog.
What do hedgehogs eat?
The hedgehog is an omnivore and feeds on a variety of insects and small animals, as well as plants, berries, and vegetables. Some of the foods they like to eat in the wild are as follows.
Is dry cat food good for cats?
Dry cat food is an excellent second choice, and many people recommend using cat food as their main food source due to its availability and high-quality ingredients. The thing to remember when buying cat food is to use a brand that has about 35% protein and 15% fat. You also want to make sure the first ingredient is chicken and not a meat byproduct or a carbohydrate.
Can hedgehogs be pets?
Hedgehogs are not commonly kept as pets, and many new parents may not have a clear idea of what types of foods are best to feed them and what foods you should avoid. We’ve researched this topic well and own several hedgehogs ourselves. We will list as many foods that they can eat as we can, as well as tell you a little about them and how to find them.
Can you feed hedgehogs live insects?
Before feeding many insects to your hedgehog, we strongly recommend gut loading the insects. Gut loading is a process where you feed your insect’s nutritional meals for a few days to pack it with nutrients, which allows the insects to transfer the nutrition to your pet. Gut loading is another good reason to feed your hedgehog live insects when possible.
Do hedgehogs need water?
All life needs plenty of clean water to stay healthy, and the hedgehog is no different. We recommend you always keep a constant flow of clean water within the hedgehogs reach so they can stay hydrated at will, reducing urinary tract infections and other problems associated with dehydration.
What do wild hedgehogs eat?
Hedgehogs living in the wild will feed on a range of things and tend to survive on a ‘whatever they can get their claws on’ basis.
What do domesticated hedgehogs eat?
Lots of people tend to think the only thing you can feed hedgehogs is cat food, but there are actually lots of things you can feed them.
Cat kibble (or other protein sources)
Cat or dog food like kibble as their main food source. You can actually purchase special hedgehog food, but cat kibble will do fine.
Certain fruits and vegetables
Including some safe to eat fruits and veggies is a great way to include different tastes and textures and some lower calorie nibbles for your hog.
Insects
If owners are able to purchase some from pet stores or online, this can be a nice treat for hogs.
Water
Just like other household pets like cats and dogs, hedgehogs need a constant source of clean water available to them to drink as and when they please.
The Hedgehog Diet: An Overview
The basics about the hedgehog diet are pretty straightforward once you get yourself to learn them. And if you are keen enough to pet a hedgehog, you would be surely curious to know about their diet if you don’t already.
Nutritional Requirements for a Hedgehog
Hedgehogs are popular pet animals. But since their diet is the widest debate among their users, a proper nutritional requirement is still uncertain. However, with much-gathered experience and study, there’ve been conclusions made.
What Do Hedgehogs Eat?
Here’s a fun fact! All this while you’ve been reading that hedgehogs are carnivores, turns out, they consume plants as well. Hence, they’re omnivores. They have razor-sharp teeth, and strong jaws meant to bite, kill, and feed on insects and snakes.
How to Feed Hedgehogs?
The diet of all hedgehogs can be the same, but their feeding styles, such as the quantity and consistency of feeding, would slightly differ. What do hedgehogs eat as pets may differ from the ones living in nature’s womb.
How Much and When to Feed Your Hedgehog?
Hedgehogs are susceptible to obesity. So, as much as a nutritional diet is important, make sure to feed them the right amount. And not too much.
What Not To Feed Hedgehogs
Till now, you know what hedgehogs can eat. However, it is vital to know what is not good for your pet and what they can or should not eat. For instance, your hog has a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 2:1 to 1:1. If you feed them with anything beyond this range, it can be hazardous to their health.
Diet-Related Health Issues of a Hedgehog
Hedgehogs are vulnerable to many health issues if they are not fed appropriately, resulting in nutrient deficiencies. Such conditions would lead to illnesses, such as:
What do hedgehogs eat?
Some are capable of traveling enormous distances at night. They eat considerable amounts of insects of any kind, especially underground ones, such as: Earth worms. Slugs. Snails.
What is the diet of a hedgehog?
The rest of their diet consists in fruits and vegetables. However, we must bear in mind that their diets will vary depending on their species and which part of the world they are from. When it comes to the nutrition of a hedgehog. Their diet consists of: Protein: should be around 22% of their diet, always less than 35%.
Why are hedgehogs important?
Wild hedgehogs help in pest control as they mainly eat insects. When adopting a domestic hedgehog, it's important to imitate their diet as close as possible to what they would eat in the wild. This way, we make sure they live a long and happy life. You may also be interested in our article about why hedgehogs bite.
What are some forbidden foods for hedgehogs?
Here is the complete list of forbidden foods for hedgehogs: Dairy products. Fatty foods.
Can hedgehogs be domesticated?
Nowadays, they can also be domestic pets. However, many hedgehog companions ask themselves what pet hedgehogs eat. In this AnimalWised article we're going to explain what hedgehogs eat. We'll go through their nutrition and complete food list.
Can humans drink milk for hedgehogs?
Humans shouldn't intervene or stop this process as it's very important for their health and wellbeing. In the case of orphaned hedgehogs that need to be cared for, they can drink milk formulated for kittens as it's very similar to the nutrition hoglets need.
Is dog food safe for hedgehogs?
In fact, dog food is dangerous for hedgehogs. Therefore, it's best to avoid any other type of commercial food. However, the best option would be to make homemade and natural food for your pet hedgehog.
What to feed a hedgehog?
Meats. Try to get lean cuts of the following meats , and only give them to your hedgehog as a snack a few times a week. It’s best if you buy the meats raw and cook them yourself, as precooked meats are often full of salt and other ingredients that are bad for your pet’s health. Chicken. Salmon.
What are some good treats for hedgehogs?
Healthy Treats for Hedgehogs. Hedgehogs have a broad palate, so there’s a wide variety of foods that can be served as a treat. Many veggies or fruits make excellent treats, as they’re loaded with nutrition and delicious.
How much water should a hedgehog drink?
A healthy hedgehog should drink somewhere in the vicinity of 1 ½ to 2 ½ tablespoons of water every day. As a result, your hedgehog must have access to plenty of fresh, clean water at all times.
Why does my hedgehog stop eating?
Featured Image Credit: szabfer, Pixabay. There are many reasons that a hedgehog might stop eating. Many of them have to do with stress, but others could be signs of disease or illness. Don’t be alarmed if your hedgehog doesn’t eat when you first bring them home or if you move to a new place.
What does it mean when a hedgehog has a blockage?
They may have an intestinal blockage, an upset stomach, problems with their teeth and gums, or a more serious disease, like cancer. If you’ve tried to solve the problem yourself to no avail, take your hedgehog to the vet as soon as possible.
Why won't my hedgehog eat?
If you suspect that your hedgehog’s refusal to eat is due to environmental factors rather than health problems, you can try to remedy the problem yourself. You can also try to tempt your hedgehog to eat by offering them high-value foods, like baby food or other beloved treats.
What could be affecting my hedgehog's appetite?
Other things that could be affecting your pet’s appetite include loneliness or discomfort due to temperature . You should do everything in your power to make sure your hedgehog is comfortable, and that may include changing the ambient temperature in their tank or getting them a friend.
What is the best food for a hedgehog?
When you give too much protein, this isn’t good for you hedgie as well. Let’s make a short list of the best vegetables that you can give to your hedgehog: Arugula. Broccoli. Dandelion greens. Spinach.
Can cats eat cat food?
Basically, they can eat this food on a daily basis without any problems. The key is in the ratio of fats versus protein. In fact, experts find that cat food contains the golden ratio of fats and protein. Actually, it’s exactly needed for hedgies.
Can hedgehogs eat sugar?
Refined sugar isn’t nice for your hedgehog at all. Both sticky and hard foods don’t make for good snacks. The hard ones could quickly become a choking hazard for your hedgie. On the other hand, sticky foods, like all sorts of dried fruit, can get stuck to the mouth roof or teeth.
Is hedgehog food good for you?
Some people recommend skipping brand hedgehog good. They say that the food isn’t scientifically engineered to keep up with the hedgies’ nutritional needs. Furthermore, others say that hed gehog food is fine along as the owner checks the label for the nutritional value. Low-grade pet food is always a bad idea.
Can you give baby food to hedgehogs?
But you do need portion control. Baby foods aren ’t something to give them on a daily basis. It’s more of a treat as when people have some chocolate cake to celebrate something (never give that to hedgies, though!). Just check the baby food labels before you give that to your hedgehog.
Can you feed a hedgehog raw meat?
And never feed raw meat to your hedgehog! You should just cook the meat with a little bit of oil. No seasoning whatsoever, though. Chicken and turkey are the best options. Try to avoid beef, pork, and any other kind of meat. Meat that’s not poultry is not as easily digestible.
Is a hedgehog an insectivore?
Hedgehogs are omnivorous or insectivorous, depending on who you ask. That means their menu covers a lot of different food items. Now, you might wonder what kind of human food can you feed a hedgehog? In this post, we’ll cover exactly this question along with the basics of hedgehog nutrition needs.
