What to feed a hedgehog at home and how to do it correctly - what does he eat?

Exotic animals are becoming more popular every year. People who want to have a hedgehog should know how to properly care for such a pet. At the same time, questions often arise: what exactly does a hedgehog eat, what to feed it at home, and how to do it correctly. It is worth considering that a balanced diet directly affects the health and well-being of the animal. It also affects his life expectancy.

Natural food for hedgehogs

Despite their cute appearance, hedgehogs are considered true predators.Under natural conditions, they do not eat fruits and berries, but prefer animal food, which contains a lot of protein. The most preferred foods for hedgehogs include the following:

1. Hedgehog beetles often feed on bark beetles, ground beetles, and trilobites. In summer cottages, animals look for May beetles.
2. Earwigs – these insects live everywhere. They are found in forests, meadows and mountainous areas. Earwigs often settle near human habitation. They are easy and desirable prey for hedgehogs.
3. Caterpillars are animals that often eat the larvae of butterflies and moths. They move slowly, making them easy to catch.
4. Earthworms are found in large numbers in the forest and are quite accessible. To get a worm, a hedgehog only needs to dig up the ground a little.
5. Centipedes - live mainly in deciduous and mixed forests. They live under stones, fallen leaves, near tree roots and often become food for hedgehogs.

At the same time, hedgehogs are not very fond of plant foods. They eat fruits, berries and mushrooms only in cases where there is no other food available. In summer cottages, animals actively absorb food waste.

What to feed your pet

When compiling a diet for domestic hedgehogs, it is necessary to take into account a number of features and nuances.

Meat products

Hedgehogs need to be fed lean meat. They can eat chicken, beef, veal. The animals' diet may also include turkey, horse meat, duck, and rabbit meat. At the same time, pork is considered a rather fatty product, which is why it is difficult for hedgehogs to digest it.

It is recommended to give meat to hedgehogs every day. It's best to do this raw. It is healthier than boiled and contains many microelements.However, it is important to note that this product may contain parasites. That’s why the hedgehog is given boiled meat from time to time. It needs to be cut into pieces and placed in a bowl.

Many animals prefer minced meat. It is convenient to mix with plant foods. It is also permissible to feed hedgehogs with offal. They can be given to the tongue, liver, heart, stomachs. Preference should be given to boiled offal, since heat treatment has a disinfecting effect.

Fish

Under natural conditions, a hedgehog does not eat fish because it cannot catch it. However, a small amount of this product can still be given to the animal. In this case, you should give preference to sea and river fish of low-fat varieties. Mackerel is considered the best option. You can also use bream, pollock, hake, and perch.

The fish must first be boiled and boned. It is not recommended to give salty or rotten food to hedgehogs. This may cause poisoning. Excess fish in the diet can cause the development of vitamin deficiency or anemia

Vegetables and fruits

These foods can be given to your hedgehog every day. They are considered a source of fiber and vitamins. Among the fruits, the animals happily eat peaches, bananas, apples, and pears. They can also be given watermelons and melons. As for vegetables, the preferred options include zucchini, cucumbers, and carrots. It is important to consider that potatoes contain a large amount of starch, so this product should be used in small quantities.It must be cooked first. Before giving fruits and vegetables to your hedgehog, they need to be cut.

Among the berries, it is permissible to give the animal blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cranberries. Before feeding a hedgehog with cherries, you must remove the pit from it. If the animal refuses fruits and vegetables, it can be given baby puree. It is also permissible to cook it yourself.

Insects

This is the main type of food for hedgehogs that needs to be used every day. In summer, insects can be collected in natural conditions. It is best to do this in a field or forest. You should use beetles, snails, caterpillars, and flies as food for hedgehogs. It can also feed on earthworms, locusts, and grasshoppers. It is important to consider that earthworms are high in calories. Therefore, it is permissible to use a maximum of 2-3 pieces for 1 meal.

You can also buy insects at a pet store. The following individuals are suitable for this:

1. Cockroaches – it is permissible to use marble or Turkmen cockroaches. Depending on the size, 5-10 pieces are used per time.
2. Mealworms are a real treat for hedgehogs.
3. Domestic white crickets - depending on the size, you can use 10-15 pieces.
4. Zofobas - they should be given at intervals of 2 days. Depending on the size, use 2-3 pieces.

Insects can be live or dried. On sale you can find special formulations that include dried insects. They can be mixed with minced meat or boiled eggs. This composition is a nutritional supplement for the domestic hedgehog.

Store-bought feed

Procuring food yourself takes a lot of effort and time. That’s why hedgehog owners often use ready-made formulations. The following options are possible:

1. Spike's Dinner dry food - this line is made in the UK. It includes feed wheat, whole corn, and poultry. Also contains flaxseeds, chicken fat, and whole corn. The food is sold in packs of 650 grams. The optimal dose for a hedgehog is 20 grams per day.
2. T-RexFood pate is a wet food for domestic hedgehogs. It consists of 30% house crickets. Also includes chicken necks, carrots, apples, pumpkin. In addition, the product includes seaweed extract.
3. Complete dry food Menu - it contains grains, offal, crustaceans, nuts. The product also includes meat, shellfish, vegetables, and mealworms. The composition can be used as the basis for the diet of forest and pygmy hedgehogs.

Recommendations for feeding the animal

Feeding hedgehogs has certain characteristics. When planning your diet, consider the following:

1. A hedgehog weighing 800 grams requires 150 grams of food per day. Excess food will negatively affect the health of the animal. It is important to consider that a pregnant female can eat twice as much.
2. Most of your meals should come in the evening and at night. The animal is a nocturnal animal. If you don't give the hedgehog food, it will make noise.
3. An adult animal needs to be fed twice - morning and evening. It is advisable to do this at the same time.
4. Little hedgehogs can hardly withstand hunger. Therefore, they need to be offered food 2-3 times. A pregnant female should be fed 3-4 times a day.
5. It is prohibited to change your diet suddenly. If it is necessary to correct the animal's feeding style, it is recommended to do this gradually. At the same time, some of the new food in the diet should be increased little by little.

People who meet a hedgehog at their dacha try to give it milk.This is not recommended, since in nature animals do not drink this product. Animals, as a rule, come to summer cottages for mice. Therefore, the animal needs to be provided with access to water and given various treats. This could be unsalted porridge, a boiled egg or a small amount of cottage cheese.

In order for a domestic hedgehog to develop normally and have good health, it needs to be fed properly. In this case, it is important to think through his diet in detail or use ready-made commercial food.