Hedgehogs are fascinating creatures both in terms of appearance and dietary requirements. Their diet comprises a variety of food sources. Being insectivores, hedgehogs' major diet consists of insects and arthropods, but there’s a long list when it comes to seeking a balanced diet.
This guide will help you understand hedgehogs' food and diet, both in your backyard and in the wild, along with some unique facts about them.
Hedgehog feeding patterns include nutrient-rich foods with good variations and tastes. Their regular diet should consist of insects and arthropods but they also feed on fruits and vegetables at the right amount and time. Scroll down to learn more about Hedgehog's diet in your backyard.
Hedgehogs have a good sense of smell, through which they can hunt down their prey. Among several favorite foods, earthworms are one the primary food sources of hedgehogs that are found underneath the ground. Hedgehogs are found to get a decent amount of nutrients and moisture after feeding on the earthworms.
Your yard must have been harboring earthworms under the ground. Hedgehogs are found to desperately forage earthworms in your yard, looking for the nutrients they possess. Further, searching for such mealworms requires some movable effort, often uplifting the mental health of the hedgehogs.
Hedgehogs are found to consume cooked meat as well. If they happen to detect the smell of meat you have prepared in your kitchen, it can appeal to the site. Yes, hedgehogs can easily eat cooked meat in small quantities, especially when other food items are scarce.
It would be best to cut the cooked meat into small and fine pieces so that hedgehogs can consume it comfortably without getting choked. Be mindful to choose meat with high protein but low fat for maximum benefits to the hedgehogs.
Waxworms are popular for providing the essential proteins and fats to the hedgehogs. If hedgehogs need protein and fat, you can offer them waxworms. But make sure you do not feed waxworms regularly as a primary diet. Hedgehogs will relish if they receive waxworms as a treat occasionally.
Waxworms, as a hedgehog diet, have multiple benefits for the hedgehog. If they are included in the treat list, hedgehogs will have variations in their diet. Similarly, feeding waxworms is also found to provide good exercise to the teeth and jaws of hedgehogs.
You should know that like many other foods of hedgehogs, crickets also contain chitin. Chitin is a primary food source for hedgehogs and is the fiber of insects. Crickets offer good nutrients to the hedgehogs, making them a good treat.
You need to make sure you give crickets to hedgehogs in small amounts every day, instead of offering it as a regular primary diet, or else it can spoil the dietary plan of the hedgehogs. Further, feeding crickets as a treat is found to boost the mental health of hedgehogs.
Fruits can be included in the diet of hedgehogs which can provide essential vitamins and minerals to them. Further, with different tastes and variations, hedgehogs rejoice in munching fresh and clean bananas, mangoes, berries, and many more.
Hedgehogs adore consuming fruits in small quantities as a treat. Be mindful that you need to offer ripe and soft fruits so that they can chew and swallow easily. It would be best to give them fruits after washing and cutting them into fine pieces properly.
Hedgehogs relish consuming invertebrates. They are a good source of primary diet rich in protein and fat. The hedgehogs often eat insects like beetles, earwigs, millipedes, and many more.
Such invertebrates and hedgehogs often visit your yard upon receiving the signal through their sense of smell and jump over to consume them, usually at night because hedgehogs are nocturnal creatures.
Like fruits, fresh vegetables can also be offered to the hedgehogs by cutting them into suitable pieces. Veggies that you bring from the market for yourself can be shared with the hedgehogs. You can offer them dark and leafy greens along with tomatoes, beans, and other cooked items.
Remember not to offer vegetables that are stale and starchy. Try to avoid giving vegetables like potatoes, corn, and carrots and also dried ones because hedgehogs can’t digest such food items easily.
Cat food which often contains meat items both in dried and wet form can also be fed to the hedgehogs. However, such food sources are often brought in when the natural diet falls short. Make sure to check for safety and hygiene before you offer such foods to the hedgehogs.
Hedgehogs have small mouths and can’t consume large-sized food. Therefore, you need to look for the size of the food as well. Apart from the meat items, cat food may also contain biscuits, you can also give such biscuits to the hedgehogs as a treat.
Bird seeds from the market often contain a variety of food items. Such grains, seeds, and other nutritious food items attract insects and other invertebrates. Hedgehogs are also found to get attracted to them, feeding on all seeds and insects.
However, seeds and grains if consumed excessively, may not prove to be a good diet for the hedgehogs. Several issues like tooth pain, bone diseases, or improper digestion may result from the excess consumption of bird seeds. Be mindful that bird seeds should only be offered to the hedgehogs in very small quantities as a part of a balanced diet.
Well, hedgehogs are found to enjoy a great deal while consuming either cat food or dog food. Like cat food, dog food is also found to contain meat-based items. Such meaty items if fed in small quantities in suitable sizes can be an excellent choice of treat for the hedgehogs.
Keep in mind that dogs should be kept away from the hedgehogs because they can bite or even kill them. If you provide meat items regularly in small amounts, it can work as a supplement to their natural diet of insects and worms. Make sure to feed meat that is free from spices and other additives.
Well, now that you have understood the different food sources of hedgehogs in your yard and home, let's learn about food sources that are found in the wild. In the wild, they mostly feed on insects but are sometimes seen feeding on carcasses, fruits, and other different wild foods. Scroll down to learn about them in detail.
Among invertebrates, beetles are one of the major food sources of the hedgehogs in the wild. They look for the external coverings or the droppings of the beetles on the ground. Such inactive elements at the ground level are the major attraction to the hedgehogs.
The droppings or the external shell of the beetles are tough, containing a good amount of fiber and nutrients. Many beetle species are found to emit deterring chemicals when threatened, but naturally, hedgehogs can resist them.
Another primary source of food for hedgehogs is the caterpillars. The caterpillars are found to provide protein and moisture to the hedgehogs which are crucial in the development and survival phase. Many studies and professionals have projected that about half of the hedgehog's diet consists of caterpillars.
Hedgehogs in the wild go on to hunt caterpillars around plants. Since protein and other essential nutrients are compulsorily required during the winter or hibernation, caterpillars can make excellent choices to meet the required fat reserve.
Hedgehogs need to look for alternative diets and food sources when the period of food shortage comes. This generally occurs during the winter or autumn when hedgehogs seek mushrooms to satisfy their hungry stomach.
Hedgehogs have a good sense of smell, which allows them to select the right fungi for their diet since mushrooms come in a variety of forms, from toxic to friendly. Hedgehogs are aggressive food consumers, and they find their diet in a vast number of food items prevalent around the natural world.
Fruits can also be fed to the hedgehogs but in a small quantity. Consumption of excess fruits can upset their stomach because of the absence of well well-developed digestive system, or we can also refer to it as the dedicated digestive tract.
The wild nature is full of fruits and hedgehogs can eat a variety of them from apples, and bananas to mangoes, and watermelons. For the different tastes of their diet and in the most immediate situation, hedgehogs are found to consume fruits.
Hedgehogs are also found to raid and hunt down the eggs of the birds in the wild. According to the East Taranaki Environment Collective, hedgehogs have posed a significant threat to the native birds of New Zealand. The eggs of the birds are found to be rich in protein and fat essential for hedgehogs.
However, the feeding behavior pattern upon eggs is occasional for the hedgehogs and it shows their opportunistic approach toward the choice of diet. But in some parts of the world such as New Zealand, the increased number of hedgehogs in the wild is causing problems, constantly preying on the eggs of the native birds.
Occasionally, you can see hedgehogs in the wild feeding on dead animals, especially during times of food scarcity. Mostly, they are found around the carcasses of small animals. You should know that hedgehogs are voracious eaters and can eat up to their weight in one night if allowed and provided.
Millipedes and centipedes being very closely related to the insects, are arthropods. They are a popular sight around the world with two pairs of jointed legs. Hedgehogs go after this kind of crawling creatures in the wild, hunting them down with their strong teeth.
Lizards are another common predator of the hedgehogs. In the wild when the temperature falls, the activity of the lizard slows down. Jumping onto the opportunity, hedgehogs hunt them down in the night.
Hedgehogs look for suitable-sized lizards to eat and they are commonly eaten whole. Lizards are found to offer calcium and minerals to the hedgehogs. According to a study in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology, adult female hedgehogs are found to have lizards in their stomachs than that of adult males, maybe to meet the energy demand during the breeding period.
Hedgehogs have distinguished features for all of us to recognize and be familiar with. This is possible through their spines. Spines are just like the hair and nails of the human, in fact, they all contain the same material. Having roughly around 6000 spines on the back of the adult hedgehogs, they are mostly used in the time of protection from predators.
Hedgehogs are the friends of the dark. Yes, they are found to remain the most active during the night and as soon as the sun sets. Therefore, being nocturnal, hedgehogs forage for food at night. While foraging for food, their sense of smell and hearing plays a crucial role.
Hedgehogs love solitude. They prefer to do every hunting and feeding all alone, only during the time of mating, they are seen coming together. Further, during the upbringing of the offspring, mothers alone are seen taking care and feeding them. The male adult doesn't seem to take part in the parenthood.
Hedgehogs are blessed with the keen senses of smell but they lack good eyesight. In general, all hedgehogs are found to be colorblind and thus, they heavily rely on their hearing and smelling senses during their entire lifetime. Smell has a lot to do with the hedgehogs, they can quite easily detect the food and predators once the smell is obvious enough for their senses.
Hedgehogs can live and survive in a variety of surroundings and habitats. In general, they are found living in isolated areas, burrows, and other shelter such as grasslands, woodlands, deserts, and gardens. Around the human settlements, hedgehogs are found to live close to the gardens, beneath the piles of leaves, and in and around decks.
In search of food, hedgehogs can travel wide distances at night. It has been found that hedgehogs can travel up to 2 miles in a night on average while foraging for food. They are a good and silent runner with extraordinary capabilities of swimming, climbing, and digging.
Hedgehogs apart from being a part of the natural ecosystem have been with humans and the entire civilization for ages. That's why people have referred to it as different signs or symbols of different meanings, rooted deep into the culture and lifestyle.
Many cultures around the world know hedgehogs as the symbol of protection and intelligence, while in some parts they are considered as something to be fortunate that brings luck and prosperity. Similarly, the creature itself has been featured in many television series and art forms.
