Feeding Hedgehog

Hedgehogs are extraordinary animals. There care level is easy and they are friendly if properly socialized. Their natural habitat is the grassland, forest and scrub. In the natural conditions, hedgehogs keep searching for food most of the times. They are known to be curious animals in captivity that spend a plenty of time exploring their environment. They deserve your love, care and attention, like any other pet. An important part of hedgehog care is feeding. The following account tells you all about feeding hedgehog.

It is found that several hedgehogs have developed deadly liver problems because of a diet consisting of excessive fat. For a number of years domestic hedgehogs were fed on cat food. As a matter of fact, several cat foods are low in protein and very high in fat. Thus, such foods proved unable to keep hedgehogs healthy. With the course of time, food meant for hedgehogs has been developed. Here you have to be careful enough so that you don’t accept it blindly because of a branded label.

Tips for Choosing Hedgehog Food

1. Analyze fat, carbohydrate and protein content in it to guarantee the healthiness of food you are going to feed hedgehog with.
2. Select food that assures a composition of at least 30% protein.
3. Don't feed your hedgehog any food having a fat content of more than 12%.
4. Be sure your hedgehog consumes fiber in a good amount. The reason for this is that the fiber can moderately substitute for some of the substances that a hedgehog would usually eat in its primarily insect diet.

Protein Rich Diet for Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs need plenty of protein rich diet. It is explained by the fact that hedgehogs eat tons of insects in the wild. Thus, you have to feed ample protein to it without fat. Feeding your hedgehog with insects such as mealworms and crickets is wonderful as a delicacy given occasionally. But pet food insects hold much more fat than hedgehogs would usually eat in their natural habitat and they result in liver problems. Thus, it is wise to feed them wild-caught insects. Hedgehogs are not vulnerable to much poison in the wild unless it is ingested in insects that have been infected. The wild insects might be carrying insecticides that are critically harmful to your hedgehog.

Treats for Hedgehog

A little morsel of lean and cooked chicken or other meat can be fed to your hedgehog as an occasional treat. Your hedgehog will relish tidbits of fruit and veggies as treats but do not feed it with sugary food and dairy.

Water Supply for Hedgehog

A hedgehog requires clean and fresh water all the time in addition to food. If newspaper shavings are used for bedding, water bottles are suggested. A food or water bowl should be broad and shallow, so a hedgehog could not knock it over if it hastens.

Although these animals are not normally kept as pets, it always seems that at any one time, someone is temporarily looking after a hedgehog. In the wild about one quarter of a hedgehog's food is beetles, one quarter is caterpillars, another quarter is earthworms and the remainder is made up from eggs, millipedes, slugs and snails, assorted insects and a few odds and ends. Most people who find that there are hedgehogs in their garden put out a saucer of whole meal bread and milk and a hedgehog will happily eat this as a supplement to his diet. This little animal is not at all finicky about its diet, so if fed properly stays with you for long.