Living with Birds How to feed hedgehogs in your garden Tweetapedia

As the seasons change and we move steadily towards summer, you may find a few new residents in your garden - everyone’s favourite spiky mammal, the hedgehog!

These nocturnal animals got their name from their fondness of living in hedgerows, just like the ones in many British gardens and fields and enjoy roaming through bushes and undergrowth searching for food. 

It's important to remember that hedgehogs cannot be kept as pets. They are a protected species and live much happier lives in the wild. 

That being said, feeding hedgehogs is absolutely fine, but it must be done correctly so that the they can stay active, healthy and safe. Let’s start with some basics:

1. What food do hedgehogs eat?
2. How to make sure other animals don't steal the food
3. How to maintain a hedgehog feeding station
4. What not to feed hedgehogs

What food do hedgehogs eat?

The natural diet of a hedgehog is mostly bugs including:

• Earthworms
• Bird chicks (fallen out of a nest)
• Beetles
• Caterpillars

This makes them mainly insectivores, but scientists are actually unsure about how to officially class these mammals. 

This is because hedgehogs have been around since the dinosaurs, over fifteen million years ago. In all that time, hedgehogs have barely changed at all, with both sharp canine teeth to eat live food, and flat molars for seeds and nuts.  

This means they are likely omnivores, and have been able to survive for so long because of the variety of food they can eat. 

Off-the-shelf hedgehog food is also easy to find. With high meat and fibre content it makes it especially healthy for the little mammals. For example, Vale's™ Hedgehog Food is used by professionals at Vale Wildlife Hospital who care for hedgehogs.

How to make sure other animals don’t steal the food?

It’s important to know that leaving any food out overnight will attract more animals than just hedgehogs. Cats or foxes could potentially come looking for the food, and could be a threat to the hedgehogs. For this reason, we recommend creating a feeding station for the little mammals. 

There are two ways to approach this. You can purchase a pre-made hedgehog house like the ones on our website, but you can also make one yourselves.

The aim is to make a space big enough for a hedgehog, but small enough that larger animals or predators can’t take the food. 

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust have created a video on how to make a feeding station at home. You can watch it here >

A homemade station can be as simple as an upside down plastic tub weighed down by bricks, with a hole cut into it, just big enough for the hedgehogs. Placing a dish of water at the entrance can also stop any nosy neighbourhood cats from stealing the food, since cats hate getting their paws wet. You can also place bricks in the box to make it more difficult for other animals to find their way in.

How to maintain a hedgehog feeding station?

Whether you go for pre-made or homemade, the next step is cleaning. Hedgehogs usually live and forage alone, and your feeding station may attract quite a few visitors! 

To avoid spreading disease, any station in your garden must be regularly cleaned. When doing so, make sure not to wash any used containers or similar with your dishes, as this could spread disease.

Hedgehogs also must not be overfed, so putting new food out every night isn’t necessary. Instead, hedgehogs benefit from a regularly refilled water dish, to help them stay hydrated. Make sure this dish is shallow, you don’t want the hedgehogs falling in or spilling the water whilst attempting to drink. For example, our Hedgehog Drinking Bowl is perfectly designed for hedgehogs.

What foods can’t hedgehogs eat? 

Now that we’ve looked at healthy and safe feeding ideas, there are also several foods that you must never give to hedgehogs:

• Milk or cheese (hedgehogs are lactose intolerant)
• Raw meat or eggs
• Raisins or grapes (these are poisonous to lots of animals)
• Chocolate or junk food

All of the above are harmful to hedgehogs, but are often offered by well-meaning people. 

Hedgehogs also should not be given bread. While it isn't dangerous, it won’t provide them with any nutrition.

Other information

Even with all the information in this article, there is no replacement for a natural environment and foods. 

As mentioned, hedgehogs have been around for a long time, and don’t need much help navigating their way through life. We should try to support that lifestyle, not control it. 

For this reason, we recommend keeping small areas of your garden wild, so that they can make their own way looking for food. 

The additional foods you may choose to provide, as well as a helpful feeding station will make their busy evenings a little bit safer. 

Remember, as many as 10 different hedgehogs may travel through your garden over several nights. With some care and proper preparation, you may well have the best rated hedgehog bed and breakfast in town!