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Hedgehogs
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have new camera in the garden and last night a hedgehog came trundling past
why arent they hibernating and what should i feed it?
why arent they hibernating and what should i feed it?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.What to feed hedgehogs
As opportunistic eaters, hedgehogs will readily consume food left out in your garden. The best foods to provide are:
Meat-based cat or dog food
Specially-made hedgehog food
Cat biscuits
As well as providing food, you can put out a shallow dish of water to ensure any visiting hogs stay hydrated
As opportunistic eaters, hedgehogs will readily consume food left out in your garden. The best foods to provide are:
Meat-based cat or dog food
Specially-made hedgehog food
Cat biscuits
As well as providing food, you can put out a shallow dish of water to ensure any visiting hogs stay hydrated
Quote:
"[Q] What should I feed a hedgehog?
[A] Hedgehogs are insectivores, so the best diet is the bugs and grubs in your garden, which will also help keep the ‘pests’ down. Therefore, the best way to feed hedgehogs would actually be to encourage more insects into your garden. You can do this by leaving some areas a bit wild, planting native plants and shrubs, creating log piles, putting in bug hotels and having fresh water available (ideally a wildlife pond with a ramp for mammals to climb out).
However, to encourage them in to your garden you could offer a ‘top-up’ meal of a good meaty-based diet. We recommend a small dish of any meat flavour dog or cat food, plus a handful of dog or cat biscuits to keep their teeth healthy. Feeding hedgehogs in your garden should only be a supplement to their natural diet, or to help them during the harder Winter months, so it is important to not offer too much of any one type of food.
Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant so milk can make them very ill and should never be offered. Instead, put out a dish of fresh water each night. Hedgehogs are active during the night, so the best time to put out food is just after dusk, when they are starting to search for food. The Autumn and Winter months are the most important for them to find food to put on enough weight before hibernation, so always make sure you put out food at this time of year.
[Q] When do hedgehogs hibernate?
[A] Typically, hedgehogs hibernate from late December / early January until late March time. However, this is very dependent on the weather and the individual hedgehog, as some will hibernate earlier or later and some not at all!"
Source:
https:/ /www.st tiggywi nkles.o rg.uk/h edgehog -fact-s heet/
"[Q] What should I feed a hedgehog?
[A] Hedgehogs are insectivores, so the best diet is the bugs and grubs in your garden, which will also help keep the ‘pests’ down. Therefore, the best way to feed hedgehogs would actually be to encourage more insects into your garden. You can do this by leaving some areas a bit wild, planting native plants and shrubs, creating log piles, putting in bug hotels and having fresh water available (ideally a wildlife pond with a ramp for mammals to climb out).
However, to encourage them in to your garden you could offer a ‘top-up’ meal of a good meaty-based diet. We recommend a small dish of any meat flavour dog or cat food, plus a handful of dog or cat biscuits to keep their teeth healthy. Feeding hedgehogs in your garden should only be a supplement to their natural diet, or to help them during the harder Winter months, so it is important to not offer too much of any one type of food.
Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant so milk can make them very ill and should never be offered. Instead, put out a dish of fresh water each night. Hedgehogs are active during the night, so the best time to put out food is just after dusk, when they are starting to search for food. The Autumn and Winter months are the most important for them to find food to put on enough weight before hibernation, so always make sure you put out food at this time of year.
[Q] When do hedgehogs hibernate?
[A] Typically, hedgehogs hibernate from late December / early January until late March time. However, this is very dependent on the weather and the individual hedgehog, as some will hibernate earlier or later and some not at all!"
Source:
https:/
I feed mine a ready made hedgehog food. I use a feeding station to stop cats, etc stealing the food and to provide the hedgehogs with a bit of safety. My feeder is about three foot away from my back door and they’ll use it whilst I am outside. I’ve splashed out on a new feeding station this year, it’s about 3 times bigger than the old one as they were queuing up to get in it last year.