What Food is harmful to Hedgehogs? | Hedgehog's Hollow

[@patriciay7015]

Brambles hedgehog food contains wheat but I am told by the manufacturers that their products are made in accordance with the appropriate wildlife trust. As you say Mike there are little regulations on the matter but I wish it were clearer. I don’t wish to cause harm to my hedgehog. Thank you again for this video.

[@HedgehogsHollow]

I did try to get two of the more well known manufacturers to join me on the channel but it proved to be very difficult and never actually materialised. We can only hope that some of the claims that the various producers make about the quality and ingredients of their food stand up to scrutiny, and rely on the input of cleverer people than myself to give us advice on the quality of different foods - which to use and which to very much stay away from.

[@dirkdiggler3605]

Another great video, I’ve learned so much from your videos, thanks

[@HedgehogsHollow]

Thanks, Dirk, I am glad to hear you're enjoying the content.

[@Pete.Ty1]

Thank you 😊👍

[@HedgehogsHollow]

You are very welcome - I am pleased it’s useful.

[@joannaridley5166]

I have a mummy and 2 baby's that come into my garden.. I have made a feed station with a bigger box them yours

[@sharrongray1837]

Oh no IV been feeding my little 🦔🦔🦔🦔 neal worm's I didn't realize I hope there going to be ok I'm going to shop tomorrow morning to get some little cat biscuits or dog biscuits it's just when I tried to feed them last summer they left the car food and just went straight to the worm's

[@lesallison9047]

We need regulation on wildlife food.

[@BetrayedAndAmused]

I absolutely agree. As long as there are no regulations people can put anything in it and claim it is healthy and balanced, even if they know it’s harmful. Peanuts, bird seed and mealworms are terribly bad for hedgehogs but many people feed it to them without knowing the harmful effects.

[@lesallison9047]

@@BetrayedAndAmused Hi, sorry for a late reply. Yes many people with good hearts put the wrong foods out. It is up to us to spread the knowledge. Kind regards. 🦔 ❤ 👋🙂👍

[@dianestiner8602]

In my country Switzerland it is worse. Wild life just neglected ! And lots of very bad food sold ...😢😢

[@ourhedgehogsshropshire6459]

Keep up the good work

[@HedgehogsHollow]

Thank you very much for visiting the channel and leaving a comment

[@BetrayedAndAmused]

Sunflower hearts, mealworms and suet are very bad for hedgehogs. Should be avoided. They only ever eat snails and slugs if they are starving. These can cause lungworm.

[@helenbenjafield7351]

They frequently eat slugs&snails in preference to healthy cat food or freshly cooked chicken.

[@BetrayedAndAmused]

They will eat slugs or snails ONLY if they are hungry. Snails and slugs are frequently infected with lungworm so this can harm hedgehogs.

[@jeanhooson2933]

Hi I now have a Hedgehog coming to my garden , I have made a food station box that it can get in and out with no trouble and the cats my cats don’t go in. Where or which cat or dog biscuits as the ones I have looked at all seem even though it says meat have wheat and gluten, so I am really worried on what and which to give , as I am very worried about feeding the wrong food if u could help I would be very grateful thank you Jean

[@HedgehogsHollow]

Hi Jean, Well done on creating the feeding station. I appreciate the concern that the choice of food to provide hedgehogs can bring, but I would advise that any food you're giving your own cats would be good for the hedgehogs. If you have taken the care to make a choice for your own pets, that same food will be good for the hedgehogs - and yes, I know that there are cheaper varieties and poorer options, but very often the most recommended biscuits is the Tesco brand kitten biscuit, so there's nothing wrong with a "non-brand" option. There is much more regulation around the production of pet foods than wildlife foods. SO if you are happy to provide the food to your own pets, that will be good for the hedgehogs. At this time of year, don't leave too much out - hedgehogs have a lovely supply of natural food, and I know in my garden they do prefer the natural offerings.

[@jeanhooson2933]

@@HedgehogsHollow hi thank you so much for your reply , I had crush a very small amount of my 2 rescued cats biscuit s but that are mainly chicken science plan biscuits only been putting 1 table spoon and in its other dish a table spoon of (purina ONE) but will find it much easier with the Kitten biscuit , now I know that the biscuits will be ok is the wet food just a little ok to carry on in the beef variety I wonder if they can manage Snails as finding a few empty shells around the edge of the lawn but the black birds do also seem to soon get snails out of there shells and to think I could never do anything with them and rescue them out of the garden waste bin as felt sorry for them and the slugs now I am welcoming the Hedgehog who loves to eat all the things I’ve been careful not to harm ! Ah well there we go . Very unsure about getting an hibernation box as for all I know he may also visiting some one else an not sure if he leaves my garden or just gets under the plants and stays here , I guess watching your videos he will go on his travels as they haven’t a lot of dark hours in summer , before have to get tucked in and wait for dark again . Plus we have a road at the front of the house so I dread the thought that when he/she as been to visit although it’s not a main road but we still get a few that go at crazy speed late at night so now am forever standing watching my drive to see if can see him leaving and worrying about his safety and with there being the road there am I doing the wrong thing by encouraging it into my garden it’s worrying , Did think about putting a road sign saying road closed 😂but don’t think the residents on here would see the funny side of it some how thanks for the videos will keep watching and finding out what to do or not do getting a bit old for creeping about in the middle of the night with a torch Jean

[@lesallison9047]

@@jeanhooson2933 ❤

[@helenbenjafield7351]

James Wellbeloved is gluten-free.

[@tonyf68]

Hi Mike, are dried calci worms (available from Wilko and Amazon) good for hedgehogs? They’re high in calcium apparently?

[@HedgehogsHollow]

Hi Tony, That's a great question. You're right, they do appear to be a described as a better alternative to the harmful mealworms, though I've only found that being said by sellers, rather than authoritative sources, like the British Hedgehog Preservation Society for example. I must say, I'm inclined to err on the side of 'extremely cautious' when it comes to these kinds of questions. Whilst they may be good, it's unlikely that hedgehogs would find such high volumes of similar food in the wild, and so the concentration and sheer amount of calci worms may actually be harmful, due to there now being an imbalance in the hedgehog's diet. I know that cat's biscuits are obviously not naturally part of a wild hedgehog's diet, but they are indicated by authoritative sources as being good, and so personally I tend to stick to just providing cats biscuits. I may be simply overcautious, but my advice would be to not stray away from simply providing your visitors with cat’s biscuits

[@tonyf68]

@@HedgehogsHollow that’s great, thanks very much! 👍

[@BetrayedAndAmused]

Good advice. A complete dried ‘kitten’ food is best.

[@kevinallison2856]

So are dried mealworms harmful to them.

[@tonyf68]

@@kevinallison2856 yes they are. Offer dry cat food instead (poultry flavours).

[@tonyf68]

Sounds like mealworms aren’t good for hedgehogs? I didn’t know that!

[@HedgehogsHollow]

It used to be that they were recommended not so long ago, and you can still find places (some times very reputable web sites) that continue to recommend mealworms. But they have been proven to be very harmful and it's suggested now that they are not given to hedgehogs at all. Sadly, there does continue to be a lot of contradictory advice out there.

[@tonyf68]

@@HedgehogsHollow that’s good to know then, thanks for the information 👍

[@BetrayedAndAmused]

Yes, a lot of people still feed hedgehogs mealworms, but this causes the bones to thin and will cripple a hedgehog, eventually killing him. Mealworms are very dangerous.

[@lewismaund1086]

Lewis dereham hedgehog home

[@HedgehogsHollow]

Great to have you visit the channel, thank you for your comment.

[@bobbyd7553]

Thank you for highlighting the wrong food. But how about naming and shaming the commercial suppliers who are providing the food that is bad for them and identifying those that are providing food that is good for them. Drive out the bad suppliers who are just taking the money and encourage good suppliers and enhance the market for them. A simple matrix with brand name - WITH TRAFFIC LIGHTS RED - DONT BUY, ITS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR HEDGEHOG AMBER; DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY; NOT ENOUGH GOOD STUFF, TOO MUCH BAD STUFF GREEN - DEFINITELY GOOD FOR HEDGEHOGS

[@hedgehogwildlifejunction9119]

I dont use cat food it just brings all the cats lol.

[@HedgehogsHollow]

Yes, that can be a problem - and it proved to be so for me recently too. But I've managed to at least protect the food for the hedgehogs with the feeding station. The cat still comes visiting but at least doesn't get any of the food.

[@helenbenjafield7351]

Put the food behind large plant pots,most pots taper enough at the bottom to facilitate the access of a hedgehog,but not a cat.It works well for my hedgehogs&they feel protected while eating.