Hi Hogmeister
It never ceases to amaze me, the things people feed poor unsuspecting hedgehogs. They will eat all sorts of things if they are offered them. I wonder where, in their day to day wild lives, european hedgehogs would come across anything remotely resembling a banana. Bananas are quite sweet and sticky, so I presume have sugars in them, which is not good for hedgehogs tiny little teeth. They need their teeth. They can’t get false ones like humans!
I think part of the problem is that some people, nowadays, keep a different type of hedgehog, as pets and people often seem to feed their pets all sorts of unsuitable things – hence the problems with obesity in pets, which is now becoming more common. Some of the ‘advice’ on the internet, I suspect, springs from this.
To state the obvious, the hedgehogs which visit our gardens are wild animals, not pets. We don’t need to feed them what we would consider to be snacks or ‘treats’. I know people want to help hedgehogs, but, the best thing for them is good quality hedgehog food which has been scientifically tested to make sure it has suitable ingredients, nutritional value, etc., or cat/dog food.
I wish that people would use their inventiveness, instead, to think of better ways to improve the habitat for hedgehogs in their gardens, so that hedgehogs can find their own natural food.
If I were you, I would stick to the hedgehog food which you have found the hedgehogs like. No need for any extras and hopefully you will have healthier ‘happier hogs’ (!) visiting.
I agree, there is probably not enough to worry about spilt under the bird table. (That is how I first knew there were hogs here, many years ago, when I saw one under the bird table). Re. woodmice. One here went almost right up to the hog’s bowl (the boss hog, no less). He looked up in outrage (if a hog can do such a thing!) and the mouse made a hasty retreat.
