Feeding time.

[berty]

With the nights slowly drawing in to a close and the winter months coming, hoggy will by now be ready to store up the fat reerves for the winter hibernation. And I’m begining to wonder what would be the best food to give them. I looked on the supermarket shelf for wildlife and came across a product called ‘Fatballs’ Though it’s a birdfood I wonder if this would be an ideal food source for hoggy. Has anyone got any ideas.

[Baldwin hedgehog]

Hi Bert,
I think the general opinion is cat biscuits or tinned meat but not fish flavoured. Uneaten biscuit doesn’t attract flies so is a better option than cat meat in my opinion. I wouldn’t be surprised if you can buy cat biscuits cheaper than the fat balls either so you’ll save money. Wild bird food is always pricey. I don’t think hedgehogs need to eat high sources of fat in order to gain weight for winter and cat food has good protein and minerals for general health.
With biscuits they will need a water bowl to.
As you will read on the forum dried mealworms or sunflower hearts are not recommended.
Good luck

[berty]

That’s lovely. Thank you very much Baldwin hedgehog. That’s put my mind at rest.

[moatel]

I’m a bit concerned I had rea that dried mealworms and sunflower hearts were good for hogs I put a mixture out every night of Kitten chicken flakes, peanuts chips, sunflower hearts and dried mealworms and the hogs gobble it up, why is it not recommended? the other thing that facinates me is that though I put the feed out at different times during the evening, I hardly get back indoors before my hogs are at the dish chomping away, now how does that happen its as though they know the food will be there at some time and are hovering in the undergrowth waiting is that what they do because they must be really close by due to the speed that they appear.

[Baldwin hedgehog]

Hi Moatel,
I think the issue with mealworms and to a lesser degree sunflower hearts is something that has only recently come to light but its to do with the very high levels of phosphorous which can result in bone development problems and vets and carers are seeing more and more hedgehogs with this. Left unnoticed these hedgehogs don’t stand a chance of leading a normal life.
I used to feed mealworms because the hedgehogs love them but they don’t know whats bad for them sometimes so now i just feed cat biscuits.
I understand hedgehogs get used to being fed and once you start feeding they’ll most likely head straight to it and by the sounds of it they’ve got used to you and hang around waiting for food. I believe their sense of smell is incredible so they probably smell you coming

[Author]

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