Whats in your dish?
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Lots of interesting information guys. As a newbie I’m still learning what’s best for HH. I’ve read conflicting information about peanuts, I’m sure I read on hedgehog street somewhere that a few peanuts chopped up were ok, maybe Im mistaken and I will check it out again.
My little visitor is still coming every night, but not always eating the jellied dog food of the hedgehog specific food that I bought. Having read various opinions on feeding I bought some dry cat food, but the only interest was from the local cats lol.
I was putting the food in a feeding station (an adapted under bed box ) but I gave up on that, as HH was looking through the entrance at the food but wouldn’t risk going in.
I was beginning to think it was something I was doing wrong. So last night I reverted to putting the dog food hidden in the undergrowth and kept nipping out to make the cats weren’t about. And I think I now know why hog isn’t bothering much with the diet I have chosen. When I nipped out to check the food was still in the dish, I saw three gigantic slugs that clearly had a death wish, because they had slithered into the dish and appeared to be feasting on the dog meat! I’ve never used slug pellets and as an avid gardener, my garden is packed full ( perfect for hogs) if it says on the label attracts bees and good for wildlife etc I buy it.
So I’m not too worried now about Hog getting enough food this time of year, although I will keep putting it out and making sure there is plenty of water.My mistake, I knew I had read peanuts were ok. It was quite frustrating really, because I had read a google post first from a rescue centre that said whole peanuts get stuck in HH mouth, so I painstakingly removed every dropped peanut from my garden!
Maybe someone should educate them!
They can eat the following goodies: – Dried mealworms, sunflower hearts, and crushed peanuts. – Hedgehog food, such as Spike’s Dinner and Spike’s Tasty Semi-Moist, which is wonderfully nutritious for hedgehogs of all ages, including baby hedgehogs (“urchins”!).
https://petopedia.petscorner.co.uk › …Hi Hettie
I hope no-one misunderstands your last post and thinks that dried mealworms, sunflower hearts and peanuts might be good for hogs. Just to be clear for everyone else – they are best avoided completely. All have an imbalance of phosphorous to calcium which can lead to bone problems. Sunflower hearts and peanuts to a lesser extent than mealworms but are best not fed unless they are part of a properly balanced hedgehog food.
Dried mealworms not only have an imbalance of phosphorous and calcium, but they have low nutritional value and hogs can become addicted to them. This has, I understand been a problem for carers/rescues/rehabilitators in the past when hogs, especially young ones, refuse to eat anything else – when it is the mealworms which may have caused their problem to start with.
The site you mentioned seems to be a site for pets, therefore, presumably pet hedgehogs(?) – a different type of hedgehog. Wild hedgehogs do not need treats. It is treat enough for them that we are putting out supplementary food for them. But if we are offering them something, it needs to be of good quality. We don’t want them filling up on things which aren’t particularly good for them.
There is information on the main part of Hedgehog Street about feeding which is more reliable than much you can read elsehwere on the internet.
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/feed-hedgehogs/
Quite a while ago, I think crushed peanuts were considered o.k. but knowledge advances and now we know there are better things.Re. the slugs. It can look quite strange to someone who is thinking hedgehogs eat slugs! But they don’t tend to go for those really big ones, which are the ones which seem to go for the hog food here. A bit big for their little mouths to tackle, I think. The good news is that I understand it is the much smaller slugs which do most damage to plants and they are the ones hogs are more likely to eat. The hogs here never seem at all bothered by sharing a bowl with slugs!
I wouldn’t keep moving the food around too often, or the hog won’t know where to look for it. You really need to stick to one type of food for a while. If the hog is hungry it will eat it. Give it a chance to get used to one type of food. Alternatively, maybe you have got a good wildlife garden with plenty of other food! But if the hog is one you have fairly newly discovered, presumably it was getting food from somewhere else before either wild, or someone else feeding.
Personally, I would be more inclined to use cat food than dog food and probably chicken variety. I understand it’s more easily digested. But I know that others do use dog food.
Your garden sounds lovely – glad to hear you don’t use slug pellets. Best not to use chemicals at all, I always think, and let things sort themselves out. Then the ladybirds come in to eat the aphids, the birds to eat the caterpillars, etc.
Good luck with the hog.
Hi Nic Yes I also hope no one misunderstood my post! So sorry if I caused confusion. But thankfully your brilliant response should sort that one out.
Hedgehogs as pets! the very thought disturbs me!
As for moving the food, I haven’t moved it far, just not in the box anymore. Hog managed to find it tonight, but didn’t eat much . Think maybe I’m worrying too much about doing the right thing. I’ve had HH in my garden for years, but never had the time before to take much interest. Your comments about addiction to bad foods is very interesting. I’ve never bought mealy worms as they seem to attract lots of starlings, which seem to have a direct impact on the variety of birds that visit. But I have always fed peanuts and until recently, I have never been concerned about the ones dropping to the floor as the pigeons tend to clear them up. However, since learning about the feeding habits of HH , I’m now inclined to think it may have been the peanuts attracting the hedgehogs to my garden in the first place. And now I have changed all my feeders to the netted type that don’t drop, HH are not quite so impressed with the menu on offer.
Thanks for your advice all very useful.Hi Hettihog
You may be worrying a bit too much – it’s a bit of an occupational hazard with hogs! They give us a huge amount of pleasure, but a fair amount of worry as well. I expect the hog will get used to the menu eventually. As you say, at the moment, there may be more wild food around than usual. But we may get a warm dry spell, when worms, etc. are not so easy to come by and then the hog might be grateful for a bit of supplementary food and water. Although I always leave water out, even if it’s raining!
I think the thing to remember, with hogs is that we can’t know about something until we find out about it. All we can do is try our best for the hogs.
I think many of us found it was the food the birds dropped, which initially drew our attention to the hogs’ visits – me included, many years ago. I don’t think that would have done them too much harm – I know here, there are always lots of birds on the ground picking up any bits that might have been spilt, so there isn’t usually much left by evening. But we don’t want to be giving the hogs any more of that sort of thing, on top of what they may find. Especially as others, elsewhere, may be doing just that.
I know what you mean about the starlings. I get them here, too – and rooks and jackdaws. But luckily each species tend to all swoop in together and then disappear so it gives the smaller birds a chance to get a look in. I rather like the starlings, even though they are a bit quarrelsome! Especially when they get into the bird baths and send the water flying in all directions! The blackbirds seem to have learnt that if I’m around they have a better chance of getting the food as the starlings are a bit more jumpy. So, they make sure I know they’re there and that I put more food out especially for them. There’s a bit of a day shift and a night shift. When evening comes certain things get re-arranged for the hedgehogs. At night time, it’s their domain and during the day, the birds – and all the insects, etc., of course!
Well the sun is finally shining. Bees buzzing and birds feeding. I must get out and tend to their garden for them!
Thanks everyone for posting, its been a very interesting post with some great answers and knowledge, I now just put Mr Johnsons Wild Hedgehog food out. Last year I put a stream in my garden and this has a constant supply of water so that’s covered now, I even put a few bridges in but the stream isn’t deep at all anyhow with nicely sloped sides.
Hi,
We get nightly visits from various hogs. I have a feeding station set up with a long “tunnel” entrance to prevent the local cats from eating the food. I have set up a wildlife camera that records their antics.
The food I mainly use is Wilkinsons Mr Johnsons hedgehog biscuits mixed with Bakers small dog soft beef or chicken biscuits.
The only nights we don’t have any visitors are really wet evenings, think they don’t like getting wet .
Our neighbour also has a wildlife camera set up and has recorded baby hogs in their garden.
Not sure how to attach photos, will try to figure it out.Cheers
Trev
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