Hedgehog Food
Hedgehog Food for First Timers
What is the best hedgehog food? That’s the question you have now that you have your little whining friend home.
Dry cat food:
Yeah, that’s right. Dry cat food is the main staple of hedgehog diet. You should place it in a small bowl in your hedgehog’s aquarium and refill it every day.
Of course, feral hedgehogs would not usually come across cat food but the nutritional balance is just what a hedgehog needs. Most hedgehogs will take to this hedgehog food like a duck to water.
Chicken:
We’re not talking KFC here (for that matter it’s not that healthy for you either), but a nicely cooked piece of chicken will go over well with your hedgehog. Not only is chicken a good source of protein for your prickly little cuddle bug, but its softness makes for a good alternative to the hard dry cat food.
Preparation is easy. Buy boneless chicken and cook it thoroughly. Then slice it into small strips or chunks and serve it in a bowl. Some owners find it works best mixing it with some cat food, but if you do this be sure to replace the entire bowl at the end of the day so that the chicken doesn’t rot in the food and create an unhealthy situation.
Apples:
Apples are another delicacy when it comes to hedgehog food. Again, a lot of it comes down to textures. Hedgehogs like a variety of textures in their diet and apples offer that great intermediate step between the hardness of cat food and the softness of chicken.
Just peel the apple and then slice it up into nice edible chunks. Don’t mix with cat food to avoid unnecessary mess.
Beans, Corn and Rice
Mixed or served separately, hedgehogs love these three treats. Hedgehogs probably don’t notice the color, but they will often pick out one and leave the others, taking a liking to beans for example over rice or corn over beans. It is most likely because of both the shape and the taste that they choose one.
When this happens, some owners will simply feed the hedgehog only beans, rice, or corn depending on what our little burrowing friend has chosen, but often a better solution is to keep trying the other types at intervals—like you would for a child. You will often see hedgehog’s tastes alter over time and they will become more accepting of a larger range of hedgehog food. Sometimes they will just switch their preference from one type to another. So rather than take any one decision as final, you are best off continuing to give your hedgehog different choices so that he might satisfy his palette as he sees fit on any given day.
Preparation is simple as can be. Just boil or microwave, wait to cool, and serve. Hedgie will love you for it.
Mealworms and Crickets
It might be hard to believe, but our little hedgehogs eat insects in the wild, so you really should have a steady diet of mealworms and crickets as hedgehog food. These are best served live since that is how they will be freshest for hedgie.
If the thought of serving worms and crickets makes your stomach churn, then you can also get them in dehydrated form, though true hedgehog aficionados (if we can all them that) will look down upon your lack of care for your hedgehog’s natural instincts.
You should really try to go the live route if you can at all manage it. And think, you will never have to watch Nature again; you’ll have the law of the jungle demonstrated for you every morning at feeding time. If you have a 9-12 year old boy of your own or a nephew you can invite over you will find the true audience for this. What a treat, huh?
Finally, don’t forget calcium supplements and filling hedgie’s water bottle and changing the cage and you should be just about good to go. Oh yeah, and hedgies need lots of love too. Don’t forget to add that to the menu.