What do hedgehogs eat and drink? Food and feeding information

We have two types of hedgehogs. The brown-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) in particular is widespread throughout the country. The northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus), which only occurs in the outskirts of East Germany, is rarer. Hedgehogs live as solitary animals and are insectivores. The spiny animals are typical cultural followers and have adapted surprisingly quickly to urban habitats. They can also be found more and more often in home gardens or city parks.

habitat

While hedgehogs used to be predominantly at home in richly structured habitats, they are now mainly found in the vicinity of humans. The animals do not make high demands on their habitats. The prerequisite, however, is that they find enough hiding places and sufficient food in a confined space. Until a few decades ago, a varied, open cultural landscape was available to the hedgehog as a natural habitat. Hedges, low trees and species-rich meadows offered protection and a rich supply of food.

In the course of the spread of monocultures and progressive settlement, however, this basis of life for the animals has disappeared.

The adaptable spiny animal finds a new home in semi-natural parks and gardens that offer the structural diversity it needs. Today, urban hedgehogs only have very small territories, and they often build their nests in the immediate vicinity of people. Often we don't even notice that a hedgehog has its home under a cover or in the bushes in our garden.

food

Hedgehogs are not vegetarians and are not omnivores, as is often assumed. They have a wide range of food, which is mainly limited to invertebrates and their larvae. In nature, hedgehogs eat:

• butterflies and moths
• worms
• isopods
• Beetle
• caterpillars
• grasshoppers
• centipede
• snails
• be crazy
• bird eggs
• occasionally also small mammals

Fallen fruit or other plant food is only eaten in exceptional cases. And if so, then only on the condition that they might find maggots or worms there. The animals prefer to forage on extensively managed meadows or near deadwood to feed on the insects and invertebrates that live there. We can therefore see the prickly animals looking for food until mid-November, after which they go into hibernation.

hibernation

Normally, hedgehogs hibernate for a long time because they cannot find enough food in the cold season. If the temperatures drop to freezing point, the spiny animals have eaten up a thick pad of fat. They look for their quarters, for example, in a well-insulated pile of leaves or under a dense bush. During the cold and nutrient-poor season, their metabolism is reduced to a minimum. For hibernation, hedgehogs depend on finding a safe hiding place and building up a fat reserve. Even hedgehogs in the city hibernate, although the temperatures here are usually significantly higher than in the country.

Drink

The animals cover a large part of their liquid requirements with their food. Nevertheless, they also have to drink something. In nature, hedgehogs drink water from puddles, streams or ponds. And you should get that in the garden too. Hedgehogs like milk, but they can't digest it. Just like cats, the prickly garden dwellers are lactose intolerant. They cannot break down milk sugar and therefore get severe diarrhea, which can lead to the death of the cute animal.

offer drinking facilities

The first warm rays of sunshine already wake up one or two hedgehogs from their hibernation. Since there is little food, they usually crawl back into their winter quarters. When an animal wakes up from hibernation, it initially feels very thirsty. For this reason, watering should be offered as early as spring. If you don't have space for a pond in your garden, you can offer a simple alternative:

• non-tilting, flat bowl with water
• stable trivet with water

It is important that the water point is kept clean and that fresh water is filled in every day. Larger water points should have a flat side on at least one side or be provided with an exit option. This is the only way for the hedgehog to get out again if it should fall into the water. In garden ponds and streams, large stones or just a board that is placed diagonally in the water help. The prickly animals can swim, but that doesn't help in the long run. If the walls are too high and steep, the hedgehog will not be able to get out again and will eventually sink exhausted.

Feed

The animals travel a lot and find enough food in a near-natural garden to take care of themselves. In a habitat where there are hedges, shrubs and lots of grass, the table will be well set for the hedgehog in the warmer months. In this case, supplementary feeding is not only unnecessary, it also does more harm than good. Hedgehog food is very varied and cannot be replaced by commercially available hedgehog food or cat food. In captivity there is a risk of malnutrition and obesity. In this case, spine loss and skin problems are among the more harmless symptoms. Nevertheless, there are some moments when a hedgehog needs help.

Spring (March-April)

If the temperatures in spring rise to around 10 degrees Celsius for a longer period of time, the hedgehog wakes up from hibernation. Usually the males a few weeks before the females. Waking up - i.e. getting the circulation going again - takes a few hours and means an enormous energy consumption for the animal. A hedgehog loses about thirty percent of its weight during hibernation.

Therefore, the starving carnivore immediately starts looking for food. Some hedgehogs wake up very early in the year and go in search of food. When the weather is mild, there are usually enough insects in the garden. However, if the weather is still cool or very unstable, the prickly garden dweller looks forward to lean times.

Autumn

A second food shortage may occur in the fall. At this point, however, it is very important for hedgehogs to eat enough winter fat, otherwise they will not survive the cold season. Hedgehog mothers are particularly affected, as they have lost a great deal of energy and weight while raising their young.

In addition, it is difficult for young animals that were born late in the year to build up enough reserves before the cold sets in. Most hedgehog babies are born in August, some only towards the end of September. In both periods it may therefore be necessary to feed hedgehogs.

The right hedgehog food

If you find an emaciated hedgehog in late autumn, winter or very early spring when daily maximum temperatures are permanently below 6 degrees, you should offer him something to eat and drink. But not just anything, but food that strengthens the animal and keeps it healthy. A weakened animal needs high amounts of protein and fat. Commercially available hedgehog food is not suitable as a complete food because it contains too many carbohydrates. Make sure the food is at room temperature before feeding it. It is best to change the composition of the food at least every two to three days to prevent an unbalanced diet.

• Cat food (wet food) without sauce
• Canned dog food (but cat food contains more protein)
• a cooked egg
• unseasoned scrambled eggs
• fried, unseasoned ground beef
• plus small amounts of fiber-rich additives
• these include: hedgehog dry food, wheat bran or oatmeal
• Mix in about 1 to 2 teaspoons per 100 to 150 g of basic food

Especially in autumn, young hedgehogs and mother hedgehogs who are born late need high-calorie food in order to build up enough fat reserves for the approaching winter. One or two young hedgehogs rummage around for something to eat until late November, because their instinct tells them that they can only survive the cold season with the necessary winter fat. The animal therefore usually builds its protective winter nest too late – and often not sufficiently padded. For this reason, many hedgehog cubs die in the cold season.

Hedgehogs are not allowed to eat these things

Do not feed snails or earthworms you have collected from your garden. These can transmit parasites and further afflict the weakened animal. Hedgehogs will generally try anything you offer them. But they can't tolerate everything. For example, you should never feed milk or fruit and vegetables to hedgehogs. The following foods should not be given:

• nuts and raisins
• all sugary foods
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• salad
• Dairy products (quark, yoghurt, cheese)

feeding time

It is best to feed hedgehogs that live in the wild in the evening at dusk. Hedgehogs are usually nocturnal and start foraging at sunset. If weakened animals or young animals (from October) are in your garden, food should always be freely available.

Misunderstood help

The cheeky little faces and the black beady eyes might make you want to help the animals in autumn and bring them into the house. Apart from a few exceptions, however, this does not make sense. In the wild, they have a better chance of survival. Targeted help is only appropriate for sick, injured and extremely underweight hedgehogs. So if you find a healthy echinoderm in your garden in October or November, it is better to offer it suitable food outside and wait.

Create natural spaces in the garden

The more diverse a habitat is, the more species-rich is the food supply. In rural areas, the animals, which live as solitary creatures, roam very far to find a treat or two. Nevertheless, a single garden can be enough for the hedgehog, as long as it offers everything it needs to live. One of the most important aspects for a hedgehog to feel comfortable is a continuous garden fence.

A slip of about 10 to 15 cm (about a hand's breadth) is already sufficient. If you see a hedgehog in your garden in the fall, you should help him prepare for the winter. You can easily do this by providing good shelters. Examples of suitable places to sleep are:

• dense bushes
• pile of brushwood
• compost heap
• dry cavities in woodpiles
• a room under a staircase

Be sure to leave fallen leaves and twigs in a corner of the garden, as these are the materials the animals use to build and insulate their nests. A tidy garden hardly offers the prickly mammal a place to hide.

Conclusion

Hedgehogs should only be fed when the food supply in nature is not rich enough for the animals to survive without help. This is especially the case in autumn with hedgehog cubs and their mothers who are born late. As a rule, a healthy hedgehog should not be brought into the house, but should rather be supported with suitable food so that it can eat up the necessary fat reserves and hibernate in the wild.

Learn more about hedgehogs