what to feed hedgehog

You can safely feed a hedgehog a mainly meat‑based, high‑protein, low‑fat diet, using quality hedgehog or cat food as the base and adding small amounts of insects and safe fruits/veg, while avoiding milk, bread, nuts, seeds and toxic foods like avocado.

Quick Scoop: Safe Hedgehog Menu

Think of a pet hedgehog’s diet as: good quality kibble every day, bugs for fun, and tiny bits of produce for variety.

Daily “Main Meal” (Staple Diet)

• High‑quality, meat‑based hedgehog food or low‑fat cat/kitten food (dry or wet).

• Check the label: first ingredient should be meat (chicken, turkey, etc.), not corn or sugar.

• Aim for a higher protein, moderate fat formula, as hedgehogs are insectivores that need good quality protein.

Typical serving (adult, average size – always adjust with your vet’s advice):

• 1–2 tablespoons of kibble in the evening, removed in the morning so they don’t overeat.

Insects: The “Natural” Treats

In the wild, hedgehogs eat lots of invertebrates like beetles, caterpillars and worms.

Good insect options (as supplements, not bulk of the diet):

• Crickets (ideally gut‑loaded with nutritious food first).

• Mealworms and earthworms, in very small quantities and not every day.

• Commercial insect mixes for insectivorous pets, offered sparingly.

Important notes:

• Dried insects are less nutritious; fine as occasional treats only.

• Some wildlife groups now warn that too many mealworms may contribute to metabolic bone issues, so use them rarely and in tiny amounts.

Fruit & Veg: Tiny Side Dishes

Hedgehogs only need small amounts of produce, but it helps with variety and enrichment.

Safe vegetables (well‑washed, chopped, and some lightly cooked):

• Dark leafy greens like spinach and kale (in moderation).

• Cooked carrots (soft, small pieces).

Safe fruits (tiny portions, 1–3 teaspoons total of mixed fruit/veg per day at most):

• Apple, pear, banana (no seeds, peel tough bits, cut into tiny cubes).

Avoid:

• Starchy veg (e.g., potatoes) and low‑nutrition veg like iceberg lettuce and celery.

What NOT to Feed a Hedgehog

Some foods are harmful, others just useless nutritionally. Avoid completely:

• Milk or dairy: hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and can get diarrhea.

• Bread: fills them up but has very poor nutritional value.

• Avocado: toxic to hedgehogs.

• Raw meat or raw eggs: infection risk; only cooked egg in small amounts is acceptable.

• Nuts and seeds: choking risk and can get stuck in the mouth; also linked to mineral imbalance issues.

• Very hard foods like raw carrot chunks, whole peanuts, or large dry treats, which may lodge in the mouth or be difficult to chew.

• Sugary, salty “people food”, chocolate, processed meats, junk snacks – treat as strictly off‑limits unless a vet explicitly approves something.

Water: Essential Drink

• Always provide a shallow dish of fresh, clean water.

• Refresh daily and clean the bowl regularly.
• Never offer milk, even to wild hedgehogs in the garden.

Wild Hedgehogs in the Garden

If you’re feeding wild hedgehogs outside rather than a pet:

• Their main natural diet: beetles, earthworms, caterpillars, earwigs and millipedes.

• Best supplementary foods:
  • Meat‑based wet cat or dog food.
  • Dry cat/kitten biscuits.
  • Quality hedgehog food with high meat content and no added nuts, seeds, fruit or large amounts of mealworms.

• Don’t use slug pellets or insecticides in your garden; these remove natural prey and can poison hedgehogs.

• Put food and water out at dusk in a sheltered spot, and clear leftovers by morning to avoid pests.

Simple Daily Feeding Plan (Pet Hedgehog)

1. Evening staple
   • 1–2 tbsp of hedgehog or low‑fat cat kibble.

2. Enrichment treats (a few times per week)
   • 2–4 gut‑loaded crickets or a couple of small worms, given in a way that encourages foraging (scatter or hide them).

3. Produce sampler (not daily)
   • 1–3 teaspoons total of mixed safe fruit/veg in tiny pieces.

4. Always available
   • Fresh water, no milk.

Watch body weight: hedgehogs can become obese, so if yours is getting round or less active, talk to an exotics‑experienced vet and trim back portions.

Quick HTML Table of Safe vs Unsafe Foods

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Category	Safe to Feed	Unsafe / Avoid
Staple food	Meat-based hedgehog food, low-fat cat/kitten food, meat as first ingredient.	Bread-only diets, cheap foods with sugar, lots of grains or fillers.
Insects	Gut-loaded crickets, small amounts of mealworms and earthworms as treats.	Large quantities of mealworms or insect-only diets (risk of bone issues).
Vegetables	Spinach, kale, cooked carrots in tiny pieces.	Iceberg lettuce, celery, starchy veg like potatoes.
Fruit	Apple, pear, banana, seedless and chopped, in small portions.	Fruit-heavy diets, sugary or dried fruit mixes.
Protein extras	Small pieces of cooked egg as an occasional treat.	Raw egg, raw meat, processed meats.
Drinks	Fresh, clean water in a shallow dish.	Milk or dairy products of any kind.
Other	High-quality hedgehog food without nuts/seeds/fruit/mealworms as bulk.	Avocado, nuts, seeds, very hard foods, “junk” human snacks.

A Tiny Story to Remember It

Imagine your hedgehog as a little nighttime hunter who’s been promoted to living indoors: you give them a bowl of “pre‑hunted” kibble, hide a few crunchy crickets like treasure, and finish with a couple of soft carrot cubes. They waddle off satisfied, with a fresh drink of water and no milk, bread or nuts in sight – just what their wild cousins would quietly approve of.

TL;DR: Feed a hedgehog meat‑based hedgehog or cat food as the main diet, add a few insects and small bits of safe fruit/veg for variety, always offer water (never milk), and avoid bread, nuts, seeds, avocado, raw meat/eggs and sugary “people food”.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.