If you wish to encourage hedgehogs to visit or even make your garden their home any hedgehog will always welcome the offering of food.
What to feed
A meat based pet food is fine, the plainer the better, also a little dried hedgehog or cat food is good as it keeps the teeth sharp and clean. However, they can be very fussy and very cheap foods are not always acceptable. If you have a problem with cats stealing the food, try offering some unsweetened muesli or Weetabix and a handful of raisins. Alternatively a feeding station can be used (see below). In hot weather even if you do not leave out food a bowl of clean water can help a struggling hedgehog.
Remember when you go away on holiday either ask a neighbour to continue feeding or over a couple of weeks before hand start to reduce the food left out. Hedgehogs are creatures of habit and know where to look for food and may become reliant on the food you leave out.
Creating a feeding station
The idea is to provide something that is high enough for the hedgehog and its food to go under, but too low for a cat to reach the food. You could try a paving slab on bricks (leave a gap between 2 of the bricks as an entrance hole) or obtain one of those blue plastic mushroom boxes (from supermarkets). Cut a 12.5cm x 12.5cm (5” x 5”) hole in one of the short sides so when the box is upside down the hole becomes an entrance. Put the food at the far end and weigh the box down with a stone. Fresh water is the best thing to offer as a drink. A small plastic toy or storage box will also work well.
The majority of the information above was reproduced with the kind permission of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
