Hedgehog Supplementary Feeding: Evidence and Best Practice

Supplementary feeding of garden hedgehogs is extremely popular. Understanding what helps and what harms allows people to support hedgehog welfare effectively.

Key Facts

An estimated 1 in 3 UK households with gardens provides some food for hedgehogs
Suitable foods include meat-based cat or dog food (wet or biscuit), and specialist hedgehog food
Milk causes diarrhoea in hedgehogs - a common misconception dating from old rural traditions
Bread is nutritionally poor and can cause gut problems - avoid it
Mealworms are now known to cause metabolic bone disease in hedgehogs when given in excess - limit or avoid them
Fresh water is always beneficial - hedgehogs frequently become dehydrated especially in dry summers
Feeding stations that exclude larger animals (foxes, cats) reduce food theft and allow monitoring of hedgehog condition

Welfare Considerations

Supplementary hedgehog feeding, done correctly, has genuine welfare benefits: it provides additional energy for females nursing young, supports underweight animals preparing for winter, and enables closer monitoring of hedgehog health. Done incorrectly - with milk, mealworms, or bread - it can cause diarrhoea, metabolic bone disease, and nutritional imbalance that undermine welfare. The mealworm problem is particularly important: many commercial hedgehog foods previously contained mealworms as a primary ingredient, and responsible manufacturers have reformulated. Check labels carefully and choose meaty cat food as the safest supplementary option.

What You Can Do

Put out a small amount of meaty cat or dog food and fresh water for hedgehogs rather than bread or milk
Avoid mealworm-based hedgehog foods - check ingredient labels on commercial hedgehog food
Install a hedgehog feeding station to keep food accessible to hedgehogs while excluding larger animals
Record hedgehog visits to contribute to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society's mapping project