How Can We Feed The Hedgehog?

[chappie]

We have been putting out dried mealworms for several weeks, and a hedgehog has been eating them every evening. We are about to go on holiday for a week, and feel sad that we won't be able to leave him any food out - we always put his food out just as it is getting dark, so the birds don't get it (we feed them separately during the day).

Has any ABer had any success with those automatic feeders you can buy to feed your cat? Do you think we could feed a hedgehog with one?

We have a friend who will be calling round during the day to feed our pet birds while we are away, but we don't feel that we can ask him to call round late at night to feed the hedgehog, as we think it is asking too much of him.

Any suggestions please? Thanks very much.

[ruthiebabie]

You can get dried hedgehog food at Pets at Home - think its called Spikes (and other stores) which is like cat biscuits. Could the person who is feeding the birds pop it out in a bowl each day - theres a good chance most of it will still be there by night time.

The automatic feeders are OK but they only last a couple of days so you would have to get your friend to wind it back up and reset it anyway.

[chappie]

That's a good idea but we get lots of starlings in our garden, whatever food we put out, they come down in swarms and clear it all up.

We are only going away for a week, and we were thinking of trying one of those feeders you can set for 3 days, then coming back home in the middle of the week to reset it, or we could ask our friend to reset it. It's not ideal but we don't know what to do for best. The thing is, we are wondering if these things really work and if they are reliable.

Many thanks for your reply.

[ruthiebabie]

They are reliable for sure - I use one that I got from Argos - basically you pop the food in (it has chill packs if you were using it for a cat/dog to keep the meat fresh) - then you just wind it up - set the times you want it pop open at and leave it.

It would be easy enough for a friend to reset

[chappie]

Thanks ruthiebabie. Does the one you got from Argos have batteries in it? And can you set it for more than one day? Do you remember how much you paid for it? I appreciate your reply.

[burnhal]

Do you really need to worry about the hedgehog for a week? It will get by quite happily without any help- at this time of year there is natural food by the bucket load. Its nice to feed them- if only so we can watch them- but not really neccesary.

[chappie]

Thanks for your reply burnhal. I am sure you are right and he would easily survive, but I think he will look elsewhere for his food if our source stops for a week, and as you mention, it is more because we enjoy watching him come and have his fill, rather than him not being able to find food.

He has turned up every evening for about eight weeks now, we have watched him grow from a tiny little thing. Originally a second hedgehog used to come with him (possibly his parent) but sadly this one died (we found the body near our house) and he continued to come alone. He is still very small and looks like he could do to be fattened up. We have a long garden and he walks quite a distance onto our patio for his dish of food.

We see him scuffling around on the patio, looking for the mealworms we put out, and he is there for ages eating them, he seems to enjoy them very much.

It is simply that we don't want to spoil his readily-available supper, that we are looking for a way to continue with his treat. Thanks again for your views.

[burnhal]

The hedgehog very likely has a pretty set 'patrol routine' It likely doesnt spend too long at your mealworms but does the rounds of its known food haunts and fills its face all night! I daresay it will carry on that routine and still appear in your garden.

[chappie]

My husband and I are wildlife fans and have watched him through binoculars eating the mealworms, frequently he spends over an hour munching on them! It is so funny to watch.

I hope you are right and he will still keep to his 'patrol routine'. You would have to see it to believe it, he seems to make a beeline from the bottom of the garden to the patio where the worms are, without stopping to investigate any other possible food and he moves much faster than we thought hedgehogs could!

[ruthiebabie]

Am pretty sure we paid about �15 for it. I cant remember if it has batteries or not - will check as its in the garage tonight but I'm sure its called a clockwork feeder which would suggest its battery free.

[chappie]

Thanks for that, ruthiebabie.

[sparkyrover]

if he his sleeping somewhere he probably will find his own food for a week. dont think he will wonder off and not come back. havent you a next door neighbour who would help?

[chappie]

Yes, we have neighbours both sides of our house, but they are not overly friendly, they very much keep themselves to themselves, and we would prefer not to ask anyone for any favours if there is an alternative.

There is apparently a feeder that works for 96 hours, you can set it to dispense at your chosen times, designed to feed your cat while you are away. We are thinking about getting one and trying it out .

As you say, we are sure the hedgehog will be okay and be able to find its own food, it is just that it has become used to an easy feed from us, we have been feeding it for several weeks. It comes from the bottom of the garden straight to the dish, and it seems to enjoy the worms very much, so we would like to carry on putting them out if possible.

We are not at all worried about it perishing without them though - that is definitely not a concern for us, and we are fully aware that there will be some people who think we are completely bonkers to even think about continuing with the feeds while we are on holiday. My own thoughts are that it takes all sorts to make a world!

Many thanks for your reply.