As slightly warmer weather starts arriving, the hedgehogs come out of hibernation. Depending on how mild it has been over the past few weeks, some may have already been out and about for a little while.
This means they will be looking for more food, now they need more to keep up with the energy burnt on their nightly wanders. Hedgehogs can cover a lot of ground in just a day, so it's important they maintain a good diet as well.
What can you feed them?
There's plenty of things Hedgehogs can eat, don't forget you just want to be helping their diet, not completely supplying it. If you were, the hedgehog would be dependent on you for food and would not be able to source itself, so imagine now you went away on holiday for two weeks, he'd likely get quite hungry!
Dog or cat food is a good one, especially if you have dogs or cats anyway. I have found though that leaving out cat food tends to attract other cats, even if it's in a special hedgehog house, so I switched to dog food and had far less issues.
They also like some fruits, seeds and berries, but this is something they can probably find for themselves on their travels, they also eat meat from dead animals they encounter, and a huge number of insects.
Strangely, they also seem to like spice. I wouldn't recommend feeding them this, but in my garden, we caught one munching away on a curry plant, and weren't able to plant them again, they always got eaten!
While hedgehogs are nocturnal, you may catch a glimpse in the late evening as the light lasts a little longer heading into Summer. But be aware that a hedgehog out in broad daylight could be a sign of something wrong, so it's best to report this to a vet or local trust.
