It is time to treat little ouch mouse to the gourmet life style with this hedgehog safe food list. Everything listed below is safe, fun, and fabulously healthy. Keeping in mind that hedgies are insectivores requiring a diet high in protein and low in fat, the below suggested items come from successful expert hedgehog owners and breeders. Make sure you read the whole thing, because at the end is a bonus recipe for your hedgehog that Mrs. Tiggy-winkle would enjoy herself we're sure.
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Heavenly Hedgies is an Amazon Associate. We have partnered with them and other reputable merchants when they sell something that we feel will benefit our readers. By purchasing through our links, we may earn a small commission on sales, that helps us continue to provide informative and educational information for hedgie lovers. And the best part is that there is no additional cost to you. Thank you for being a loyal and supportive reader here at Heavenly Hedgies.
Primary Safe Hedgehog Food Source
Healthy hedgies eat about 1-2 tablespoons of food per night and at the heart of their meal is their cat kibble. Yes, hedgehog food exists, but we do not approve of the ingredients within those mixes and highly recommend dry cat food as their main dish. Just because high quality cat food offers all the essential nutrients a hedgehog can really thrive from.
You want to look for cat food that has protein content of about 30-33%, fat content of 10-13%, and fiber content of 3-9%. Anything higher than our fat recommendation could cause fatty liver disease!
An excellent choice for cat food should provide just enough protein and fat needed for a healthy hedgie diet. It should contain no frowned upon fillers or unnecessary ingredients the hedgehogs body wouldn't know what to do with. The brand we absolutely adore is American Journey Duck Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food. It's a great brand that includes everything your hedgehog safe food list requires. In case you don't know how to read the ingredients list, the ingredients that appear first on the ingredient list have a higher amount of it inside the food, so ingredients near the end of the list have a lower concentration. We wanted to point that out just because there is pea fiber (something that is hard NOT to find in a cat food) but the concentrations are low and not dangerous. Pea's are an issue normally because of phosphorus levels BUT in this case, the cat food itself is completely balanced. Yes balanced – it's literally a perfect blend for your hedgehogs metabolic health – especially for their bones and brains. We wish it had a slightly lower percentage of protein, but it's difficult to find the “perfect” food. This one comes pretty darn close though.
Other Safe Hedgehog Foods
in Addition to Cat Kibble
Crunchy Beneficial Insects
The insects you feed your hedgie must only be purchased from a store or trusted bug breeder, because any other type of bug could cause health complications and be toxic. Live bugs are preferred over any other form that can be offered, but you can certainly try canned or freeze dried variations on your hedgehog. Please always check the nutritional values of all bugs given and add them to their daily intake of nutrition from their cat kibble. We would have added butter worms to this list, but believe those should only be given to underweight hedgies due to their high fat content and calcium to phosphorus ratio. You can check out our in-depth article here on hedgehog insects and learn which are the healthiest choice for hedgies. At this time, we only believe the calci worms are beneficial and you can find out why in the above mentioned article on insects.
Hedgehog Fun Fact: Hedgies don't have the ability to process nutrients from fruits and vegetables, but the bugs they eat do! Gut load your feeder worms with vegetables before offering to your hedgehog so they can benefit from vegetables!
Wax Worms
| Protein | Fat | Fiber | Calcium | Phosphorus |
| 14.10% | 24.9% | 3.4% | 243 mg | 1950 mg |
Hornworms
| Protein | Fat | Fiber | Calcium | Phosphorus |
| 9% | 3% | n/a | 46.4 mg | 1394 mg |
Meal Worms
| Protein | Fat | Fiber | Calcium | Phosphorus |
| 22% | 6% | 2.6% | 169 | 2850 mg |
Live Dubia Roaches
| Protein | Fat | Fiber | Calcium | Phosphorus |
| 22% | 6% | 2.6% | 700 mg | 2600 mg |
Cooked Unseasoned Meat
Roasted Chicken Breast
Fresh Baked Salmon
Rare Roast Beef
Scrambled Eggs or Hard Boiled
BONUS: Hedgehog Tacos Recipe
High in Protein Low in Fat, Makes 2 Tacos
Hedgehog Taco Shell Ingredients
- Flour (tbsp)
- Cricket Flour (tbsp)
- Dry Ground Cat Food (tbsp)
- Wet Cat Food (tbsp)
- Water until thick
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl with a spoon, grind up 1 tablespoon of dry cat food. Add one tablespoon of flour and one tablespoon of cricket flour. Blend together. Add 1 tbsp. of wet cat food and gradually add water as you mix ingredients together to form a thick paste.
On a cookie sheet, place one spoon full of dough onto cookie sheet and flatten evenly. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until malleable then mold into a taco shape. Bake again for another 6 minutes or until hard and dry.
Protein Packed Hedgehog Taco Fillings
- Wet Cat Food
- Cooked Fresh Salmon
- Shredded Cheese
- Meal Worms
Spread small amount of wet cat food along the inside of the taco shell. Add fresh cooked salmon and meal worms. Top with shredded cheese. Serve to hedgehog immediately, and watch your little friend devour a tasty taco treat.
Hedgehog Safe Food List Conclusion
Hedgehogs are insectivores by nature and benefit from high protein and low fat diets. They thrive off of live insects and need a healthy dry cat kibble to stay nourished. Adding unseasoned high protein and low sodium foods such as fresh salmon, eggs, and chicken breast can tickle your hogs taste buds, but all they truly need are insects in addition to their kibble. We did not mention fruits or vegetables due to the fact that hedgehogs do not have a cecum so their bodies have not evolved to break down cellulose found inside plant cells. Hedgehogs, like most animals, are lactose intolerant so we do not recommend feeding dairy often, only as a treat, which is why we mentioned shredded cheese for your hedgehog tacos.
Continue learning About Hedgehogs:
For an in depth explanation of what a hedgehog can or cannot eat, please read our previous article titled The Best Hedgehog Food List.
Want to know what insects do hedgehogs eat? We tell you right here.
New hedgehog owners wanting to know the foundation of hedgehog attitude, health, and nutrition could benefit from studying this short and to the point care sheet.
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Heavenly Hedgies is an Amazon Associate. We have partnered with them and other reputable merchants when they sell something that we feel will benefit our readers. By purchasing through our links, we may earn a small commission on sales, that helps us continue to provide informative and educational information for hedgie lovers. And the best part is that there is no additional cost to you. Thank you for being a loyal and supportive reader here at Heavenly Hedgies.
