It’s even a worry how milk can be unpleasant to hedgehogs, which are mammals. Mammals are animals with mammary glands, so they feed their young ones on breast milk. It’s a mystery how milk cannot be used even on young hedgehogs but is it applicable to every milk? Let’s find out the whole story in the article.
As a vet, I have seen various farmers who rear pigs find problems with the piglets when the mothers die during the lactating period. In such a demise, a farmer of a pet parent doesn’t have the option to introduce the cow milk to baby pigs. The restriction on cow milk doesn’t only affect the young pigs but also the adults too.
Hedgehogs and all other mammals in the hog category are intolerant to cow milk and other dairy products. The condition means that you must not include such meals in your pet’s diet if you want it to lead a healthy and comfortable life.
What do I do to feed a young hedgehog that I rescued in my garden?
Hedgehogs are normally not harmful to humans as they’ve never found a reason to categorize us as potential predators. Hedgehogs like living in areas where they can show adaptable behaviors to their surroundings. When you find a young hedgehog in danger, you can either rescue it on own your own, or call bodies concerned with wildlife affairs to finish the rescue mission.
Most of the pet hedgehogs we now have in our homes were once wild, but because of our humanity and the care we granted them; we now have docile pets to accompany us and offer massive fun. When you find a young hedgehog and suspect that the mother has been killed, you should take it home because it cannot survive on its own.
I know you must be wondering what you are going to do with it. I mean, a baby hedgehog that was still being fed on the mother’s milk before the tragic demise of the devoted parent. Again, you hear that hedgehogs aren’t supposed to be fed on cow milk and other dairy products. Are you cornered and feel like abandoning the needy creature?
Well, rescuing a hedgehog won’t cost you much in terms of finance and time. Pet parents with a dog or a cat will find the mission easy as they can use these pets’ meals to feed the orphaned hedgehogs. However, don’t give hedgehogs any meal with fish products. Tinned dogs or cat foods are always perfect with your spiky guest. It would be great if you crush a cat or dog’s biscuit before giving it to the helpless mammal.
Abandoning orphaned young hedgehogs, especially toward the end of a season is like signing their death certificates. Baby hedgehogs that weigh below 300 grams have no chance of survival because of their inadequate fat reserve. A higher fat reserve will help see a young hedgehog hibernate successfully in the hostile seasons. In case you cannot find dog or cat foods to offer the animal; you can go to wildlife food suppliers for special diets.
What happens to hedgehogs when they consume milk?
I had already mentioned that hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, so milk and any other products related to milk shouldn’t go their way. Milk meals to hedgehogs of various ages cause a digestive upset that comes handy with numerous ramifications. The animals will feel sick and diarrhea a lot, and sometimes, the condition can be fatal.
If you want to give hedgehogs something to drink; do it easily. Clean water on a flat bowl is enough to satisfy a hedgehog drinking demands.
Other meals you shouldn’t use in feeding hedgehogs
It’s not only milk that has issues with hedgehogs, but a number of other meals too. Though hedgehogs will take raw meat, you should offer it too much because it can cause the spikey to suffer from obesity. It’s a general knowledge that hedgehogs are insectivorous animals, but never give them toxic insects.
I had also mentioned that foods with fish content shouldn’t be in the diets of hedgehogs. Nuts are other meals that do not only cause digestive complications to hedgehogs, but are also giving these mammals sufficient chewing headache. Grapes and raisins are examples of fruits that present harmful conditions to hedgehogs.
Final Word
Before you decide to take a hedgehog both as a pet or a rescued wild animal; be sure that you know its specific needs. Knowing what it feeds on is one of the vital requirements that can show if you are ready to have a hedgehog at home. However, the tendency of bringing the spikey animals at home only to do trials and errors in their feeding programs isn’t encouraging.
Never say that you gave a hedgehog a cup of milk and it drank. When these animals are starved they may eat whatever you offer to keep them alive. The food that a hedgehog can eat in a day can be equivalent to two tablespoons, so it won’t be an expensive adventure to you.