Dried meal worms yes or no?

[Nelly]

As usual I have seen completely conflicting opinions an advice.

We have pet ducks and throw worms on the patio for them, THIS is what attracted the hedgehogs as we watched them come in and munch away.

Since then we have been leaving them out deliberately after ducks put to bed + some cat food.

But I have read meal worms arnt great for them.

Anyone any conclusive answer…Yes or no to worms?

Cheers Nelly.

[Williamc]

That would be a big NO I’m afraid. They’re not at all good for them, especially young ones, but they do find them irresistible. They will eat mealworms at the expense of ‘proper’ food every single time just like kids with sweets.

[Nic]

I agree with Williamc. Definite NO to mealworms.

There is some useful information in this, which I came across, from Vale Wildlife:

http://www.valewildlife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Feeding-wild-hedgehogs.pdf

[Hedgie Lover]

Absolutely not.

I saw a video from a hedgehog hospital with a hedgehog that had been fed on mealworms and, the problem is, that if a hedgehog’s main diet is mealworms – it will destroy their bone density.

This poor hedgehog couldn’t hardly walk as his bones were so weak, and as he was unable to go back into the wild and in immense pain, they had no option but to put him to sleep.

They might enjoy eating mealworms, but it’s a quick way to completely destroy a hedgehogs health, so please do not do it.

It’s easy and simple to feed hedgehogs, there are plenty of hedgehog food about by different brands, you can easily purchase them online (most expensive) garden centres, pet shops and even supermarkets now sell hedgehog food, also if you visit a farm, you might be able to get a bigger bag for less of the cost.

Also they really enjoy wet dog or cat food – make sure it’s in jelly as the gravy can cause diaherra, and just give them water – a lot of people on here only give them rain water, but I give them tap as I haven’t got a water butt and they drink it.

Please do not give them mealworms, if you are unsure about what to give hedgehogs, please always follow the advice from a UK hedgehog site, such as BBPS, or get info from here, or you could ring a UK hedgehog hospital to get advice.

I say UK because in America, it seems a lot of people over there give their hedgehogs mealworms and there is even a US hedgehog site that rated a tub of mealworms the second best product (after spikes) to give to hedgehogs.

So don’t follow advice from the US about hedgehogs. Over there, they are allowed to keep hedgehogs in cages indoors and put two together, and all sorts of stuff, that would be a huge issue in the UK. (However, in the US they have pygmy hedgehogs which can’t live in the wild in the US, as they are supposed to be living in Africa, where it’s warmer, as when Pygmy hedgehogs hibernate they are more likely to die, in Africa they don’t hibernate).

And there seems to be vast differences in rules about pygmy hedgehogs and european hedgehogs.

[Nic]

I know it used to do the rounds that cat/dog food in gravy gave hogs upset stomachs, but check out the link above re. feeding, where it says that this is not correct.

What people feed to pet hedgehogs (which are pygmy hedgehogs) bears no resemblance to what wild hedgehogs should be fed. We don’t know what else they may be feeding the pygmy hedgehogs – potential supplements, etc. and they have control over what it is eating. We have no control over what the wild hedgehog is eating elsewhere, so it’s our responsibility that anything we put out for them to eat, is as nutritious and good for them as we can manage. That definitely means no mealworms.

As Hedgie Lover suggests, make sure any website information you are looking at relates to wild European hedgehogs.

[Author]

Posts