Lots of people think that you should leave bread and milk out for the hedgehogs that visit our back gardens. However, this doesn't really make much sense. In the wild, hedgehogs are vicious little carnivores that devour bugs, slugs and worms. Leaving milk out is a really bad idea for a number of reasons as listed by the WildLives Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre website www.wildlives.org.uk.
1) Many animals are intolerant of the lactose in milk and this can lead to diarrhea, dehydration and then death.
2) Milk is also very bad for the teeth, and bread and milk together is simply too soft to provide proper dental care.
3) Milk provides an ideal medium for the proliferation of harmful bacteria to build up in the stomach and intestines.
4) Milk is iron deficient, and so if consumed in large quantities can cause dietary imbalance.
5) Milk, if left for any amount of time will curdle.
6) Skimmed or Semi-skimmed milk has had beneficial fat soluble vitamins removed.
7) In dry conditions, hedgehogs may drink milk rather than water which will have a detrimental effect on their health.
Dog or cat food is much closer to the hedgepigs normal diet and
is therefore a much better snack for them. Now you know.
