The staple does the heavy lifting
An African pygmy hedgehog is an insectivore by design, but in a home her nutritional foundation is a complete dry food — one formulated for hedgehogs, or a suitable high-protein, moderate-fat kibble — served in a measured amount each evening. Everything else in this article is decoration around that staple, not a substitute for it. That framing matters because hedgehogs gain weight easily in captivity, and nearly every feeding problem they develop traces back to extras quietly becoming a second diet. Decide the staple amount first, keep it steady, and let insects and leafy foods be small, deliberate additions rather than a running buffet.
Insects: the extras she is built for
Insects are the extras a hedgehog's digestion and instincts both recognise. Crickets and black soldier fly larvae are good choices — offer them live if you can, since hunting a cricket around the enclosure is enrichment a bowl cannot provide — and mealworms are the firm favourite that needs the most restraint: fatty and eagerly eaten, they belong in the 'few at a time, a few times a week' category rather than nightly handfuls. Scatter the insects through clean bedding or hide them in a dig box so she works for them, and vary which insect appears so no single one dominates. Waxworms sit at the very occasional end of the scale, a rare high-fat treat rather than a rotation item.
Leafy foods: small, plain and honestly optional
On the plant side, offer small amounts of plain leafy or green vegetables — a little chopped leafy greens, green beans, or a pea-sized portion of cooked squash or carrot — mainly as variety and foraging interest. Many hedgehogs will investigate and walk away, and that is fine; her nutrition does not depend on them. What matters is what never goes in the bowl: milk and dairy, which hedgehogs cannot digest properly; grapes and raisins, which are unsafe for many small pets and not worth the risk; avocado; and anything sugary, seasoned or processed. Because she is nocturnal, put the fresh extras down in the evening as she wakes and lift whatever is uneaten in the morning before it wilts into the bedding.
Watching weight and appetite as you add extras
Introduce one new extra at a time, in a tiny amount, and watch the droppings over the next day — soft droppings after a new food mean that item, or that quantity, does not suit her. Weigh her every week or two; a hedgehog's healthy shape lets her roll into a complete ball, and a steady upward creep in weight is your cue to trim the insect ration before touching the staple. Note which extras she actually eats, too: there is no sense scattering greens nightly for a hedgehog who has voted against them for a month, and knowing her real preferences keeps the extras list honest.
Keeping every feeder on the same list
Hedgehog feeding goes wrong most often through kindness — a helper adding fruit, a few extra mealworms 'because she loves them', a saucer of something unsuitable. Writing the staple amount, the short insect list and the banned foods into her evening feeding duty in KinsLe's Care Teams means everyone serves the same diet: staple first, a few insects to hunt, a little leafy variety — and nothing from the never list, ever.