Hi Catdog
Sadly, it is most likely that the white patches are where someone has artificially marked the hedgehog. It is sad, not only for the hedgehog, but also all the other people who’s garden that hedgehog visits.
It is actually not that difficult to identify hedgehogs by their natural markings, as with any animal, so that it is completely unnecessary to artificially mark hedgehogs. If it is for properly organised scientific research to help hedgehogs as a whole and for which a licence has been obtained, that is different. But I think in those circumstances, they would be very careful how they marked the hogs. Sadly, when people are marking them for their own benefit, that isn’t always the case. And unfortunately this marking of hedgehogs, can, potentially, not only cause problems but also cover them up. It is bad news for hogs, for so many reasons.
My own view is before any close contact with hedgehogs we should ask ourselves is this is for the benefit of this hedgehog or hedgehogs as a whole. If the answer is no, we should leave them to get on with their lives in peace.
With regard to the ticks. It isn’t unusual for hogs to have a certain number of ticks, so that it’s really a question of weighing up whether it seems an excessive tick burden for the size of hog. The only thing is that the larger the tick, the more likely it is that it’s about to drop off. Hogs using ‘wild’ nests would move nests from time to time so that the parasite burden would not be so bad. So if you have hog houses, make sure that you clean them out from time to time (but only when you are sure there is no-one in residence – disturbing a nesting female can cause her to desert her babies if they are very young). Use boiling water to kill any parasite eggs in the cracks between joints, not any chemical. This could help to prevent the hog from becoming re-infested.
