Ticks
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We have at least five regular hedgehog visitors each night. It’s hard to tell how many because they all look similar! Since they’ve emerged from hibernation this year several have got at least two ticks, and one has a very heavy tick burden. Is it okay to use Ivomec intended for cavies on hedgehogs?
Hi MorganleFaye
It’s lovely to hear that you have lots of hedgehogs visiting.
It isn’t unusual for them to have ticks and a few ticks are probably not much of a problem to them. Also, if they are clearly visible they are likely fairly big and so likely to drop off soon.
However, if you are feeding in i.e. a wooden hedgehog box it’s really important to clean it out and sterilise with boiling water. The hedgehogs often drop big ticks, which then lay eggs, in such places and the boiling water should kill them and any very small ticks. If there are a lot of ticks in your area, fairly frequent repeats of that would be a good idea – pay special attention to any joints or cracks in the wood. (With plastic just clean out as well as you can without boiling water.) Hopefully that should help the hedgehogs from becoming re-infested.
Re. the hedgehog with the heavy tick burden, it sounds like it would be a good idea to contact your local carer and take their advice. Hedgehog carers are often very good at safely removing ticks individually. It’s best not to use chemicals at all on or near hedgehogs, but leave it to the experts if necessary.
You will be able to get contact details of your nearest carers from BHPS on 01584 890801
Good luck. I hope all goes well with all the hedgehogs.
Happy hog watching!
Perfect advice Nic
The hog with the heavy burden needs taking to your nearest carer as this often indicates a more serious problem is occurring.
I have at least 2 hogs in the garden (I live in Overton) and my trail camera footage shows they both have fleas. Visually I can see that one has a big bare area, free of spikes , on his side – it comes up white on my IR footage. They are constantly scratching themselves, to the point they sometimes fall over with the effort.
Can someone offer some more detailed advice on how you can inspect them up-close without frightening them away forever?
Do I stay up until I hear them enter the garden (10pm my bedtime, gulp… 🙂 and then pick them up and bring them to a bright room to check out how badly they are infected?
Will they be spooked by the experience and never visit again? That would be a shame as I’ve splurged out a lot of money on a wooden feeder and a seperate hibernating house… Thanks for any advice 🙂
Hello Cloggy
Sorry you’ve not had a response till now
This sounds more like a case of ringworm or mange. Hogs are prone to both. It will need specialist treatment from a carer so I suggest you catch them and take them to one as soon as possible.
Once treatment has been made they can be returned to you for release and it’s unlikely they will disappear if you are feeding them
Note both of these infections are contagious to humans so wear gloves and clean/disinfect afterwards including the hog house
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