Disapearing Hedgehog

[dampflippers]

You could try leaving out the dried food under cover as this is probably less likely to attract vermin.
How dry is it where you live? If it has rained alot they may be finding enough live food, but if it dries up again they will be desparate for food.

[HedgehogRescue]

The ticks really need to come off. There is evidence that coating them with oil causes stress and they regurgitate their stomach contents into the hog. Using any oil on a hog's stomach is a definite no-no. They only have sweat glands on their stomach so oil will cause them to overheat.

I would grab the hog, put it in a cat basket or deep carboard box. Deep as they are amazing escape artists, cover it with a fleece or towel without pulls, then contact your local carer or vet. Take the hog to her and get her to show you how to remove the ticks safely, hopefully she doesn't oil. Make sure the ticks are destroyed by crushing from the head end or they may regrow.

If you have a vet or pet shop nearby see if they sell O'Tom Tick hooks or the lassos. Otherwise you can get those off the web. They're very cheap.

Ticks can cause anaemia especially in the weaker ones so removal ASAP is a good idea. In this area we have a major tick problem so I put a light coating of Neem Oil on my hogs before release which gives them some protection for a few weeks. Just a stripe down either side with a toothbrush and a dab behind each ear does the trick. They smell a bit oniony but it doesn't bother them.

The link to my Neem supplier is on my web site in the right hand info bar. They do the pure stuff, not sure about some of the other suppliers.

[digannio]

I carefully followed the advice given by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society as I thought they would know what they were talking about....

"Blood-sucking ticks are often found on hedgehogs and after taking their fill of blood, will drop off the host in order to complete their life cycle. Removal of these ticks is a difficult task but can be accomplished by dousing the ticks in olive/almond/cooking oil. Removing these ticks with forceps is to be avoided as the inexperienced may leave the mouthparts and head in the skin that may turn septic."

[HedgehogRescue]

Yes I know it says that on the BHPS web site but it's like most things, research moves on and new info is discovered. The BHPS are aware that some of the information on their site needs updating.

I can assure you that the big rescues remove ticks, as do vets, they don't oil any more unless the ticks are so tiny that it wouldn't make a difference.

We used oil once with poor results and haven't done so for several years.

Forceps or tweezers for removal are dodgy unless you know what you're doing but the tick removers are made for the job and they work well.

[digannio]

Just to report, still no sign of the hedgehog visiting any more and no sign of the once abundant poo that scattered my garden before I ever put any food out. I guess it must have packed its bags and gone on to pastures new.

I might drop a line to the Presevation Society pointing out what you say, that they have left misleading and even possibly harmful info on their site. It shouldn't take too long to update a couple of lines of text on there. It's a site that many people may go to as first port of call if they rescue a hedgehog. And obviously the welfare of the hedgehog is paramount.

[HedgehogRescue]

You can certainly contact them. They run a course at Vale Wildlife Rescue which is specifically aimed at Hedgehog Rehab and that course recommends immediate tick removal.

The thing with the oil trick is, yes, it does work but at what cost to the hog? If you have a large healthy hog then it probably won't do any harm but if the hog is at all compromised, or is tiny then it can be the straw that broke the camel's back.

It's always recommended now to remove as many as you can using a tick remover to avoid leaving mouth parts embedded to go septic. If however there ia a patch of really tiny ones that you can't shift even with the removers, then oil is the only way but again. the oil needs to go on the tick only if it's anywhere on the hog's stomach.

[HedgehogRescue]

Case in point. I had a boy in yesterday, so far I've taken over 200 ticks off him and there are still more to go. There's no way you could oil all that lot, you'd kill the hog.