MadCow wrote:
In message , K
writes
Martin Brown writes

A young one has apparently expired in the middle of an open area of
concrete near a path I walk regularly. Although it looks superficially
undamaged there are some strange organic growths on it about 5mm
diameter translucent grey and longer than the spines poking out here
and there. Leeches or some other nasty parasites maybe?

Those sound like ticks in colour, if it wasn't for the length (ticks
resemble sweetcorn grains in size and shape). Leeches tend to be
various browns and blacks and dark greens.

Yes, they sound like ticks. They get bigger as they fill up with blood,
5mm is about the size of a full one. Hedgehogs normally have lots of
them in various sizes depending how long they've been feeding. It's
unlikely they killed it, but an unhealthy animal often has more than its
fair share of parasites.

Yuck. I had expected ticks to be smaller, round and much darker in
colour.

Biggest one was nearly 1cm across. But on closer inspection it seems
they were ticks, but bigger by far than any that I have seen before
close up. I was surprised that they looked light grey and elongated
despite presumably being full of blood.

Sitting out in daylight is sign of sickness in hedgehogs, it's abnormal
behaviour. Often if you take one to a 'hedgehog hospital' you find it
has expired a few days later with respiratory disease.

I reckon "respiratory failure" is what they say when they don't really
know.
Did it die because it stopped breathing or stop breathing because it
died...

Thanks all for the various info. BritishHedgehogs.org.uk seemed to have
the most relevant practical advice - it was the first one I saw to
mention ticks being grey.

Regards,
Martin Brown