Hi SmurfPrickles
Poor husband being banned from the shed!
Unfortunately, some people artificially mark the hogs, so it’s possible it’s that. Could be the same hog, who has been marked. I find that Friday and Saturday night seem to be the worst nights for that, i.e. hogs will turn up newly marked late Friday, Saturday or Sunday. They do sometimes have very small patches of a few spines that are paler, but if it is a larger patch, I usually find it’s artificial marking.
They do have their own natural markings, by which you can learn to recognise them. I made some notes, with tips if you’re interested: https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/forums/topic/identifying-hedgehogs-from-their-natural-markings/
