13/07/2024
🐾🚫 Tick awareness - protect your pet! 🚫🐾
We are well in the middle of the season of pesky ticks. Unlike fleas, these little guys like to pester us mainly between March and October.
❓Who are they and how to identify them?
They are the spiders' vampiric relatives. With eight legs and a round body that, when inflated and filled with blood, can resemble a pea or a pigmented wart.
I have had owners tell me that when they attempted removal of a suspected tick their pet cried and bled. Concerned, I asked to take a look at said parasite. As it turned out, the owners mistook the pet's pigmented ni***es for them and tried to twist them off, much to the disapproval of their poor animal. So let's make sure first that we are dealing with the actual thing. 😅 Look for the giveaway legs, folks, ni***es and warts don't have those!... But, if in any doubt, don't hesitate to ask your vet, we're always happy to help! 😊
❓Where can I encounter them?
Although in the UK ticks are less prevalent and carry less diseases less often than in Europe, they can still pose risks to our pets by sucking blood and spreading infections. Therefore, especially if our animals live near or are taken to wooded or grassy areas often, it makes sense for us to be aware of risks, symptoms and to focus on preventions.
❗Remove ASAP!
One of the most important things is the time factor. Ticks go through developmental stages (egg, larva, nymph and adult), but only feed once per stage. However, that one feeding lasts for several days, throughout which the tick's body engorges due to the increasing amount of ingested blood. When it has enough, it simply detaches itself, drops onto the ground and transforms into its next life stage. The longer you leave the tick in (ie the larger it can get), the more chance it has to inoculate any disease it might be spreading, eg Lyme disease. However, if you remove it early enough, it doesn't just merely not get much chance to infect your pet with anything. It also probably won't have enough "fuel" to enter into its next developmental stage, and will die without breeding. Therefore there is also no need to kill the removed tick. As it only feeds once during that stage, it will not attach itself to another host again, after you have removed it.
❓Okay, but how do I remove them?
The way you remove the tick is also very important. Please don't squeeze or put anything on the tick intending to irritate or suffocate it. All you are going to achieve is that as the tick is struggling and you are squeezing on it, it will just regurgitate more of its saliva. This will make it more likely that, in case it carries any disease, it will be passed on. Use dedicated tick removal tools to gently twist and pull. Make sure you remove the entire tick as well, without ripping the head off in the process. If you don't feel confident it's always an option, of course, to ask a vet to remove your pets' tick. But be aware, time is tick-ing (pun intended)!
❗That sounds gross, I'd rather not deal with this 'removal' business in the first place...
Better yet, you can focus on prevention rather than treatment. Ask your vet for potent products that will keep these (and other) parasites away and keep your pet up to date, avoiding gaps. VetSetGo uses monthly tablets that not only protect against ticks, but also fleas and mites - one easy solution for most arthropod pests.
❗Oh no....
However, if your pet is unlucky enough to have been found by a tick that carries Lyme disease (the most common tick-borne disease in the UK), here's what you need to look out for:
▪️Depression
▪️Fever
▪️Loss of appetite
▪️Lameness
▪️Swollen and painful joints
▪️Swollen lymph nodes
▪️Lethargy
Goes without saying, please contact your vet ASAP if you are concerned! Don't forget to let them know if you have seen a tick on your animal prior to these symptoms appearing. That will help us identify and treat the disease faster.
Stay safe guys and don't hesitate to ask your vet if you have any concerns or questions.
Have a great summer and happy holidays if you are planning any! 😊🌞🍹