When a Paralysis Tick affects a pet, the pet often dies. Preventing tick paralysis is a much safer and cheaper alternative than treating the condition once it has occurred.
Where and when does tick paralysis occur?
The Paralysis tick is found mostly along the eastern coast of Australia, but has been reported in Western Australia as well. It can also be found inland in suitable habitats. Ticks need humidity and mild weather to develop and will not survive and breed in cold climates. In northern parts of Australia paralysis ticks may be found all year round, while in southern areas the season goes from spring through to autumn.
Searching your pet for ticks
If you live in a tick-infested area, you should examine your dog or cat for ticks on a daily basis. If you have taken your pet for a walk through the bush or have been camping with your dog then examining it when you get back home is also a good idea. Don’t try to look for ticks, try to feel for them instead. Ticks are a lot easier to find if you rub your fingertips through your pet’s coat rather than if you try to look for them. In 70% of cases ticks are found in the head and neck region but it is important to search the entire dog (including inside ears, around eyes, under the collar, under lips, between toes, under the tail, chest, belly etc.)
The ticks are often grey in colour and all of the legs are bunched towards the front of the tick, not spread along the side of the body.
There is still some debate on the best way to deal with a tick once you have located it. If there are any signs of envenomation at all then your first priority is to get your pet to your veterinarian. If your pet appears perfectly healthy you can remove the tick using your finger nails, fine tweezers or a tick-remover device - grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull firmly yet gently to remove the tick in one steady motion. Avoid squeezing the tick's body as this is where the salivary glands and toxins are located (not in the jaws or mouth). Dispose of the tick (or put into a jar with methylated spirits for identification). Check for more ticks.
Some veterinarians feel that you should not remove the tick, especially if you are not comfortable with doing so, your pet is not co-operative or the tick is in a difficult place to access. Instead, kill it while it is on your pet with a fast acting insecticide applied directly to the tick. If you do not have a specific pet insecticide, then a quick knockdown household aerosol insecticide will do the job well. Hold the nozzle close to the tick and drench it (don’t spray the whole animal though and avoid spraying in the eyes). The tick will then die and shrivel up.
The next step is to take your pet to your veterinarian. This is vital, as the residue of the tick’s toxin under the skin can really cause a problem. Although the tick has been killed or removed, the animal can still become paralysed from this residue of poison. The poison is slowly absorbed and may cause paralysis hours or even a day or two later.
Signs of tick paralysis
Dogs and cats can often loose the control of the throat and voice box first, with regurgitation and vomiting common.
Hind leg weakness/paralysis is next.
The weakness/paralysis rapidly ascends up the spine towards the head with total paralysis occurring last.
Laboured breathing and grunting is common at this stage.
Preventing tick paralysis
Tick infestations can be prevented although tick control is easier on dogs than on cats. Also, manufacturers are releasing new products onto the market regularly to make the job easier and more reliable.
There are several ways to minimise tick infestations.
- Firstly, there are specific tick collars that are available. Bayer makes one called the Kiltix Tick and Flea Collar for Dogs and Virbac makes another under the name of the Preventic 2 Month Tick Collar for dogs.
- Permoxin Insecticidal Spray and Rinse is also effective for ticks on dogs. It should be applied as a rinse every seven days. Permoxin also kills and repels fleas and mosquitoes.
- Advantix for dogs is a new spot-on-the-back-of-the-neck product that both repels and kills paralysis ticks when applied every 2 weeks. It is also effective against brown dog ticks, bush ticks, fleas, lice, mosquitoes and sandflies.
For cats and dogs, Frontline is a good choice. Frontline Plus Top Spot is effective for ticks on dogs if used every two weeks (not every month). Frontline Spray is effective for ticks on dogs and cats if used every three weeks at the rate of six millilitres per kilogram of weight. If you find a tick on your pet, you can spray Frontline directly onto the tick to kill it. - Proban is an oral insecticide that is quite effective against ticks on dogs but needs to be used every two days rather than at the flea controlling dose of twice weekly. Some veterinarians also recommend Proban for ticks on cats at 1/4 of a tablet every two days. Because Proban is an oral medication that is excreted via the pet’s skin, it gives tick control over the whole of the pet’s body. When using sprays or rinses, it is possible to miss some areas, thereby allowing ticks to attach. This does not happen with Proban.
- Fido’s Fre-Itch Rinse is also effective for ticks and fleas if the dog or cat is rinsed in it every three days. Fido’s is useful when your pet has been in a tick area and you want to bathe it to kill any hitchhiking ticks.
In tick prone areas, it is essential that your pets be searched daily for ticks. If this is done routinely, you can then eliminate tick paralysis because the tick usually has to be on the animal’s body for more than two days to cause paralysis.
Don’t take chances with ticks. They are the most dangerous of parasites that can infest your pet and they kill. See your veterinarian and ask his or her advice on a safe tick control program for your pet.
Dr Cam Day BVSc BSc MACVSc is a veterinary surgeon, an animal behaviour consultant and media presenter. In 1995 he qualified as a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in the discipline of Animal Behaviour and is one of only 15 veterinarians with this qualification in Australia. He works full time in animal behaviour management in Queensland.
Article reprinted with permission from Petalia™ A world of Petcare www.petalia.com.au and author Dr Cam Day. Animal Behaviour Veterinarian
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