We’re in our last week of winter and Vet HQ has already seen the start of “tick season”.

Zeus was holidaying on the South Coast last weekend and came to Vet HQ this week after a tick was found on his back. We removed it and confirmed that it was a paralysis tick by examining it’s body as well as it’s legs. Paralysis ticks have 8 legs (4 on each side). The front and back legs are dark and the middle legs are lighter in colour.

We found another 3 ticks on further examination, including one in his ear! These three were all bush ticks and as you can see under the microscope, it has legs that are all the same colour. While bush ticks won’t cause paralysis, they can cause changes to the red blood cells which can result in anaemia.

Zeus was a really lucky boy that these ticks were removed before he developed any signs of paralysis or anaemia.

While it is less likely that dogs will get a tick in our area, animals who bring them back from holidays can easily scratch them off in the parks in the eastern suburbs.

Please start applying regular tick prevention to your animals. There are many different tick prevention products on the market so please drop into Vet HQ so we can discuss which product is best suited for your pet.

Paralysis ticks can kill pets! If you ever find a tick on your pet or they become lethargic, wobbly on their back legs, vomiting, coughing, lethargy or have a change to the sound of their bark please bring them into Vet HQ immediately.