Image: Erik Karits via Unsplash
Ticks have been increasing across the UK in the past few years, especially in the areas around us. They live in long grass and heather and are very common around the Cheviots and Scotland.
Ticks are a blood sucking parasite. Tick salvia contains an anaesthetic so your pet does not feel the bite and neither will you. Ticks can be found anywhere on your pet’s body but commonly around the head, under ears, and in their feet.
They can be different colours so they can be hard to spot, but you may see them crawling around. Ticks suck your pet’s blood. This can cause your pet to become anemic, which means loss of blood cells.
Your pet can become very weak and ill very fast if their immune system is not as strong to fight off infections.
We recommend parasite treatment. Some can last one or three months, so make sure you check this when buying it. The medication kills the ticks so they cannot latch on and will die and fall off after so many hours.
There are also ‘tick removers’ which you can buy that will remove ticks from your pet.
NEVER pull a tick off your pet, as part of it can stay inside your pet, which can cause an infection. Use your tick remover to twist until the tick is fully removed.
Image: Tick Remover
We sell tick removers and parasite medication in practice, so call in if you would like to purchase this.
Before we can prescribe any treatment, we will need the correct weight of your pet and to check if they have had a vet check in the last 12 months.
If you are a client of Coquet Vets and this article has raised any questions, you can contact us on 01665 252 250 or email us at info@coquetvets.co.uk.
