Lots of spots
Hendrix came in the other day very bothered and irritated because he had itchy skin. He was covered with little dots and his owner was worried he had a skin condition.
The dots were about 2mm in diameter with some attached to the skin and some loose in his fur. At Pittwater Animal Hospital we have seen this many times, most commonly in April and May. He was covered in nymph ticks.
Nymph ticks or grass ticks are attached to a plant and when you brush under the plant they release and cover you. They are often microscopic dots that can’t be seen. Once the ticks attach, the skin becomes red and irritated.
Nymph ticks rarely cause tick paralysis but do make the skin very itchy and inflamed.
Hendrix was given a thorough spray with Frontline® to kill the ticks and they will gradually fall out. It will take a few weeks for all the skin irritation to settle, then he will be back to normal.
Nymph tick under the microscope
