Your pet has just been discharged from hospital after a bout of tick toxicosis. It is important to realise that while their progress has been good they will need continued support and care at home.
Exercise
The toxin secreted by the paralysis tick can have a direct effect on the heart. For this reason it is important to keep your pet quiet for the next two weeks. All forms of strenuous exercise should be avoided. This includes going for walks, ball games, off leash exercise and running around the backyard. If your dog is energetic then confinement to the garage or a small portion of the yard may be required. After two weeks a slow reintroduction to routine exercise levels should be implemented.
Feeding
The ability of animals to swallow can be reduced or even absent in animals with tick toxicity. To avoid fatiguing the swallow reflex feed small meals (roughly ¼ of the normal size) frequently instead of one large meal for the first two days at home. If your pet gags or coughs during or just after a meal please contact us straight away.
Tick Prevention
In order to avoid a recurrence of the problem we recommend you take the following prevention measures.
- Avoid tick habitat. The majority of ticks are found in areas with long grasses particularly around creeks, rivers and waterways. July to January is the higher risk months of the year.
- Regular tick searches. Searching your pets coat daily for any ticks is very important and will hopefully lead to detection of a tick before signs of toxicity occur. If you find a tick you can remove it immediately using tweezers and bring the tick to us for identification or bring your pet down and we will remove the tick for you. It is important to note that pets can start to show signs of toxicity up to 72hrs after removal of the tick. For this period your pet should be kept quiet, not exercised and monitored for signs of tick toxicity
- Use anti-tick products regularly. There is a wide range of
products available for use. Please note that none of these products
claim to be 100% effective and should be used in combination with the
above measures.
- Spot on products: Frontline and Advantix (for DOGS only)
- Tick collars: Kiltix or Preventix collars (for DOGS only)
- Topical sprays: Frontline (for DOGS and CATS)
- Washes: Permoxin wash (for DOGS only)
- Tablets: Proban tablets every second day (for DOGS only).
Please do not hesitate to call us for more information. We can be contacted on (07) 3264 1222.
More information
By Albany Creek Veterinary Surgery
Last updated on 12 September 2019