Ticks!

[Kristoff]

While soaking my female, Elsa, this morning, I noticed a few tiny brown spots on her neck that looked like moles. I took a few closeups to ask here what they could be, and only then noticed they all had six legs. Nasty stuff!




Never seen ticks so small. I did the local standard procedure of "drown them in vegetable oil, then pull them out". Is that how ticks are dealt with in other parts of the world?

Strangely, she didn't scurry away from me after the procedure and went on happily to chomp on her dandelions.

Anything else I should do to make her comfortable? Or anything I should keep an eye on?

 

[Fredkas]

My god!! I do want to know the solution too

 

[Pearly]

While soaking my female, Elsa, this morning, I noticed a few tiny brown spots on her neck that looked like moles. I took a few closeups to ask here what they could be, and only then noticed they all had six legs. Nasty stuff!

View attachment 187047
View attachment 187048

Never seen ticks so small. I did the local standard procedure of "drown them in vegetable oil, then pull them out". Is that how ticks are dealt with in other parts of the world?

Strangely, she didn't scurry away from me after the procedure and went on happily to chomp on her dandelions.

Anything else I should do to make her comfortable? Or anything I should keep an eye on?

View attachment 187049
View attachment 187050

I HATE them too! CDC (Center for Disease Control) recommends no oils, just pulling them off the skin in steady motion, no twisting or jerking. Can use fine point tweezers by grabbing the sucker sideways as close to the skin as possible. Then clean area and hands very thouroughly. They also say to submerse tick in rubbing alcohol and then flush it down the toilet. Or if you don't have alcohol and toilet handy drown it in something else in zip lock bag, seal it and tape it secure before disposing. NEVER TRY TO CRUSH TICK IN YOUR FINGERS. They are source of serious zoonotic disease

 

[Pearly]

While soaking my female, Elsa, this morning, I noticed a few tiny brown spots on her neck that looked like moles. I took a few closeups to ask here what they could be, and only then noticed they all had six legs. Nasty stuff!

View attachment 187047
View attachment 187048

Never seen ticks so small. I did the local standard procedure of "drown them in vegetable oil, then pull them out". Is that how ticks are dealt with in other parts of the world?

Strangely, she didn't scurry away from me after the procedure and went on happily to chomp on her dandelions.

Anything else I should do to make her comfortable? Or anything I should keep an eye on?

View attachment 187049
View attachment 187050

Ok i have to know, what camera are you using?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Super photos.
They do look like ticks, but if so will have eight legs.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I use a lit cigarette, touch them and they back out. Never had one on a tort before. I, personally would clean the open holes and keep them clean until they close. Don't know if that helps or not, sorry, and good luck. Pearly seems to know what's best.

 

[Pearly]

Super photos.
They do look like ticks, but if so will have eight legs.

Haha! Good catch Adam! Legs are tiny but this here is definitely a tick butt before it's inflated with blood. I know my tick when I see one. Used to pull them off my friends' dogs. Mine never had them maybe bcs or heart worm/flea prevention?.... not sure. She just never had a tick! Thank goodness! I wonder if there is something appropriate for torts to keep those nasty things away?

 

[deadheadvet]

Ok, let's clear a few things up, The idea of using a cigarette to remove a tick is offensive. You are more likely to burn the tortoise then get the tick to retract it's mouth parts. A pair of tweezers is the safest and effective mechanism for removal. Don't even clean the hole, it will resolve on its own in a couple of days. The pics posted are from Nymphs. They are the juvenile stage of the adult tick and feed on reptiles and small mammals. Once they are adults they are more host specific for dogs, cats, deer, etc.

 

[Pearly]

I use a lit cigarette, touch them and they back out. Never had one on a tort before. I, personally would clean the open holes and keep them clean until they close. Don't know if that helps or not, sorry, and good luck. Pearly seems to know what's best.

Good point, Maggie about keeping the open sores clean till they close. Might not hurt to dab a bit of antibiotic ointment out it

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I too, want to know about your camera. Fantastic close ups.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Well, in my defense, I am 70 years old and that's what I was taught years ago. I don't smoke cigarettes, but sorry I was totally wrong. Not the first time, won't be the last.

 

[Kristoff]

Thank you very much for your responses, @Fredkas, @Pearly, @Tidgy's Dad, @maggie3fan, @deadheadvet!

I may have miscounted the number of legs -- these things were so tiny. Kristoff had one attached to his leg when I found him, but that one was of a "proper" size.

Both ticks and torts are fairly common in the wild in Turkey, so much so that there was a public warning to stay away from torts as a common host. (And in most cases here, wildlife is better off with ticks than with humans.)

As for the camera it's Canon 70D with 100mm macro lens, the only one that could give me enough of a closeup for a small thing like this

 

[Kristoff]

Well, in my defense, I am 70 years old and that's what I was taught years ago. I don't smoke cigarettes, but sorry I was totally wrong. Not the first time, won't be the last.

I've read a similar suggestion in a newspaper, and that was just a couple of years ago! Using vegetable oil was my mom's tip. I don't know if it helped but I was able to pull those nasty things out.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Thank you very much for your responses, @Fredkas, @Pearly, @Tidgy's Dad, @maggie3fan, @deadheadvet!

I may have miscounted the number of legs -- these things were so tiny. Kristoff had one attached to his leg when I found him, but that one was of a "proper" size.

Both ticks and torts are fairly common in the wild in Turkey, so much so that there was a public warning to stay away from torts as a common host. (And in most cases here, wildlife is better off with ticks than with humans.)

As for the camera it's Canon 70D with 100mm macro lens, the only one that could give me enough of a closeup for a small thing like this

It's very interesting that people are told to stay away from tortoises, good for the torts i guess, as long as people don't start lobbing rocks at them as carriers.

 

[deadheadvet]

Nymphs only have 6 legs so you may have counted correctly.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I thought larval ticks had six legs and after their first feast of blood, moult into an eight legged nymph.
Is this not correct ?

 

[deadheadvet]

Nymphs are the subadult stage, only 6 legs, they feed and then molt into an adult w/ 8 legs. It is age related, forget the age of Nymphs, somewhere around 6 months. Some ticks are host specific and will stay on the same host for the entire life cycle but molt while still intact. Others will drop off the intermediate host , molt and then find the next mammal that comes along.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Nymphs are the subadult stage, only 6 legs, they feed and then molt into an adult w/ 8 legs. It is age related, forget the age of Nymphs, somewhere around 6 months. Some ticks are host specific and will stay on the same host for the entire life cycle but molt while still intact. Others will drop off the intermediate host , molt and then find the next mammal that comes along.

Hmmmm.
I checked.
http://www.petmd.com/dog/parasites/evr_multi_understanding_the_tick_life_cycle
So these are seed ticks with six legs feasting before they moult into nymphs.
Nymphs have eight.

 

[deadheadvet]

Yes we interexchange seed and Nymph terminology sometimes. Depending on when the Nymphs molt as you mentioned they can have 6 legs usually but I guess as they emerge from that particular molt, they will possess 8 legs.

 

[Pearly]

Thank you very much for your responses, @Fredkas, @Pearly, @Tidgy's Dad, @maggie3fan, @deadheadvet!

I may have miscounted the number of legs -- these things were so tiny. Kristoff had one attached to his leg when I found him, but that one was of a "proper" size.

Both ticks and torts are fairly common in the wild in Turkey, so much so that there was a public warning to stay away from torts as a common host. (And in most cases here, wildlife is better off with ticks than with humans.)

As for the camera it's Canon 70D with 100mm macro lens, the only one that could give me enough of a closeup for a small thing like this

Awesome! That camera!!!