Okay this is not a very nice subject but it is important. At this time of year there are plenty of ticks about and if you have dogs and long grass or just go hiking you will know what I am talking about. If however you have never seen a tick before then you will find this useful.
This is my own story and my own pictures taken today and its worth reminding you all at this juncture that I am not a DVM.


Well that's what your looking for. Pretty easy to find on a hairless part of your body but much more difficult on a dog or alpaca.

So what you will probably find is one of these little chaps after he has started to gorge himself on blood. When he is really full he will look like a jelly bean in shape and size.

Here is one attached to the back of Giffords neck and not full enough to be thinking of falling off anytime soon.


Now when you pull these guys off its really important to get the head as well and if you get it off this is what they look like.



So you can see his little legs sticking out from his grossly distorted body....quite disgusting.

And for some reason reminds me of a character in a Monty Python sketch called Mr Creosote who went on eating until he literally burst..... did I ever tell you John Cleese lives in Santa Barbara and has alpacas?

Anyway there you have it a pocket guide to spotting ticks and getting rid of the nasty little swine....

Here is the blow by blow technique...

Put your alpaca in a comfortable position.
Grasp the tick with tweezers as close to the skin as possible; make sure not to pinch any skin.
Pull the tick out using a straight, steady pulling motion. Be gentle; pulling too hard on the tick can cause its head to remain lodged in the skin, which can lead to inflammation and secondary infection.
Dispose of the tick by throwing it into a fire, or by squishing it in a tissue using the tweezers and then flushing it down the toilet. Do not smash it with your foot or your bare hands.
Apply antiseptic ointment to the bite.


Adrian Stewart - click here to go to Mulberry Alpacas.
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