Tick Paralysis of a Snake Caused by Amblyomma rotundatum (Acari: Ixodidae)

Britta A. Hanson; Philip A. Frank; James W. Mertins; Joseph L. Corn

doi:10.1603/0022-2585(2007)44[155:TPOASC]2.0.CO;2

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Britta A. Hanson,^* Philip A. Frank,^**,*** James W. Mertins,^****,***** Joseph L. Corn^*

^*Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602.
^**U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Key Deer Refuge, Big Pine Key, FL 33043.
^***Current address: 22978 Overseas Hwy., Cudjoe Key, FL 33042.
^****U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, 1800 Dayton Ave., Ames, IA 50010.
^*****Corresponding author, e-mail: james.w.mertins@aphis.usda.gov.

Abstract

A lethargic southern black racer, Coluber constrictor priapus Dunn and Wood, wild-caught in the Florida Keys, Monroe County, FL, was found to be paralyzed by the bite of a female ixodid tick, Amblyomma rotundatum Koch (Acari: Ixodidae). Removal of the tick restored the snake to normalcy within 18 h. Other, earlier reported cases of tick toxicosis in reptiles are reviewed and clarified. Evidently, the present incident is the only reported case of tick paralysis in a poikilotherm found in a natural setting.

Citation Download Citation

Britta A. Hanson, Philip A. Frank, James W. Mertins, and Joseph L. Corn "Tick Paralysis of a Snake Caused by Amblyomma rotundatum (Acari: Ixodidae)," Journal of Medical Entomology 44(1), 155-157, (1 January 2007). https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585(2007)44[155:TPOASC]2.0.CO;2

Received: 18 July 2006; Accepted: 6 October 2006; Published: 1 January 2007