posted by Tess on Apr 2
Ear mites are external parasites that can infect dogs, cats and in some cases, humans. Otodectes cynotis is the most common mite that can infect pets and can cause a condition called otodectic mange - a persistent and contagious disease of the skin that causes inflammation, itching and loss of hair in dogs, cats, and other carnivores.
The otodectes cynotis mite can live its complete life cycle in the ear of a dog or on the skin at times as it feeds on the epidural wastes of the host. These mites can be large enough to be seen by the naked eye and they are almost always easily visible under the magnifying glass. To examine and assess whether your dog has ear mites or not you need to scrape some wax from the ear and examine it closely.
It takes about 3 weeks for a mite egg to develop into an adult. Adult mites are very mobile and can be fairly contagious. They can travel from one pet to another and back again. The presence of mites in dogs can be determined by certain symptoms that an infected dog is likely to show.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
