# Ticks and a bat!



## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

I would call your vet on both issues? If the tick wasn't engorged it probably was dead and hadn't dropped off yet, but your vet will know what tick species and diseases are in your area.

As for the bat...if it was a nice dried out bat body you probably have less to worry about because rabies (if it had rabies) is transmitted by body fluids but since he had it in his mouth...did you bring the bat home with you? Again, your vet will know if bats are rabies carriers in your area and let you know how to proceed from here?

Hope everything turns out just fine...


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## abradshaw71 (Jan 13, 2014)

Call your local health department or department of natural resources regarding the dead bat. They will typically test for disease and rabies. Many government agencies conduct lengthy studies on bats, so they'll be interested as to why it died. At the same time, contact your vet, as well.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

No rabies shot?? What?? Dead bats are often rabid according to a wildlife expert at my local animal control. You need to get that bat tested. I hope it isn't. 

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## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

I would definitely get that bat tested. I wouldn't worry too much about the ticks, they are horrible this year (I live on Lake Erie myself) and there isn't much more you can do than use a tick/flea meds. Is his rabies shot overdue? Or has he never had one?


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I don't think Revolution covers ticks, if I remember correctly. = Just checked, it only covers American dog tick.

Going by your photo, you still have a pup and he is too young to have had his rabies vaccination, correct? 
I would take the bat to the vet or health department, someone who can send it in to a lab to be tested for rabies. 

Oh, I just saw that your pup had the bat in his mouth? Yikes. Yes, definitely have the bat checked for rabies and talk to your vet about what the possibility is of transmission to puppy.


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

To my limited knowledge bats have a pretty low incidence of rabies in general. Here in Massachusetts from 1992-2012 only 4% of 12,167 bats in that time tested at a lab were positive. I have a link to that PDF if wanted. This CDC link provides more general info though.

CDC - Bats and Rabies - Rabies

Send it off to a lab to ease your mind, helps them build up statistical data too.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Steve, not true according to our city wildlife expert.

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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

7.57% positive out of 12,375 in 2013 according to this link Anne. Not sure what his expert definition of "often rabid" is of course.

https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/disease/rabies/cases/statistics/


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Doug*



ourlovedoug said:


> So here's a question that probably has been asked quite a bit on here so I apologize in advance if it's a repeat.
> 
> We took Doug camping this weekend and had a great time. Great weather, good BBQ, and Doug's first big swim in Lake Erie. All went well. We got home and checked for ticks in his bath but did not feel anything.
> 
> ...


I would take both the tick and the bat to the vet to be looked at.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Steve, it may be a regional variance. In any event it is risky to take an unvaccinated puppy out camping like that before full vaccines are complete. At least wait until fully vaccinated! If we did that in my area we would be risking a puppy to parvo, distemper and lepto. 

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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

I found this information on Canada's OSH site--apparently there are regional variations:

"How common is rabies in Canada?

Since reporting began in 1924, 24 people have died in Canada from rabies. More recently, one person died in 2007 (Alberta), another in 2003 (British Columbia) and another in 2000 (Quebec). However, rabies has become well established in Canadian wildlife and increased steadily up to the year 2000. Since 2000, positive rabies in animals has declined steadily from 670 to 145 cases in 2009. Thirty percent (30%) of all confirmed rabies cases occur in bats and skunks in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

In recent years, most reported wildlife infections in British Columbia and Alberta have been in bats; in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, in skunks; in Ontario in bats and skunks; in Quebec, in raccoons and skunks and in the Northwest Territories, in foxes. Rabies has been reported in Newfoundland/Labrador in foxes up to 2005, and sporadically from New Brunswick, in bats."

Here's the link: Rabies : OSH Answers


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Your girlfriend touched the bat....she too should call the doctor!


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

Dallas Gold said:


> Steve, it may be a regional variance.


Ok, agreed. Didn't mean to come off wrong. Down on Cape Cod for instance they have been baiting racoons with rabies vaccine for years now. Not sure how it correlates to percentage of rabid raccoons in the whole state.


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## Penster (Dec 28, 2013)

Wow I started reading this thread thinking you'd done something to the tick using a baseball bat hahaha

I really wouldn't worry too much, I doubt your girlfriend needs to worry unless she was bitten by the bat but worth a call to the dr to be absolutely sure I guess. Regarding your pup, unfortunate events but just go to the vet and get it checked out. I pulled a tick off boo a couple of weeks ago and really didn't thibk anything more of it

Please come back and let us know how it goes, I'm curious. Still got visions of the tick getting away and you hitting it with a baseball bat and then the dog chewing the bat haha


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

Penster said:


> Wow I started reading this thread thinking you'd done something to the tick using a baseball bat hahaha


Me too : A Hammer, utility knife, blowtorch and many other forms of torture but never a baseball bat, LOL.


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