Ectoparasites of Wild Canids from the Gulf Coastal Prairies of Texas and Louisiana

Abstract

Three tick, 1 louse and 2 mite species were recovered from 19 wild canids, including 5 Red Wolves ( Canis rufus gregoryi ), 6 Coyotes ( Canis latrans ), and 8 Red Wolf × Coyote hybrids, from the Gulf Coastal Prairies of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. An additional 386 canids, including Red Wolves, Coyotes, Red Wolf × dog hybrids, and Red Wolf × Coyote hybrids, were examined from 1974 through 1979 for sarcoptic mange. Ectoparasites recovered from wild canids included Amblyomma americanum (7% of hosts infected), Amblyomma maculatum (80%), Ixodes scapularis (1.3%), Trichodectes canis (7%), Sarcoptes scabiei (9%), and Demodex sp. (0.3%). This is the first report of a species of Demodex in a wild canid host and the first definitive report of S. scabiei from these hosts in Texas. The 34 cases of sarcoptic mange encountered in this study demonstrated varying degrees of alopecia, scabby encrustations, slate-gray discoloration, and thickening of the skin. A female Red Wolf with mange and several captive Red Wolves suffering from sarcoptic mange were treated by shampooing with Mycodex® pet shampoo with lindane followed by application of benzyl benzoate with lindane. This treatment was successful in curing most severe infections of sarcoptic mange and the single case of demodectic mange in these hosts. The ramifications of ectoparasitism, especially mange, in these hosts are discussed.