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The snake that had 511 ticks removed from its body in Australia last week is still weak and is suffering from anemia, Australian veterinarians said.
ticks
Photo: Tony Harrison / Facebook / BBC News Brazil
The reptile, nicknamed Nike, is a python rug. He was rescued from an Australian pool by snake hunters. It is thought that he was trying to relieve the discomfort caused by the infestation in the water.
Since then, Nike has been treated for an acute infection. "This (the infection) may have caused their immobility, allowing the ticks to take advantage of it," Currumbin Wildlife Hospital said in an online statement.
Pot with ticks from the python-carpeted serpent in Australia
Photo: CURRUMBIN WILDHOUSE HOSPITAL / BBC News Brazil
Experts explain that it is common for animals to attract a small number of ticks and other parasites. But if the animal is weak, parasites can multiply rapidly and cause anemia – a deficiency of blood cells – by feeding on the blood of the host animal.
Veterinarians removed 511 snake ticks from Nike
"It is clear that the snake was very sick, which is why its natural defenses have been so weakened," said Bryan Fry, a professor at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Photo: Tony Harrison / Facebook / BBC News
The snake receives care from an experienced practitioner, said the hospital. The hope is to release him in the wild in the coming months.
"Nike is not yet back in the woods, but we are certain that it will recover completely," added the organization.
The koala that cured a tick infestation
The hospital that Nike has been dealing with recently treated a small koala found with more than one hundred ticks. It took the veterinarians two hours to eliminate all the insects.
The marsupial was separated from the mother when it was found, reported the wildlife advocacy group. The friends of the koala (The friends of the koala).
The institution thinks the koala has attracted so many ticks because it was sitting on the floor – a possible sign that it was sick or injured.
Green snake caught in a kitchen garden in São Paulo Park
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