Demodicosis in nine prairie dogs (Cynomys

ludovicianus)
Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Vladimir Jekl*, Karel Hauptman*, Edita

Jeklova and Zdenek Knotek*
*Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno,
Czech Republic
Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
Correspondence: Vladimir Jekl, MVDr, PhD, Avian and Exotic Animal
Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, 1-3 Palackeho St., 612 42 Brno,
Czech Republic. Tel.: +420541562368, +420732615647;
E-mail: jeklv@vfu.cz

What is known about the topic of your paper

Demodicosis has been diagnosed in other species.
What your paper adds to the field of veterinary
dermatology
This is the first documented case of demodicosis in
prairie dogs.

Abstract
This case report describes the clinical signs and
treatment of demodicosis in nine pet prairie dogs
(Cynomys ludovicianus). Clinical records including
history, clinical examination, microscopic evaluation
and fungal culture of the skin lesions were available for
all nine animals. In seven animals, blood was obtained
for haematological and biochemical analyses. Clinical
signs comprised bilaterally symmetrical alopecia extending from the middle part of the back down to the skin
of the thighs and the dorsal and ventral parts of the
tail. Demodex mites were found in skin scrapings from
all cases. Treatment with amitraz at 250 p.p.m.
resulted in resolution of lesions and hair regrowth.
This is the first report of demodicosis in this species.

not affected and pruritus was only reported in one male.

Conscious physical examination included activity level
and behaviour, nutritional status, chest auscultation and
rectal temperature. Further examination under general
anaesthesia (isoflurane/oxygen, isoflurane, Rhodia, Torrexpharma, GmbH, Vienna, Austria) included abdominal
palpation, inspection of oral cavity, evaluation of the skin
lesions and blood sampling.
Bilateral symmetrical alopecia was seen in all nine
animals. The alopecia extended from the middle part of
the dorsum down to the skin of the thighs and the dorsal
and ventral parts of the tail (Fig. 1). In eight patients, the
alopecia was nonpruritic and without visible signs of
erythema or scaling. When lesions had been present for
longer than 6 weeks, the alopecic areas became mildly
hyperpigmented. One animal showed a pruritic, pustular
dermatitis on the outside of the thighs.
Seven deep scrapings were taken using a scalpel blade
from each animal. One sample was taken from the dorsal
side of the tail base, one from the each lateral thigh, one
from each flank, and two from the margin of the lesions.
Part of the samples was examined microscopically in
paraffin oil and potassium hydroxide. The other part was
cultured for dermatophytes (DTM, Delasco, IA, USA).
Microscopic examination of all the skin scrapings revealed
an occurrence of one to 10 adult demodex mites (Fig. 2)
as well as the presence of few mite eggs (03). Larval
developmental stages were not found. The mites were all
of the short form morphology and ranged from 190 to
250 m in size. Slim oval eggs ranged in size from 55 to
70 m. Fungal culture results were negative in all cases.
Blood samples for haematological and biochemical
analyses were taken from the cranial vena cava in seven
patients.1 Blood smears were stained with MayGrnwald/

Accepted 16 May 2006

Case report
Nine prairie dogs (6 males, 924 months old and 3 females,
6 12 months old) were presented by different owners in
the Czech Republic. Animals were kept separately and
could move freely around the house. They were fed on
hay, rabbit pellets, mixed rodent cereal and fruits (mostly
apples). The prairie dogs had never been in contact with
any other animals since they were bought from a pet shop
by their current owners. No treatment had been given for
the skin condition prior to presentation.
All owners reported progressive hair loss over the dorsum,
lasting for periods of 13 months. General health was
280

Figure 1. Photo: Alopecic skin changes in prairie dog.

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Demodicosis in prairie dogs

Figure 2. Photomicrograph: Demodex mite. Bar = 100 m.

GiemsaRomanowski stains and evaluated. Serum biochemical analyses included the following parameters: total
protein, albumin, globulins, urea, creatinine, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline
phosphatase, creatine kinase, sodium, potassium, calcium
and phosphorus. The biochemical analyses were conducted
using the CobasMira (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) and
Atomspec (Hilger 1550, Cambridge, UK) analysers. Haematological and biochemical analyses were within reference
ranges for all animals.2
Treatment was performed with amitraz dips (Ectodex,
Intervet International B.V., Boxmeer, the Netherlands) at a
concentration of 250 p.p.m. for 3 5 min at 4-day intervals
for a period of 2 months. The amitraz solution was simple
sponged onto the animal. A typical treatment outcome is
shown in Figs 3 and 4. In all cases, the fur reappeared
within a period of 510 weeks after the beginning of
therapy. Folliculitis and pustular dermatitis in one patient
disappeared within 6 days after the beginning of treatment
without additional antibacterial therapy. Follow-up scrapings
from the same regions (seven sites) 1 and 2 months after
completion of therapy were negative.

Figure 3. Photo: Same case as Fig.1. Response to amitraz treatment

day 15.

Discussion
Demodicosis is a skin disease caused by ectoparasitic
mites from the genus Demodex (family Demodecidae),
and is typically manifested by alopecia, inflammation of
hair follicles and sebaceous glands. If the disease only has
a focal distribution on the body, it is usually nonpruritic.
A generalized follicular form with pruritus is reported in dogs,
cats and rabbits.3 Demodicosis is also described in many
species of small mammals such as rabbits,3 guinea pigs,4
hamsters,5,6 hedgehogs,7 gerbils,8 rats911 and ferrets.12 In
several other animals, the mites have not been precisely
determined.1214 In most animals, these mites live commensally in the skin and only when the immune system is
compromised does the mite population increase and the
disease develop.3 Two types of demodex mites are described:
follicular mites resembling Demodex canis and epidermal
forms with close taxonomic resemblance to Demodex criteti.3
The epidermal forms have a shorter morphology and have
been reported to cause a pruritic dermatosis in cats.15

Figure 4. Photo: Same case as Fig. 1. Response to amitraz treatment

day 40.

Funk2 listed fleas, ticks and lice as ectoparasites

causing skin diseases in prairie dogs. He also reported
parasitic infestation of undetermined sarcoptiform parasites
that caused alopecia. To the authors knowledge, this is
the first report of demodicosis in this species. All nine prairie dogs developed spontaneous demodicosis due to a
mite with a short body. This mite resembles Demodex

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Jekl et al.

gatoi in cats and Demodex criceti in hamsters,15 but it

was not precisely speciated. In one patient with pruritic
pustular dermatitis we found the highest numbers of mites
(10 adults, 3 eggs), but it is not possible with one case to
link the number of mites to disease severity. When dealing
with bilaterally symmetrical alopecia in small mammals,
other ectoparasites, barbering syndromes, dermatomycosis,
hormonal dermatoses, and congenital and hereditary
alopecias should be considered.3 In these cases, there
was no history of congenital problems, the owners had
not noticed any excessive grooming or barbering and
fungal infections were ruled out by culture. There was no
evidence on clinical, haematological or biochemical analysis
of hormonal problems, although specific endocrine assays
have not been validated in this species and were not
carried out. Although in all described cases the first symptoms of skin disease appeared from October to March, no
relationship with oestrus or hormonal disturbance would
be expected in animals of this age.2 The demodicosis
appears to have been a primary development because no
corticosteroids had been administered to any of the prairie
dogs, and there was no evidence of disease likely to cause
immunosuppression. Whether or not there was some
source of stress is not known. As we did not see this
disease in adult animals (prairie dogs under 24 months
of age are known as subadults), the condition may be
analogous to juvenile onset demodicosis in dogs.
The clinical diagnosis was supported by the positive
response to treatment with amitraz, but further reports
are necessary before we can conclude that the disease
does not resolve spontaneously in some cases. No adverse
effect of the amitraz dips was observed. In dogs with
demodicosis, baths in bactericidal shampoos and complete
hair removal are recommended as adjunctive treatments.3
However, this would not to be recommended in small
mammals because of the risk of hypothermia. Possible
alternative treatments such as ivermectin as reported in
hamsters16 and koalas,17 or selamectin as reported in
hedgehogs18 may also prove to be effective in prairie dogs.
The source of mites in these cases was not determined,
because the owners did not have any other animals. The
mites could have been present since birth, or they could
have been acquired from other animals in pet shops,
where many hamsters, rabbits, rats and cats were present.
The precise host specificity of demodex mites in prairie
dogs is not known. We have examined scrapings from 20
clinical healthy prairie dogs and did not find mites, but this
would be typical of the situation in dogs and cats. Further
investigations will be needed to determine if the mites are
genuinely present at low numbers in all animals.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Prof. G.M. Dorrestein,
DVM, PhD, (NOIBVD, the Netherlands) and MVDr David

Modry, PhD, (Department of Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic) for their valuable comments, critical reading of the
manuscript and their helpful suggestions and to the technical staff of the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic, University
of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, for their
skilful assistance.

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Rsum Ce cas clinique rapporte les signes cliniques et le traitement de la dmodcie chez neuf chiens
de prairie (Cynomys ludovicianus). Les donnes anamnestiques, cliniques, microscopiques et le rsultat de
cultures fongiques ont t tudis. Pour sept animaux, des analyses biochimiques et hmatologiques ont
galement t ralises. Les signes cliniques regroupaient une alopcie bilatrale et symtrique, stendant
du milieu du dos aux cuisses et sur les parties ventrale et dorsale de la queue. Des Demodex ont t
282

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Demodicosis in prairie dogs

retrouvs sur les raclages dans tous les cas. Un traitement base damitraze 250 ppm a permis une
disparition des lsions et la repousse du poil. Il sagit du premier rapport de dmodcie dans cette espce.
Resumen El caso documentado en este artculo describe los signos clnicos y el tratamiento frente a
demodicosis en nueve perrillos de las praderas (Cynomys ludovicianus). Los documentos clnicos incluida
la historia, el examen clnico, la evaluacin microscpica y el cultivo de hongos de las lesiones de la piel
fueron completados en los nueve animales. En siete de los animales tambin se obtuvo sangre para el
anlisis hematolgico y bioqumico. Los signos clnicos incluyeron alopecia simtrica bilateral extendindose
desde la linea media del tronco ventralmente hacia la piel de los muslos y las zonas dorsales y ventrales de la
cola. Se encontraron caros del gnero Demodex en raspados de la piel en todos los animales. El tratamiento
con amitraz a 250 ppm result en la resolucin de las lesiones y en crecimiento del pelo. Este artculo es
el primer reporte de demodicosis en esta especie.
Zusammenfassung Dieser Fallbericht beschreibt die klinischen Symptome und die Behandlung von
Demodikose bei neun als Haustiere gehaltenen Prriehunden (Cynomys ludovicianus). Klinische Daten bzgl.
Anamnese, klinischer Untersuchung, mikroskopischer Evaluierung und Pilzkultur der Hautvernderungen
waren von allen neun Tieren vorhanden. Bei sieben Tieren wurde eine Blutprobe entnommen fr eine
hmotologische und biochemische Analyse. Die klinischen Symptome bestanden aus bilateralem symmetrischen Haarausfall, welcher sich von der Mitte des Rckens bis zu den Oberschenkeln erstreckte, sowie
auf die dorsalen und ventralen Teile des Schwanzes. Demodexmilben wurden in Hautgeschabseln von allen
Fllen gefunden. Die Behandlung mit Amitraz bei einer Dosierung von 250 ppm resultierte in Rckbildung
der Vernderungen und Nachwachsen der Haare. Es handelt sich hier um den ersten Report von
Demodikose bei dieser Spezies.

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