Sarcoptic Mange

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Sarcoptic mange is more commonly known as scabies. This little mite can actually be very easily transmitted animal to animal or animal to human. Unlike demodex Sarcoptic mange is severely itchy in all animals. Typically it is confined to the areas with little to know hair. Think of the elbows, the ear margins or the under belly. This is where the mites typically like to set up shop.

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Diagnosing sarcoptes is much more difficult than demodex. While they can at times be seen with a superficial skin scrape they are not always present and neither are their eggs. Sometimes we use treatment as a diagnosis. This means we may recommend doing a trial run of the medication to treat the mite even if we don’t see them on the scrape. This is especially important since it can easily be transmitted to any animal in the household including people!

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There are again many different treatment regimens including injections, oral and topical treatment. By working with your veterinarian they will be able to find the right protocol for you and your pet.

Another great reason to consider treating even if the mites are not found, is that Scabies is very good at mimicking other conditions. They can look very similar to allergies which are also challenging at times to diagnose and manage. Without trying to treat or find a diagnosis we could go in depth looking at allergies when really we just needed to treat for this mite.

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If you pet does have sarcoptic mange, it is extremely important to wash all bedding, leashes, and toys that the animal has contact with. Otherwise this could turn into a vicious cycle where your pet keeps re-infecting itself and possibly everyone around it. You can visit this website for more information. But if you do have questions definitely contact your veterinarian!