I took a shot of a baby rabbit that lives in my backyard flower bed which has these round black growths on its head and ears. Since I took the shot the largest ones on its ears have fallen or been rubbed off, but there are still a few small ones on him. You can see right under the bottom 2 where there was one that I guess was also rubbed off and has left a bare spot. I have also noticed that new ones appear from time to time that weren't there the day before.
Has anyone else ever see these things?
Does anyone know what they are and what causes them?
Just curious as I have never seen these before on any wild rabbits.
Right now I cannot post another image until tommorrow, so I will put this shot on then.
Posted by Kent Staubus on July 10, 2006 at 12:16 AM
they don't seem to bother the little guy any. he's getting bigger every day and eating all of the carrots I throw in the flower bed for him. where the ones were on his ears show no signs of them even having been there.
Posted by Joshua Brann on July 11, 2006 at 1:15 AM
Ech. I haven't seen any that big for a while.
The blood sack is actually the tick. Think of a tick as sort of like a water balloon. As it gorges itself on blood, its body becomes distended as you can see on the rabbit. Eventually, the tick gets so big that it can no longer move because its legs are too short for its fat body. When full, the tick drops off the host, lays eggs, and actually becomes the first meal of the newborn ticks. Ticks are more or less harmless for their hosts, except when they transmit blood-borne diseases (although non-human mammals seem to only be carriers - could be wrong about that though).
Actually, ticks carry a huge array of diseases that can affect most mammal hosts...Lyme disease, multiple types of rickettsial diseases, tick paralysis to name a few. I have had 2 different dogs become VERY ill from diseases carried by ticks. Rocky Mountain spotted fever was one of the first tick born diseases discribed many years ago (and still found regularly), currently Lyme disease is the most often diagnosed disease from ticks.
Grace
Discussion
11 repliesHas anyone else ever see these things?
Does anyone know what they are and what causes them?
Just curious as I have never seen these before on any wild rabbits.
Right now I cannot post another image until tommorrow, so I will put this shot on then.
Kent in SD
If so, what are they, egg sacks or what?
ticks?
they don't seem to bother the little guy any. he's getting bigger every day and eating all of the carrots I throw in the flower bed for him. where the ones were on his ears show no signs of them even having been there.
The blood sack is actually the tick. Think of a tick as sort of like a water balloon. As it gorges itself on blood, its body becomes distended as you can see on the rabbit. Eventually, the tick gets so big that it can no longer move because its legs are too short for its fat body. When full, the tick drops off the host, lays eggs, and actually becomes the first meal of the newborn ticks. Ticks are more or less harmless for their hosts, except when they transmit blood-borne diseases (although non-human mammals seem to only be carriers - could be wrong about that though).
Grace
Bugs is doing good.
Right now he's waiting for some more carrots,,, so back to work.