Snake covered in 500 ticks makes dramatic recovery
A large carpet python that was found covered in hundreds of paralytic ticks is on the road to recovery after being on the brink of death.
The visibly distressed snake was found soaking in a backyard pool when Tony and Brooke Harrison arrived to the home in the Gold Coast suburb of Coolangatta last week.
“That’s why he’s in the water. He’s trying to drown them. They’re all over his body,” snake catcher Tony Harrison said at the time.
There were more than 500 ticks on the snake, who is now affectionately known as Nike, before he was taken to the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital where vets worked for hours to try and remove the visible parasites.
A spokesperson from Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers, where Nike was transferred to, said many of the dead ticks have fallen off since the initial treatment.
“Nike is coping well so far given the state he was in before coming into care with us,” a spokesperson from Tweed Valley Wildlife told Yahoo7 News.
“His appetite is slowly increasing, although at a much slower pace than a healthy carpet python.
They said he still has a long road to recovery until he is healthy enough to be released.
