Dreamcatcher Alpacas
Alpaca health · Parasites

Ticks & Ear Ticks in Alpacas

Updated 2026-10-02By the Dreamcatcher Alpacas editorial team6 peer-reviewed references
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Book a vet visit soon

Not usually an emergency, but it needs a diagnosis and a plan.

Ticks attach in thin-skinned areas and can transmit infections; the spinose ear tick of the western U.S. causes ear pain and head tilts.

Category
Parasites
Urgency
Book a vet visit soon
Spreads to people
Yes — see below

Signs & symptoms

  • Head shaking, rubbing ears, drooped ear or head tilt
  • Ticks on ears, face, armpits, groin and tail area
  • Rarely: ascending weakness (tick paralysis)

Related symptom guides: Head Tilt or Circling.

What causes it?

Hard ticks (Ixodes, Dermacentor, Amblyomma) from brushy vegetation; the spinose ear tick (Otobius megnini) lives deep in the ear canal.

Risk factors

  • Brushy, wooded pastures
  • Spring and early summer
  • Dry western regions (ear ticks)

How vets diagnose it

Visual inspection; ear ticks require examining the ear canal with a light.

Treatment

Remove attached ticks carefully; your vet can flush ears and prescribe acaricides. Tick paralysis resolves quickly once all ticks are removed.

Prevention

  • Mow and clear brush along fences
  • Check ears and armpits weekly in tick season

Can people catch it?

Ticks can carry Lyme disease and other infections to people — check yourself after handling.

Background

Otobius megnini, also known as the spinose ear tick, is a soft-bodied tick that is only parasitic in the larval and nymphal stages. As its common name suggests, the spinose ear tick's parasitic forms are usually found within the ears of the definitive host. This tick has a worldwide distribution, with common hosts that include horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and dogs.From Wikipedia — “Otobius megnini”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Research & references

PubMed lists 18 peer-reviewed papers on this topic in camelids. The most relevant include:

  1. Parasitism in llamas. Cheney JM, Allen GT The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 1989. PubMed 2647235 · DOI · cited 14×
  2. Preliminary analysis of Psoroptes ovis transcriptome in different developmental stages. He ML, Xu J, He R et al. Parasites & vectors, 2016. PubMed 27809902 · DOI · Free full textOpen access · cited 13×
  3. Tick-borne pathogens in camels: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence in dromedaries. El-Alfy ES, Abbas I, Saleh S et al. Ticks and tick-borne diseases, 2024. PubMed 37769585 · DOI · cited 12×
  4. A Retrospective Cohort Study of Tick Paralysis in British Columbia. Morshed M, Li L, Lee MK et al. Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.), 2017. PubMed 29083955 · DOI · cited 11×
  5. Granulocytic ehrlichiosis: an emerging or rediscovered tick-borne disease?. Ogden NH, Woldehiwet Z, Hart CA Journal of medical microbiology, 1998. PubMed 9879965 · DOI · cited 28×
  6. First report of Babesia bigemina in Lama glama in a zoological garden of Veracruz, Mexico. Romero-Salas D, Sánchez-Montes S, Bravo-Ramos JL et al. Veterinary parasitology, regional studies and reports, 2022. PubMed 35820724 · DOI

Frequently asked questions

What is ticks & Ear Ticks in alpacas?
Ticks attach in thin-skinned areas and can transmit infections; the spinose ear tick of the western U.S. causes ear pain and head tilts.
What are the signs of ticks & Ear Ticks?
Head shaking, rubbing ears, drooped ear or head tilt, ticks on ears, face, armpits, groin and tail area and rarely: ascending weakness (tick paralysis).
How do you prevent ticks & Ear Ticks?
Mow and clear brush along fences. Check ears and armpits weekly in tick season.
Is ticks & Ear Ticks an emergency?
Book a vet visit soon. Not usually an emergency, but it needs a diagnosis and a plan.
Can people catch it from alpacas?
Ticks can carry Lyme disease and other infections to people — check yourself after handling.

This page is educational and does not replace advice from a veterinarian who has examined your animals. Camelid medicine uses many drugs “extra-label”, so dosing must come from your vet. In an emergency, call your vet first. Read our disclaimer · How we write and review content.