Reinfection can occur if a new flea (also infected) is ingested, so one preventative treatment will not usually be enough. Regularly treating your pet for fleas would be a good preventative treatment for this type of tapeworm. If your dog has fleas, they will be itching excessively so they may appear to have bald patches, redness of the skin, and potentially wounds, or even blood. Fleas thrive in areas which are moist, humid and shaded. The flea is a common intermediate host, so keeping your pets away from any fleas, or areas where you know there will be a high flea count can help to prevent your pet from becoming infected.įleas commonly live on cats so if your pets spend lots of time with cats they are more likely to pick up the infection. The tapeworm eggs can live in the environment in grass and soil, carpets and dust, so it is hard to eliminate the process of infection as we cannot keep this permanently clean. There are lots of different types of tapeworm, each with different intermediate hosts, meaning tapeworm can be caught from various sources. The eggs are released and hatch into tiny tapeworm heads, which mature into adult worms inside your pet over 2 months or so. These eggs are ingested by an intermediate host (normally a flea or a rodent), which is then eaten by your pets. These segments become gravid (pregnant with a pack of eggs encircled in a membrane) and are passed in the pets’ faeces, where they burst releasing tapeworm eggs onto the grass or material beneath them. Tapeworms are made from lots of segments, all of which have their own reproductive parts allowing their numbers to multiply rapidly as they constantly reproduce. They can grow up to 8 inches in length and, when mature, produce proglottids (segments) which grow from the end of the worm. They travel to the intestine where they attach to the mucous lining, using their strong mouthpieces, and grow into adults. Most species can be infected and the larvae are often ingested by dogs while they groom, or from the soil or grass. They are long, flat worms that live in your pet’s intestines. The infection can be caught from multiple areas and environments however, some conditions make them more likely to be transmitted.
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