The goal of this page is to provide you with a guide to help you identify common cutaneous parasites of dogs and cats that you may encounter in your clinic. These are microscopic images, and reflect what you would find on an appropriate superficial or deep skin scraping, or trichogram.
Appropriate magnification settings are different for each parasite (usually 10x or 40x), and remember to drop the condenser and close the aperture to maximize contrast and enhance visualization of the parasites you are looking for.
For treatment of these parasites, you may be able to find recommendations on other areas of the Dermavet website (Clinical Cases, Forums, Bibliography). If you are unable to find what you are looking for, feel free to ask in the clinical cases Forum.
| Cutaneous parasites of the dog |
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| Common Name | Scientific Name | Life Stage | Photos |
| Mites | |||
| Demodex | Demodex canis | Adult |  |
| Demodex cornei | Adult |  |
|
| Demodex injai | Adult |  |
|
| Egg |  |
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| Scabies | Sarcoptes scabiei | Male adult |  |
| Female adult |  |
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| Eggs |  |
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| Feces |  |
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| Cheyletiella (“Walking Dandruff”) | Cheyletiella yasguri | Adult |  |
| Egg |  |
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| Harvest mite, chigger | Trombicula autumnalis | Larva |  |
| Brown dog tick | Rhipicephalus sanguineus | Adult |  |
| Castor bean tick | Ixodes ricinus | Adult |  |
| American dog tick | Dermacentor variabilis | Adult |  |
| Insects | |||
| Biting louse | Trichodectes canis | Adult |  |
| Sucking louse | Linognathus setosus | Adult |  |
| Egg |  |
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| Flea (cat flea) | Ctenocephalides felis | Adult |  |
| Egg |  |
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| Larva |  |
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| Feces |  |
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| Cutaneous parasites of the cat |
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| Mites | |||
| Demodex | Demodex cati | Adult |  |
| Demodex gatoi | Adult |  |
|
| Egg | |
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| Feline Scabies | Notoedres cati | Adulte |  |
| Cheyletiella (“Walking Dandruff”) | Cheyletiella blakei | Adult | |
| Egg | |
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| Harvest mite, chigger | Trombicula autumnalis | Larva | |
| Ticks | Rhipicephalus sanguineus | Adult | |
| Ixodes ricinus | Adult | |
|
| Dermacentor reticulatus | Adult | |
|
| Insects | |||
| Lice | Felicola subrostratus | Adult |  |
| Egg | |
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| Flea (cat flea) | Ctenocephalides canis | Adult | |
| Egg | |
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| Larva | |
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| Feces | |
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