OT - Any DVMs out there???

[RSY]

Goats, Armadillos, Leprosy?

At our place in Kimble County it's been so dry that I'm catching armadillos actually climbing in and swimming/drinking in the water troughs that are for our goats. Do I need to worry about leprosy and the goats getting it? Should I mount a punitive expedition against the 'dillos? I could easily thin them out in a day, or two.

Thanks for any info, in advance.

Scott

[J Miller]

RSY,

Armadillos have leprosy?

That's the first I've heard of that, but then the only dillos I usually see are squashed on the hiway.

Joe

[Otto]

svm369.vetmed.lsu.edu/images/truman/Human and Armadillo Leprosy.pdf

I guess I really do learn something new every day!

[RSY]

Thanks for the link, Otto. A good one.

Joe, it is strange, isn't it?

Scott

[RKrodle]

Hey RSY, if you decide on a Single Envelopment , instead of Frontal, attack let me know and I be happy to provide covering fire.

[J Miller]

Thanks for the link, Otto. A good one.

Joe, it is strange, isn't it?

Scott

Scott,
I read that entire page Otto gave us. It's kinda scary. Armadillos are said to be moving north into IL. Not that I care really, but any new disease into a formerly free area is not good.

If you choose to eradicate those armor plated critters I could come down and help.

Joe

[AJMD429]

One easy solution if you don't want to kill all the armadillos would be to put out shallower water pans with a few gallons in them in areas the goats can't get to - maybe the armadillos would be lazy and prefer those. If you only have a couple troughs it could be feasable to use something goats could step over but armadillos would have a hard time climbing, to keep them out of the goats troughs.

We had a strain of screwy squirrels that ate our shingles right off the house and I shot one only to find out others did the same thing. We put a mineral block on the roof of the shed they jumped onto our house from, and the squirrels left our shingles alone after that.

[Jaguarundi]

Shoot'em every opp I can."Hoover Hogs" can screwup foundations and septic systems when they burrow.Nasty buggers !

[Ysabel Kid]

Well, if that isn't a good reason to shoot the armored rats, I don't know what is!

[Rusty]

They also put those annoying little holes in the ground that are just deep enough to twist an ankle in. I've heard that leprosy thing too.

When I was a kid we called 'em possum on the half shell. Gut 'em and cover it with bar b que sauce and bake in the oven. It tastes just like pork.

[JustaJeepGuy]

Not chicken?? That's a first!

[RSY]

Thanks for the offers of assistance, amigos. But, I think it'd be quite a drive to make just to take out what would probably amount to about ten animals.

I would like to have some levergunners come out, though. Maybe, next season we'll get a little whitetail meat hunt together. No charge, just bring your own chow and drinks.

Scott

[kimwcook]

You guys are killing me with all these levergun get togethers. But they all seem to be 1,000-3,000 miles away.

I'm going to have to get off my duff and get something put together for us Pacific Northwesterner's this year. Blaine, ya hear that? Only one caveat, I don't hunt the wet side.

[Blaine]

You guys are killing me with all these levergun get togethers. But they all seem to be 1,000-3,000 miles away.

I'm going to have to get off my duff and get something put together for us Pacific Northwesterner's this year. Blaine, ya hear that? Only one caveat, I don't hunt the wet side.

We have them over here on the wet side. Usually meet in Shelton Denny's then drive into the Olympic Forest to a pretty fair rock pit.

[BAGTIC]

DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.

Very, very few armadillos have ever been tested with leprosy.

All the armadillos infected with leprosy were reported from just four Louisiana counties.

Remember armadillos first caught leprosy from humans. Armadillos are only found in the New World while leprosy is an Old World disease. Leprosy is NOT a highly contagious disease.

Do you worry about contracting mad cow disease, anthrax, foot and mouth disease, Bang's disease, rabies, Lyme disease, tularemia, Rocky mountain spotted fever, malaria, encephalitis, etc, etc., etc, from all those other critters running around.

[Fungus Sam]

RSY, I'm not a vet but I am a retired board certified clinical microbiologist. The short answer for your goats is: no, they cannot contract leprosy. Leprosy is a disease of humans and oddly armadillos. (Maybe some of us are genetically related!!) If I can paraphrase a recent article appearing in Clinical Microbiological ReviewsVol 19, 2006: The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcintus) is the only immunologically intact animal that regularly develops fully deseminated leprosy infections. Armadillos are used as laboratory models to study the leprosy organism (Mycobacterium leprae, a bacterium). Leprosy is extremely difficult to cultivate and carry out research with. Armadillos in the southern U.S. can be natural hosts of leprosy. Surveys conducted over the last 30 years confirm the infection in armadillos from a number of states.

Having said all this, keep in mind that the impact of armadillo leprosy is difficult to measure. Leprosy remains rare in the U.S., and the risk attrributable to armadillos is quite low. As someone else pointed out, there are a number of other more common diseases to worry about. Hope this helps answer your concerns. Tom

[awp101]

Do you worry about contracting mad cow disease, anthrax, foot and mouth disease, Bang's disease, rabies, Lyme disease, tularemia, Rocky mountain spotted fever, malaria, encephalitis, etc, etc., etc, from all those other critters running around.

I didn't until now...

And you left out the Hanta Virus....

[RSY]

Do you worry about contracting mad cow disease, anthrax, foot and mouth disease, Bang's disease, rabies, Lyme disease, tularemia, Rocky mountain spotted fever, malaria, encephalitis, etc, etc., etc, from all those other critters running around.

No, I'm worried about my little herd of goats that is drinking the water from a relatively small container that the armadillos are swimming around in. From what I'm reading, it looks like it's too arid where we are to really worry about it.

I'm not worried about it for myself. As a kid, we used to chase and catch them barehanded all the time. Those little **** are fast, believe me.

I will issue a formal stay of execution for the 'dillos later today.

Scott

p.s. Yes, I do "worry" about tularemia, Lyme's disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever.

[mikld]

"Do you worry about contracting mad cow disease, anthrax, foot and mouth disease, Bang's disease, rabies, Lyme disease, tularemia, Rocky mountain spotted fever, malaria, encephalitis, etc, etc., etc, from all those other critters running around."

Oh No! Jeeze, now I have all those to worry about too! Maybe I'll just stay in L.A. where I only have to worry about smog and lung cancer, killer traffic, gangbangers, and earthquakes! Oh me, oh my, just too much...

[BAGTIC]

They also put those annoying little holes in the ground that are just deep enough to twist an ankle in. I've heard that leprosy thing too.

When I was a kid we called 'em possum on the half shell. Gut 'em and cover it with bar b que sauce and bake in the oven. It tastes just like pork.

He ain't lying. Even looks like nice white pork loin.

A few years ago there was an Armadillo Breeders Association devoted to the 'improvement' of the critters. They even exhibited them in fairs down in Texas. I have had four 'pet' armadillos in my life. They are interesting if rather stupid animals. on't let them get close to your bag of potatoes. The earthy odor drives them to a feeding frenzy and they will literally shred the entire bag trying to find bugs. They eat some left over veggies if they are well cooked. Armadillos don't have any real teeth so they must 'gum' their food. Moistened dry dog food is convenient food. Interestingly the are naturally potty trained. Give them a litter box and they will never use any place else.

By the way I raise goats and around here armadillos are common enough to be the number one road kill. But them again our ground is so rocky that one would have a hard time digging a respectable hole without a backhoe.