Hypotension can be managed usually with I.V. fluid administration. Because these lizards may bite tenaciously, dislodgment of the lizard may leave teeth, not readily identified by radiography, in the bite sites. Patients who have been bitten should be monitored for at least six hours. With supportive care, fatalities are infrequent. Although ticks are capable of transmitting a number of infectious diseases, such as Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, Colorado tick fever, and babesiosis, feeding ticks may also elaborate a neurotoxin that causes tick paralysis.
Symptoms begin two to seven days after a tick begins to feed.
Symmetric weakness of the lower extremities progresses to an ascending flaccid paralysis over several hours to days. The sensorium is clear, and sensory function is usually normal. Ataxia without muscle weakness may be experienced. Nerve conduction velocity and compound muscle action potentials are decreased, but the cerebrospinal fluid is normal. The diagnosis is made by finding an embedded tick, often on the scalp.