arterial worm infections

[BSK]

Got the below video the other day. Arterial worm infections in whitetails are pretty common, but generally don't cause severe illness. However, this older buck looks terrible. He looks on Death's door. Look at how much his spine shows and how hollow his hips are. A small as he looks, I suspect he is 3 1/2 years old. It even looks like his velvet never came off properly. I bet he doesn't make it.

The easiest way to diagnose arterial worm is to look for the tell-tale jaw impaction, also termed "lumpy jaw." It is suspected that the jaw impaction opens the deer's system up to infection from the nematode that infects the arteries. Look closely as the buck passes the camera and you can see the big lump under his jaw.

 

[TNGunsmoke]

Could it be an impacted tooth instead? Or how can you tell the difference in the two?

 

[BSK]

Could it be an impacted tooth instead? Or how can you tell the difference in the two?

They will look similar, although impacted teeth usually produce swelling on the side of the jaw. But both will cause arterial worm infections. Almost all deer carry the parasite in their system, but it needs an entry point into the blood stream. Jaw impactions and tooth problems are the easiest route.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Lumpy jaw or bottle jaw in cattle from worms are not always hard tight swollen lumps, but rather are more loose. I don't know if the same is true in deer. I do know my wife killed a buck a few years back, that we had pics of that the deer in the prior December where he had a golf ball sized lump on his jaw. It was gone the following season when she killed him, but his jawbone showed he had an abscess on that same side. Imagine they can get abscesses pretty easily.

If it is worms, bad way for an animal to go.

 

[Dumbluck]

I've got one now that looks real similar to him. He is a mature deer but very thin. I don't know what's up with him at the moment I haven't layed eyes on him yet. Our main place has been absolutely ate up with sickness and disease the last 4 years and it seems to affect our older aged bucks the worse, the ones we want for next year. I've hunted this area for over 20 years and I have never seen anything like it.

I'm very convinced it's a neighbor that moved in 4 years ago, the same time everything started. They are feeding the deer thousands of pounds of corn. I'm very confident the deer are getting foot rot from his feed sites. We put down 3 good bucks in the area just last year alone with the same symptoms of swollen ankles and feet. They get to where they can't walk and we have to put them down. I'm hoping we can send off a sample or have one tested when it happens again this year. I planned on getting TWRA involved last year but I just don't have the time like I used to.

I detest feeding them corn and really wish they just make it illegal already.

 

[backyardtndeer]

I detest feeding them corn and really wish they just make it illegal already.

Likely coming to your area soon, but with cwd. Unfortunately many do not follow the laws. I am pretty sure some around here are still feeding corn, but no way to prove it.

 

[BSK]

Lumpy jaw or bottle jaw in cattle from worms are not always hard tight swollen lumps, but rather are more loose. I don't know if the same is true in deer. I do know my wife killed a buck a few years back, that we had pics of that the deer in the prior December where he had a golf ball sized lump on his jaw. It was gone the following season when she killed him, but his jawbone showed he had an abscess on that same side. Imagine they can get abscesses pretty easily.

If it is worms, bad way for an animal to go.

I bet the diseases are different. In deer, almost all deer carry the nematode the produces arterial worms (it's spread by horse flies). The nematode just needs a way into the blood stream. A deer that happens to get a jaw impaction or impacted tooth has a high probability of getting arterial worm. In essence, the jaw impaction just provides an access point. It isn't that the nematode causes the jaw impaction, it's that the jaw impaction allows access to the bloodstream to produce the arterial worms.

That said, arterial worms rarely cause serious issues for infected deer. I get several jaw impaction deer on camera every year and this is the first time I've seen serious illness.

 

[Ski]

Poor fella looks completely famished. Too bad. He looked to have a nice frame.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Do you think that is what this deer has?

 

[BSK]

Absolutely.