A study was carried out to determine the prevalence of ecto- and gastro-intestinal parasitic infections in wild cane rats (T. swinderianus) in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria. Four hundred (400) grasscutters were examined for ectoparasites while the gastro-intestinal tracts of thirty (30) species were removed and examined for endoparasites. One hundred and twelve, 112 (28.0%) of the cane rats were found to harbour ectoparasites comprising Ixodes sp and Rhipicephalus sp. Fifty-five 55(13.75%) of the cane rats were infested with Rhipicephalus sp only, 37(9.25%) with Ixodes sp only, while 20(5.0%) were infested with both Ixodes sp and Rhipicephalus sp. Rhipicephalus sp infestation was significantly higher (PÃ?â?¹Ã?â??0.05) compared to Ixodes sp. Infestation was highest at the lateral regions (12.24±0.21) for Ixodes sp and (15.39±0.02) for Rhipicephalus sp and lowest at the neck region (0.00±0.00) for both species. Prevalence of ticks’ infestation was higher in females (52.45%) than in males (39.07%). Gastrointestinal parasites were found in 100% of the cane rats and composed of Nematodes such as Trichuris sp. (96.7%), Globocephalus sp. (86.7%), Squamostrongylus sp. (70%), Strongylus sp. (83.3%), Strongyloides sp. (93.3%), Trichostrongylus sp. (100%), and Castorstrongylus sp. (83.3%). The small intestine harboured the highest number of parasites. Accordingly, this study concludes that wild cane rats harbour much parasites and that rearing can reduce the intensity of infection and increase the market value since the domesticated ones will be regularly dewormed.
