I have pulled off some nasty ticks , on myself, my snakes, my cats and my neighbour's dogs with the Otom tick twister.....all of them are still in good health.
The reason this little thing works so great is because you don't need to apply any pressure on the thick on any part. you just slide it under and twist, the tick just comes off, even the small ones you can't get between your fingers....

www.otom.com

Frank