“Skinny” the poorly fox cub

Although I've mentioned 'Skinny' a few times in recent posts, what I hadn't said is that we suspect the cub is suffering from mange. Skinny is… well… much skinnier than the others, with a very thin brush (almost down to the bone in places), and almost no hair on the rump area. She's also ferocious when any food is about, beating off all-comers to any scraps. So for the past week or so we've been providing small food supplements separately, and today we visited our local wildlife centre for the first of a series of ivermectin doses.

Making sure Skinny gets the medicine (in food) is easy as she (I think Skinny is female, but can't be certain) has more or less taken up residence in the garden, spending long hours sleeping on the open lawn. And sure enough, she took it down within 5 minutes of me getting home.

Mange is a nasty condition and can kill foxes, but is also extremely treatable. It's a skin mite that works away under the skin and a lot of the problems are caused by the fox scratching and causing secondary infections. Treatment is usually swift and effective, as we saw with Kinky the vixen earlier in the year. So we're hoping we've acted in time.

cubs_skinny_220806042

You can see the distinctive black/red patches on her rump

cubs_skinny_220806023

It less obvious, but still evident in this photo

cubs_skinny_220806056

Of course, Skinny still has her good side 😉

Just a further quick note. Ivermectin should only be used under the guidance of an expert and where you can ensure that the target animal will take (and eat) the food. It can have serious contra-indications in some breeds of dog. There are alternatives to ivermectin, and a homeopathic remedy is widely used in the UK with good results. The National Fox Welfare Society carries good information about mange, and also provides the homeopathic remedy.

Tags: , ,

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Words

    22 Aug 2006

    I think I'll resist the temptation until the mange is sorted out. :yuck: But she is incredibly cute when she wants to be.

  2. Dudley

    22 Aug 2006

    :up:

    That bottom pic makes you want to hug that fox.

    –

  3. sanshan

    23 Aug 2006

    Awww, What a beautiful face. You are so kind to take care of her like that. 😀

  4. volkuro

    23 Aug 2006

    I hope the medecine will work. She's really cute indeed 😉

  5. ALLY_G

    26 Aug 2006

    She looks so cute at the last photo. 🙂
    I hope with you, that she will convalesce soon!

Comments are closed.

Close Menu