Red Fox (with Mange) - Vulpes vulpes

Things like this break my heart. This poor fox was foraging for berries under our mulberry tree this afternoon. Her mange was so bad and it looks like she had babies not too long ago. I've been trying to find help for her, but none of the rehabilatators can do anything because she is an adult and they can't handle adult foxes because of the rabies risk. I'm hoping to put out food with antibiotics for her if my Vet will help me out.

Habitat: Rural area

comments (8)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

What do you think is wrong with her? Underfed? Wounded? Posted 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  She has mange, which is a skin disease caused by mites. The first rehabilitator that I talked to said that this case looks pretty advanced. The mange will cause itching and she will develop infections that will affect her organs. Without help, she (and her babies) will likely die. Posted 3 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Thanks for clarifying, that's such a sad outlook :( Posted 3 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      It is so sad. I heard back from our veterinarian, and they can't help either -- again because she is an adult fox with the risk of having rabies. So, there are no more options. I feel so sick over it. I really hope she and her babies survive. Posted 3 years ago

Neptune

Lion

It is very sad. We see lots of wombats in Australia with mange! Posted 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Aww, that's awful. Posted 3 years ago

t7iguy

Lion

Please be careful....I would advise not to put out food for her...I am pretty sure that the mange can be spread to the domestic animals (dogs/cats) in the area and also if there is a risk of rabies then it could be dangerous to draw her into the area with food and she attack a pet or human.
Nature has it's way of taking out the weak and sick...We don't always like the way it looks or the way it is done but it is necessary for the survival of the species and the ecosystem and it can prevent devastating volumes of disease spread. At times we just have to be still and let nature do what needs to be done.
Please do be careful. Posted 3 years ago, modified 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks for the warning -- you are so right. All the professionals that I contacted were unable to help because of the rabies risk. And, the more I thought about it, I realized that it might be a bad idea to lure a sick fox into a domestic area because of the threat of spreading mange and possibly rabies to others. The ways of nature can be so hard to accept though, especially for a sensitive human :). Posted 3 years ago

The Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America and the steppes of Asia.

Info 100 5

Similar species: Carnivorans

Species identified by Christine Young