NFWS Sarcoptic Mange Site

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions ... Continued

My friend has given me your email address. I wonder if you can help. We feed the squirrels in our garden and last winter we noticed that one of them was looking a bit "mangy". He lost the fur along his spine (like a reverse mohican) and then all the fur on his back and sides fell out. His tail was ok and his legs, but the fur on his tummy also looked thin. Since then the fur has started to grow back, starting at his neck and growing down his body, so he is only half bald now. What can we do to help him? We feed peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, seeds, apples, pears, avocados, etc.

We know very little about squirrels and no-one we have asked has been able to help so far. None of the other squirrels have been affected. Apart from the baldness, the sick squirrel looks very alert and lively. Does it sound like mange to you

It certainly sounds like mange. If you can put a peanut butter sandwich out or something like that for the squirrel we can send you the treatment that will cure the mange. Please send full address and details.

How much does a male red fox weigh?

Anything up to 8 - 9 kg average weight in pounds would be roughly 14 - 16 lbs

What is the fox doing when it yells out in the night like a child crying for help.

One of two things, it could be the vixen calling to her mate or it could be the cubs fighting for their share of the food. Whilst either sounds like they are killing each other no harm befalls them

Does anyone have any experience with Foxes as house pets?

Yes plenty. Every year we get a dozen or so foxes that have been brought up in a house environment. People take a cub on thinking how sweet. The cub will usually take to being handled quite well. However once the fox get to the age of about 14-16 weeks it goes through a stage called neophobia. Young children go through the same stage, trusting everyone up until a certain age then suddenly bursting into tears if they are handed to a stranger. A fox cub on seeing a person who is not an immediate member of the family will dart for cover and panic. At 14 - 16 weeks the foxy smell will be on everything that doesn't move, and on some things that do! Foxes being territorial animals will mark their territory frequently i.e. the house and contents and will usually leave their dropping near to the door.

Since their liking for chewing leather plastic, wire etc they actually become a health hazard in the house in so much as they will chew through electric cables without thinking twice. Nice stories of foxes having being brought up in a house and then escaping to live a happy life are often heard, but in reality the fox escaping will usually prove to be a death sentence, as the fox will not only be in another fox families territory but it also will not know where to get a regular supply of food from.

Invariably Basil the fox will usually be introduced to Bruno the dog and they may get on fine, but if the fox escapes suddenly enemy number two to a fox is viewed as a friend rather than foe! Unlike a domestic dog do something to a fox that it doesn't like and it's way of saying no is to bite the nearest piece of exposed flesh, starts getting serious when one imagines that children may also be sharing the foxes territory.

This is when we usually get called to take on Basil! The householders usually say we have now decided he belongs in the wild. Problem number one for us is in attempting to integrate the house fox with a litter of cubs of the same age. Most fox cubs denied contact with their own species will be afraid and will hide away or try to get away. This causes the other three or four cubs to investigate the unusual behaviour exhibited and the problem then escalates until the cub is completely paranoid. Problem two is in attempting to get a fox to be afraid of dogs, no easy task! Problem three raises its head when a cub will never accept other cubs. Also a problem if the fox escapes.

The main problem here is that you have a fox cub that has bonded with one family, and one family only i.e. the householders who dumped him on us. So the cub will not only be afraid of other cubs but will also be afraid of any person it does not know. A cub that can not be rehabilitated or will not accept life in captivity will have to be euthanased. Continued top right

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Mange Treatment

Got a fox visiting your garden suffering from Sarcoptic Mange, then please visit our mange pages for help and free treatment.