FYI: This is what a mangey fox looks like

[Anonymous]

Our neighborhood fox (used to be red and lovely) has severe mange. According to the VA state wildlife expert, there is nothing we can do for it and we should not try to medicate it for feed it.

I just thought you might like to know what it looks like in case you see something similar. We are in a very suburban area in Fairfax County === where homes are 15 feet apart and there are busy streets all around. Poor Mr./Ms. Fox! We weren't even sure it was a fox at first because it is so skinny. It scratched itself for a long, long time. Ultimately, the mange will probably kill the fox.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Our neighborhood fox (used to be red and lovely) has severe mange. According to the VA state wildlife expert, there is nothing we can do for it and we should not try to medicate it for feed it.

I just thought you might like to know what it looks like in case you see something similar. We are in a very suburban area in Fairfax County === where homes are 15 feet apart and there are busy streets all around. Poor Mr./Ms. Fox! We weren't even sure it was a fox at first because it is so skinny. It scratched itself for a long, long time. Ultimately, the mange will probably kill the fox.

It may just be molting. I thought the same thing once but then I learned that every spring the red fox will shed their winter coat and look like this for a while. Don’t try to “help” it.

[Anonymous]

That's not molting. You can inject ivermectin in a chicken leg or hot dog and throw it out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's not molting. You can inject ivermectin in a chicken leg or hot dog and throw it out there.

Ask wildlife authorities before the unlicensed practice of veterinary medicine on wild animals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not molting. You can inject ivermectin in a chicken leg or hot dog and throw it out there.

Ask wildlife authorities before the unlicensed practice of veterinary medicine on wild animals.

+1

WT actual F?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's not molting. You can inject ivermectin in a chicken leg or hot dog and throw it out there.

Yup. Guess the weight, dose like a similar-weight dog. He'll need several doses, I suppose.

The golden rule is that you're not supposed to help wildlife. But foxes keep the rodent population down, so...

[Anonymous]

It looks like a kangaroo.

[Anonymous]

Of course consult wildlife rehab experts. We were given ivermectin years ago by a rehabber to treat mangey foxes. I don't know what they do now. Of course some will say it's survival of the fittest, don't intervene. Ask 3-5 different places and see what the consensus is. That's a severe case of mange.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

I did speak with a Virginia state dept. of wildlife conservation expert who was very clear that I should NOT put medicines in any food (for a variety of reasons: illegal to medicate an animal without examining it, don't know which animal will actually eat the food, and something else I can't remember). She also said that the treatment has been tried on bears and hasn't been shown to work. Plus, if the fox is around other fox (or animals) with mange, it'll just come back (the mange, that is).

The fox definitely has mange. I don't know how to post a video, but the fox spends quite a bit of time using its hind leg to scratch and scratch and scratch.

Basically, she said if we weren't in Fairfax, we could euthanize it (with a gun), or we could try to get the county conservation folks to catch it (not sure if that was for treatment or euthanizing). But, she made it very clear that we should not feed it or try to treat it. And basically, this fox is likely to die from the mange.

Sad. Our neighborhood fox always looked so good! And didn't bother anyone (except when there were the vixen calls at night).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It looks like a kangaroo.

When we first saw it, we weren't sure what animal it was supposed to be! It was so skinny and odd-shaped. But, then I saw that there was some reddishness on the tail (the red hair) and I realized the rest of the animal looked so weird because it didn't have any hair! He sat there for quite awhile just scratching and scratching. What I read on line is that red foxes are really susceptible to mange and if it gets bad, it can cause vision issues and then they essentially get malnourished because they can't see well enough to hunt.

[Anonymous]

https://www.wildliferescueleague.org/animal-help/foxes/

I understand that Fairfax county somewhat recently changed their restrictions that prevented wildlife rehabilitates from operating in the county. Maybe worth giving a call? We have seen mangey foxes in our suburban neighborhood too and it is super sad to see.

[Anonymous]

This is so sad. I hope you can find some help for the poor fox. Thanks anyways, for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Where do you get ivermectine from

[Anonymous]

I successfully saved a Fox with mange. Here is the protocol I followed. I trained the Fox to eat plain hot dogs for a few days before I started putting the Ivermectin in. Easily bought at Tractor Supply. You will want to buy some needles/syringes too, to inject the fluid into the hot dog.

https://foxwoodrehab.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/10/treating-sarcop.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I successfully saved a Fox with mange. Here is the protocol I followed. I trained the Fox to eat plain hot dogs for a few days before I started putting the Ivermectin in. Easily bought at Tractor Supply. You will want to buy some needles/syringes too, to inject the fluid into the hot dog.

https://foxwoodrehab.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/10/treating-sarcop.html

PP here: leave the hot dog in a spot the fox frequents. Put out the hot dog around dusk. When it is successfully gone after an hour for a few days, your Fox is trained. Be sure no dogs can eat it....collie-type breeds will die if they eat ivermectin. Also be sure you buy the right ivermectin. Not horse wormer paste, etc.