A Poorly Fox and my attempt to Help
Discussion
I thought i'd post about this in here as it's the kind of thing I like reading about in this forum so hopefully some of you guys will too, plus my wife is sick of me talking about it and I don't want to bore my friends with it so you lot can have it here 
A few days ago I noticed a really poorly fox in my garden. Over the five years I've lived here we've seen a load of foxes using our garden as a passageway, a chill out spot and a playground - we have a few apple trees and last summer we saw four foxes running around throwing the apples around like toys, it was great to see. One fox always seemed a bit scruffier than the rest but seemed to be okay. I'm assuming our poorly fox is this same one, but it could be any of them I suppose, or even a new one.
Anyway, this fox has a pretty bad case of mange, with barely any hair left on their body. He/she was chilling in my garden in these photos at about 3pm which is pretty unusual, so I don't think he/she is feeling too good.
With some advice from the wife (she's a vet nurse) and a local fox rescue man I have set up a wildlife camera and put out some food for him/her - although I'm sure the other foxes will help themeslves too. The plan is to see if he/she comes back regularly to eat the food, and if so put some medicine in the food to help treat the cause.
The Mrs thinks it's a lost cause and trying to medicate wild foxes is stupid and next to impossible - as do the vets at her practice. However I am undeterred as The Fox Man has had success in the past, and I figure there is no harm in trying!
The photos (zoomed in and grainy sorry) below are of the fox from a few days ago, and the feeding station/camera I have set up for tonight. I will come back with some feeding photos and videos when I hopefully have some.
[url
|https://thumbsnap.com/qSHJ9WHi[/url]
A few days ago I noticed a really poorly fox in my garden. Over the five years I've lived here we've seen a load of foxes using our garden as a passageway, a chill out spot and a playground - we have a few apple trees and last summer we saw four foxes running around throwing the apples around like toys, it was great to see. One fox always seemed a bit scruffier than the rest but seemed to be okay. I'm assuming our poorly fox is this same one, but it could be any of them I suppose, or even a new one.
Anyway, this fox has a pretty bad case of mange, with barely any hair left on their body. He/she was chilling in my garden in these photos at about 3pm which is pretty unusual, so I don't think he/she is feeling too good.
With some advice from the wife (she's a vet nurse) and a local fox rescue man I have set up a wildlife camera and put out some food for him/her - although I'm sure the other foxes will help themeslves too. The plan is to see if he/she comes back regularly to eat the food, and if so put some medicine in the food to help treat the cause.
The Mrs thinks it's a lost cause and trying to medicate wild foxes is stupid and next to impossible - as do the vets at her practice. However I am undeterred as The Fox Man has had success in the past, and I figure there is no harm in trying!
The photos (zoomed in and grainy sorry) below are of the fox from a few days ago, and the feeding station/camera I have set up for tonight. I will come back with some feeding photos and videos when I hopefully have some.
[url|https://thumbsnap.com/qSHJ9WHi[/url]Edited by TheBALDpuma on Saturday 10th July 21:50
Boosted LS1 said:
Defo add medicine if it's available, Top bloke.
Yeah that's the plan - although the Mrs says over the counter medicine just won't be any good and I'd need a presciption for the proper stuff, but I am under the impression this is something the fox guy can sort out - so I am going to report back to him with my findings to see if this sick fox comes back.As for an English and Italian flag, I'm pretty sure foxes aren't trustowrthy enough. You need an ocotpus.
Had mixed results with giving foxes Metacam here (for injuries) and medication for mange.
My sister runs a vet practice locally and they have a working relationship with a local wildlife rescue - the rescue gets heavily subsidised prescriptions and treatment costs - hopefully your fox guy can sort the right stuff out.
My sister runs a vet practice locally and they have a working relationship with a local wildlife rescue - the rescue gets heavily subsidised prescriptions and treatment costs - hopefully your fox guy can sort the right stuff out.
Boosted LS1 said:
I'd ask a local vet for a prescription. It'll cost you but may be the 'proper' stuff.
The Mrs is a vet nurse and she's spoken to the vets at her practice, and they won't prescribe medication for an animal they haven't met and aren't treating. I think pre Covid it was against the law to prescribe stuff without meeting the animal, but don't quote me on that.I think the fox rescue can sort it out, and I'll chase that. If not I'll speak to the wife and see what she can do.
If you want to treat it, it needs catching and given a good dose of Stronghold or similar “kill fecking everything” flea treatments. It may also need hefty doses of antibiotics if it is to survive. Certainly when our dog picked up mange, treatment was a complete pain, nothing as simple as “eat something”.
This might be a bit of a long one. On the first night we had no visitors. Last night we had a fox come and eat all the food, but it wasn't the poorly one. This guy looked really healthy actually...
I will keep trying for a while to see if sick fox comes back
Video of foxy chowing down on the food... https://youtu.be/x0061fLVwfY
I will keep trying for a while to see if sick fox comes back
Video of foxy chowing down on the food... https://youtu.be/x0061fLVwfY
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