#35363 - 12/14/04 04:35 PM
Re: Fox
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Veteran
Registered: 12/10/01
Posts: 1272
Loc: Upper Mississippi River Valley...
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AFAIK, there's nothing you can do to save the fox if it has mange, short of live-trappiing it and having a vet treat it. In our area the fox die from it (hypothermia, actually) and the coyotes somehow survive it. Wiped out a whole litter AND the vixen in my backyard a couple of years ago - and she had a nice burrow.
I don't recall this being a big problem here pre-coyote, FWIW.
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#35364 - 12/14/04 06:31 PM
Re: Fox
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Enthusiast
Registered: 03/07/03
Posts: 249
Loc: North Carolina
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Building shelters for wild animals is a hit or miss thing. You get to practice building things, which is fun, but there is no guarantee that the fox will even use it. I couldn?t even get my dogs to use the doghouses I built for them!! The other issue is that if you start to attract foxes to your neck of the woods, then they bring with them all their friends as well, then you have a whole herd of them! That can be fun as well.
If your fox has mange, it may pass it to your domestic animals. Do you have any dogs or cats? If so keep them away from the fox so they don?t get sick as well.
Have fun with the shelter. That fox is lucky it lives near you. if it was near me, it wouldn?t last as long as it has!! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> garrett
_________________________
On occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use. - Epictetus
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#35365 - 12/17/04 09:18 PM
Re: Fox
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Christina:
Your intent may be admirable, but I fear you are unlikely to have much success. Building a "shelter" will entail a significant amount of work, which will inevitably leave a fair amount of scent. The fox will likely avoid your shelter like the plague.
No one likes to see sick wildlife. There is very little you can do. Sometime our efforts at providing "assistance" are often counterproductive. If you attempt shelter, feed or otherwise make life easy, you'll often drive animals off. In other cases, when you've been 'successful' you may actually encoruage other foxes, coyotes, dogs and other mammals to frequent your area, thereby increasing their chances of contracting what disease or ailment the fox suffers from.
It most cases it seems like the best we can do it leave these creatures be. if the ailment or disease is serious it sometimes seems more humane to end suffering quickly. I've long believed a well placed bullet is better than a long, lingering death.
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#35367 - 01/19/05 04:42 PM
FOX UPDATE
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Enthusiast
Registered: 02/24/03
Posts: 324
Loc: Rhode Island
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Hey there, just wanted to let you guys know that I did follow through after what you said, though I got results I didn't predict.
Though I was hesitant at first to call the county animal authorities because I felt I was signing away the animal's life, as time passed he was getting really bad off. But the county actually surprised me by referring me to a wildlife rehabilitator, who gave me medicine to treat the fox's sarcoptic mange. All I had to do was slip it into some chicken legs and leave it out for him.
The sad thing is, I hadn't seen him for a while before I called the authorities, and although the chicken disappears every day there are no longer any fox markings nearby. Even if I had tried to trap him myself and have him destroyed, it was probably too late. So despite the effort, I think he is dead already.
But the good news is that the county was very supportive of the local wildlife, something I hadn't expected, and the experience inspired a new painting on my website.
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