There is a fox that lives in and around my backyard. I often see him stalking the squirrels or curling up for a nap in the sun. I guess he's here mostly for the water source - there is creek nearby.

Lately I've seen him with no fur on his tail. I know that he's a mangy, flea-ridden critter, which would explain it. I'm concerned because I figured he needs that fur to wrap around himself to keep warm. It's getting awful cold here.

So I'm considering making him a shelter. Which would be best for a fox? Should I erect a lean-to, dig a burrow, or a combination of the two? We have loads of natural materials nearby: tree logs, pine needles, bamboo, and rocks.

I'm going to do some research on this right now, but any insight or tips from you guys would be really appreciated.

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.

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!!
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garrett

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.

Yeah, I know now that you guys are right.

At least this hasn't been all for naught. After posting, I read and learned a lot about foxes that I didn't know (even if some of it was depressing), and I can practice building shelters with the materials in my backyard for the fun of it and for the sake of learning.

As for my friend the fox, if he really starts to suffer I'll see that he is humanely taken care of.

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.