Fox scat question

mh68 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 02:47 PM

I came across the scat below while out this morning to a local reserve. I`ve never come across an almost white one before and was wondering what in their diet could cause it to be so pale?
Btw, the broken up droppings below the white scat are Otter spraint, several days old.Was nice to find signs of recent Otter activity

Mark H

djackso · #2 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 03:24 PM

He may have an enzyme deficiency - it's impossible to say.

mh68 · #3 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 03:29 PM

Ahhh, so the pale colour may not be entirely diet related then? Thanks for that, thats something I hadnt considered.

Mark H

shirl · #4 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 04:01 PM

A grey - white colour might indicate diet usually due to the large number of bones they have eaten

Shirl

mh68 · #5 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shirl

A grey - white colour might indicate diet usually due to the large number of bones they have eaten

Shirl

Thanks Shirl. That was my initial thought too. Prior to this find though, the only variation in their scats on this particular site has been when theyve been gorging on blackberries and the scats contained a lot of seeds. Maybe it`s an indicator that this particular animal has been foraging further afield and maybe scavenging through rubbish or something?

Mark H

Kayleigh · #6 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 05:47 PM

Hope I'm not being cheeky

and hijacking your thread.

But I keep seeing what I think is Fox poo with lots of beetles in it.
Like the animal only lives on beetles. I will try to get a pic next time I go.

Its cross farm land where I walk the dog. I saw some today, but it just crumbled away when touched with my trainer.

Any ideas who's poo..

mh68 · #7 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Hope I'm not being cheeky

and hijacking your thread.

But I keep seeing what I think is Fox poo with lots of beetles in it.
Like the animal only lives on beetles. I will try to get a pic next time I go.

Its cross farm land where I walk the dog. I saw some today, but it just crumbled away when touched with my trainer.

Any ideas who's poo..

Hijack away Kayleigh, no problem

I came across another Fox scat today which had lots of beetle wing cases in it,and its not that unusual, they do take a lot of beetles at certain times. The crumbly description....even old Fox scats tend to stay intact, although if the beetle content is extremely high then I guess they would be more crumbly.The one today though was quite old but still intact.
Is there water of any description nearby? as Otter spraint is naturally crumbly in nature once dried out, and very often has a lot of Diving Beetle wing cases in it. There`s a chance that`s what you`re coming across....the one in the pic above, below the pale Fox scat, is a typical dried out Otter spraint, does that resemble what youre finding?

Mark H

Kayleigh · #8 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 06:11 PM

Yes, but it was black as the beetles wings and outer casings had not broken down. There is no water apart from drainage ditches. I will have to get a sample and photograph it..
I'm not smelling it though, my nose is going no where near it.

mh68 · #9 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Yes, but it was black as the beetles wings and outer casings had not broken down. There is no water apart from drainage ditches. I will have to get a sample and photograph it..
I'm not smelling it though, my nose is going no where near it.

A pic would help a great deal if you can find some more...

This is the one I mentioned that I found today - quite a lot of Beetle remains in it but it was still quite solid, despite being old...

Mark H

Kayleigh · #10 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mh68

A pic would help a great deal if you can find some more...

This is the one I mentioned that I found today - quite a lot of Beetle remains in it but it was still quite solid, despite being old...

Mark H

Yes, it was just like that. But more beetles in it.
I have seen 3 now and only one of them crumbled..
It must have been older than the others and we have had a hot dry period over the last week.

Thanks mark.

ps I will try to get some pics next time I go out with the dog

Tracey.A · #11 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 07:31 PM

Hi, it's not unusual to find Fox droppings that are grey/white, it just means that in it's diet their have been a lot of bones. In summer it will eat blaeberries and this turns the droppings a blue/purple colour. In the summer the droppings quite often show bits of chitin from the beetles they've eaten. That's the good thing about Fox droppings 'cos you can usually guess what it's been eating.

mh68 · #12 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracey.A

Hi, it's not unusual to find Fox droppings that are grey/white, it just means that in it's diet their have been a lot of bones. In summer it will eat blaeberries and this turns the droppings a blue/purple colour. In the summer the droppings quite often show bits of chitin from the beetles they've eaten. That's the good thing about Fox droppings 'cos you can usually guess what it's been eating.

Hi Tracey. Like I say, its the first one this pale i`ve found (and i`ve found hundreds on this particular site), which is what threw me a bit.
Otter spraint has got to be the best for analysing diet due to it being so crumbly...I`ve been looking at the full size pics of the one i found today and there are loads of different food remains in it...from Swan Mussel shell fragments to a bird`s beak

Mark H

Tracey.A · #13 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 11:55 AM

Hi Mark,

is your photo of the Otter scat posted on this site? I've just had a look through some of your photos in your flickr gallery, they are just beautiful!!!! I wish I had that sort of talent. When ever I download my photos, most of them have me scratching my head trying to work out what it was

Obviously it's all my cameras fault

Really enjoyed looking at your photos

Tracey

mh68 · #14 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracey.A

Hi Mark,

is your photo of the Otter scat posted on this site? I've just had a look through some of your photos in your flickr gallery, they are just beautiful!!!! I wish I had that sort of talent. When ever I download my photos, most of them have me scratching my head trying to work out what it was

Obviously it's all my cameras fault

Really enjoyed looking at your photos

Tracey

I`m not sure which pic you mean Tracey? Do you mean a closer view of the Otter spraint in the first pic i posted on this thread?
Ta for the kind words on my pics,still very much learning though

Mark H

Tracey.A · #15 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:03 PM

Hi Mark,

I'm such a twit

I was so busy focussing on the Fox dropping, that I hadn't read your first post properly. Just had a look and realised that the Otter scat was below the Fox dropping, I'll just put it down to having had a senior moment.

Question is, should you add it to the Fox section or the Otter section in the A - Z of animal tracks and signs?

Thanks Mark - again!

Tracey

mh68 · #16 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracey.A

Hi Mark,

I'm such a twit

I was so busy focussing on the Fox dropping, that I hadn't read your first post properly. Just had a look and realised that the Otter scat was below the Fox dropping, I'll just put it down to having had a senior moment.

Question is, should you add it to the Fox section or the Otter section in the A - Z of animal tracks and signs?

Thanks Mark - again!

Tracey

Ahh...no probs Tracey. To answer your question, a closer pic of the Fox scat has been added to the Fox page, and a closer shot of the Otter spraint has been added to the Otter page

Dont worry about senior moments....i have em all the time

Mark H

Tracey.A · #17 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:15 PM

Cheers Mark

Tracey

Dogghound · #18 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:21 PM

Ive have found orange ones before. As for the white scats it is the amount of calcium in the diet lots of calcium in the faeces means when the organic parts of the scat decompose and leech out and the water evaportates out of it, it leaves the white calcium part behind.

mh68 · #19 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:24 PM

Cheers Dan makes perfect sense. As I said though, on the sites i visit i`ve never found a white one prior to the pic above.
What caused the orange scats you found to be that colour do you think?

Mark H

Dogghound · #20 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:29 PM

Im not 100% sure, possibly it was halfway in the process of turning white, or possibly it was due to it having a high content of Fox hair in it if the animal was moulting/grooming at the time and had swallowed lots of hair.

mh68 · #21 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Im not 100% sure, possibly it was halfway in the process of turning white, or possibly it was due to it having a high content of Fox hair in it if the animal was moulting/grooming at the time and had swallowed lots of hair.

Ta mate. Shame you didnt get a pic of it, variations like that are always useful for future ID purposes.

Mark H

Dogghound · #22 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:44 PM

I never got a photo of the scat mentioned but do have this, which was on a prominent mound and full of feathers. Its something ive never really been 100% confident of i can only presume its a Fox unless its a farm dog that likes birds.

Not great quality taken afew years back, what do you think is it even a scat?

mh68 · #23 (**permalink**) 12-07-2008, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogghound

I never got a photo of the scat mentioned but do have this, which was on a prominent mound and full of feathers. Its something ive never really been 100% confident of i can only presume its a Fox unless its a farm dog that likes birds.

Not great quality taken afew years back, what do you think is it even a scat?

Thats an unusual one. I think judging by the feathers its definitely a scat of some description, but I wouldnt like to commit to what deposited it.

Mark H