My Poor Fox

[Pudding]

I look after a family of foxes.
Mum Red and her 2 this years cubs, Bingo and Gipsy.
They are very much wild, but have got used to seeing me in the day.
I feed 2 wild cats that come here, and the fox started to feed with them,
Just the mum at first, it got so that when I came out of my office
She would be waiting for me to feed her, then one day she came with her 2 very very small babies, now they come for food, Red (Mum) is very brave and will come with in feet of me and so will Bingo, but Gipsy is very shy. I do not encourage them to come too near to me, as I wont them to stay very much wild.
But 2 weeks ago I saw that Bingo had a bad leg, it was very swollen and looked open, so I called the wild life sanctuary, they were so good they came with in an hour with a trap, it did not take long to get him,
And together we went to the vet.
He told us that he had been bitten possibly by a badger or another fox
And that the bit had gone right into his bone, and an infection would set in. we had two options the first one was to PTS not a choice I liked,
The second was to take his leg off, but he would only do this if he was to go back into the wild, not kept at the sanctuary for the rest of his life, he said he was too wild for that.
So after much discussion between myself and the vet letting him know he came to me for food, as it was a front leg he would not be able to hunt very well if at all, and that he was still with his mum and Sister.
The vet did the op that day, and the sanctuary collected him until he was ready to come back to us, and on Tuesday he came home at about 12.00 o’clock he had a look around and off he went, I did not think I would see him for a couple of days, at 4.00 o’clock I went out to see
If any one was they to feed, and there he was I feed him and his mum
Together, and they have been back every day since.
All I hope is that I have done the right thing as now with only 3 legs will he get picked on being the weak one, have I done the right thing

[willing to learn]

A tough choice, my main worry if he has already been bitten and picked on, he is now even in a more vunrable condition to repel would be attackers, or make good his escape.
Regards
Colin

[connerlake]

As long as you feed him and look after him (by keeping an eye on his health) there is no reason he wont live a happy long and healthy life you did the right thing, you gave him another chance, something no one else could have given him, his probably learned his mistake taking on a badger or another fox and will most likely avoid conflicts in the future.

[posie]

I agree with connerlake that after 'foxy's' experience he will be wary of conflict, if you had had him PTS, you would still be wondering if you had made the right choice. The decision you made was, the right decision at the time, and you should stand by that , no matter what anyone else says. and no matter what happens in the future. Life is like that, if you'd had him PTS, you may have always wondered if you were right. You're damned if you do and you are damned if you don't, So enjoy him while he has the extra life you 'gave' him, and if anything else happens take comfort in the fact that he did have that extra time, thanks to you.... Kindest regards, Posie.

[valleyforge]

Hi Pudding and welcome to the forum.

Your story is an interesting one, though it does puzzle me somewhat.

Clearly it was a good call to involve the wildlife sanctuary in the rescue and post-op rehabilitation and I have no reason to doubt that the vet's decision to amputate was the correct one.

However, I don't quite understand his rationale of only being prepared to operate if return to the wild was guaranteed ... particularly since Bingo had already been somewhat socialized to feeding within a couple of feet of you. How could that be considered to be 'too wild' for permanent sanctuary?

But what surprises me most though, is that after only around 2 weeks from such a major operation, the wildlife sanctuary considered that Bingo was ready to return to the wild ... personally, I would have wanted to monitor his progress for quite a lot longer than that.

Since releasing an animal that is unfit to survive is not only immoral but also illegal, we must assume however that they were entirely satisfied of his ability to cope ... particularly with you there to support him with food and water.

Well done to you, and I hope that Bingo and his family are around for a long time to come.

[Pudding]

When Bingo was in the vets he was very aggressive, which was through fear, he bit both me and the vet. This vet deals with a lot of wildlife for the sanctuary and in his opinion this fox would not do well in captivity,
I did not want to see him stuck in a cage for the rest of his life.

When I saw bingo after his op he was fit and well his leg had healed very very well I was told he was up and around on the leg the very next day after the op, and he was very aggressive with the staff who were trying to clean him out.

The sanctuary did not want to keep him away from his home and family for too long, as they may not have accepted him back, if he smelled differently.

Bingo is perfectly fit and can cope on his 3 legs the only problem I see is that he may have a hard time finding his own food, and that is were I come in, his family have accepted him back and he is happy to be wild
He has been back for almost 2 weeks now and is doing fine
He comes to my office door at 10.00am and he gets 2 chicken wings
He them comes back at 4.00pm and gets 2 more chicken wings,
I hope this is not too much food, as he can not afford to put on much weight on as his the one front leg wont take too much.
Any advice on feeding him would be helpful
i would post you a photo but do not know how

[valleyforge]

Thanks for the explanation Pudding.

The decision when (or if) to release a wildlife casualty is always a difficult one, and one that needs full consideration of the needs and capabilities of the individual.

Whilst I probably wouldn't consider releasing such a disabled fox into the totally rural countyside that surrounds us, returning a disabled urban fox to an urban environment is quite a different proposition.

I'd agree that in such a situation a three-legged fox can probably cope reasonably well with its handicap ... but only if it continues to be provisioned with a reliable food supply ... and as long as he can steer clear of traffic hazards, which will probably pose the greatest danger to him.

As for feeding, then I think the quantity is about right for now, as is the timing. Getting a good meal in the morning and again early evening, may ensure that he is more likely to hole-up during the day and again overnight with a full stomach, and isn't going to be scavageing so much during the night, when he more likely might encounter rival foxes, badgers and traffic with dazzling headlights.

Try to provide a more varied diet than just chicken though ... red meat scraps, dried cat food, peanut-butter sandwiches, apples, bananas, etc.

I'm sure other members of the forum who have regular urban-fox visitors will be able to suggest other foodstuffs that their critters find especially palatable (avoid feeding grapes/raisins/sultanas/currents though).

[Pudding]

Thank you for your help with his feeding,
i hope someone will be able to tell me what i should give him
he dose sometime eat the cats food ( wet food)

Here he is this is my Bingo

[valleyforge]

He's very handsome ... thanks for sharing the photos.

[posie]

Hi, as Valleyforge has said your Bingo is a Very Handsome Boy. To me he looks really well.I too... wish you the very best of luck with your fox family, especially Bingo...Posie.