I have a fox that has a great hide except from the middle back to base of the tail. It's like the fur is matted or something. I've done a search on google for manage and every picture I see is extreme case where all the hair fell out. The hair is on the fox just matted real bad. Is this mange?
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The matted hair is probably from rolling in poop. Mange looks like a bad rash, and the hair will be missing.
Do you think I can get the mattes out or should I should just pitch the hide?
In the early stages of Mange you might have matting, but it usually has a pattern to where the Mange is. What you should see with early mange is matting in the butt area and base of tail, but you will also see it on the nose and face area. This is due to how the fox sleeps curled up.As the process progresses then the hair loss begins usually from the animal trying to react to the itchiness.
Missing section of tail hair, bare spots on both side elbows and hocks, almost always very balanced from one side to the other. Back of the ears will seem scaley. All classic signs. Advanced stage is obvious, and the animals eyes can even seal shut from the discharge.