Stapeley receives its first fox cub of the season

Stapeley has received its first fox cub of the season via an RSPCA inspector from a park in Birmingham. The little female weighed in at only 221g.  She had been observed for several hours before being termed 'abandoned' and on closer examination she also was found to have a wound in her right arm pit - help was therefore needed.  Estimated to be 9 days old her brown coat resembled more of a domestic puppy than fox cub.

Contact with all our foxes is kept to a minimum and staff are well aware of the need to keep the noise to a minimum - it is essential that we avoid imprinting and keep them wild - which can be hard at times but it is in the cub’s best interest.  A CCTV camera links in to our education room so we and our visitors have a great opportunity to observe the cub without disturbing her.  Check her out feeding on U-Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvjBWwacKqk

She is syringe fed six times a day with a puppy milk formula which she takes eagerly. A damp piece of cotton wool is then used to imitate mum stimulating her to pass urine and faeces.  To heal the wound we clean it and apply treatment as well as giving a course of medication.  It is then back to the incubator to snuggle up to a soft toy and nap until the next feed.  In the next couple of months we expect the arrival of many more fox cubs a few of which she will be grouped and eventually released with.   

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