Gray Fox With Badly Broken Leg

The following story about a grey fox was submitted by All Things Wild Rehabilitation in Texas.

This 12-week-old gray fox was found by the homeowner caught in the fence. Somehow, during his attempt to get through the fence, probably with his mom and siblings, the fox’s leg got trapped. In his efforts to free himself, the leg was badly broken. As mom and siblings moved on, this little guy stayed behind, caught in the fence.

Animal Control freed the fox from the fence and brought him to All Things Wild. With a badly broken leg, the first order of business was anesthesia followed by X-rays of the broken leg.

While the fox was under anesthesia, the leg was splinted and bandaged. He was given pain medication, and, because he was badly dehydrated, electrolyte fluids.

Finally, the fox was treated to his first meal of EmerAid IC Carnivore. It is tasty, easy to digest, and nutritious. This was the first of many EmerAid meals until the little fox began eating on his own.

After a week had passed, the bandaging was removed and the leg X-rayed again. Although some healing had occurred, the break wasn’t totally healed.

By this time, the little fox was eating regular food as well as the bandage on his leg. Because his chewing was about to cause considerable damage to the leg and the fracture, our wildlife vet tech decided to remove the splint and bandage and keep the fox closely confined to limit movement. Hopefully, this way, the leg would heal without splinting and bandaging.

The fox was not happy being so closely confined, but the leg continued to heal. We were overjoyed one day to notice that he was beginning to put weight on it. Eventually, he was roaming about his small cage and growling at anyone who got near. This was a good sign, because it meant that he didn’t want anything to do with people, a trait needed at release for a truly wild animal.

One day recently, the fox was taken to a large private release site where the property owner agreed to put out food until the fox could figure out how to forage in the wild.

This was another successful rehabilitation and release for All Things Wild and for the fox with the badly broken leg!