Several days after receiving one juvenile fox suffering from mange, we recieved a second juvenile fox with the same problem. On top of the mange, he was weak, dehydrated, and had diarrhea. Since arriving at WRC, he has gained some strength and his diarrhea has resolved. Hopefully he is on the road to recovery along with the other fox! Mange can take several weeks to months to completely clear, so these two will be with us for awhile.

Every year we get in several foxes with mange.

Mange is caused by a mite (Sarcoptes scabiei–see picture below ) that burrows in the skin causing sores, thickening of the skin (crusts), itching, hair loss and can cause secondary bacterial/yeast infections.

This red fox  (picture above) came in last week with severe mange.  Luckily, she is responding to medication, although it can be very difficult to treat sometimes.  Mange is also zoonotic (meaning humans can contract the mite and develop rashes) so we are adhering to strict sanitation and biosecurity measures.  Hopefully this fox will continue to recover and we’ll be able to release her!

Sadly, many of the animals we treat in the clinic are here because of human-induced injuries.  Glue traps are one of the most frustrating types of these hazards.  Glue traps are pieces of cardboard with a sticky gel on top that are marketed as rodent traps.  When the rodent runs across the “trap” it becomes stuck to the gel. They are then left there to die of starvation and many have been known to chew their legs off in desperation to get away.  The entire concept of the glue trap is inhumane and unfortunately the traps work on pretty much any small animal that comes in contact with the pad, such as songbirds.

We fairly commonly see songbirds stuck to these traps (like the sparrow shown above).  If they are alive when they arrive at the Center, they require several alternating baths in vegetable oil (to release them from the glue and break the glue down that is stuck to their feathers) and Dawn dishsoap (to then wash the oil off).  As you can imagine, this process is very stressful for the bird.

The other day, three bats (a big brown and two nothern (Keen’s) myotis) were brought in stuck to a glue trap.  As we examined the bats, we were very saddened to see the destruction that the trap had done to these animals.  All three bats had fractured bones and their wing-webbing was ripped off (an injury that does not heal).  The bones were even broken off in places.  We had to humanely euthanasia all three bats due to the severity of their injuries.

We can only hope that those of you who read this post will pass on information re. the dangers of using glue traps.  Maybe together we can educate people so they’ll stop using them.

Unfortunately, not all animals make it despite our best treatments.

The baby Blue Heron from an earlier post sadly had to be humanely euthanized as it developed several more fractures in the wing we had splinted.  We don’t know if it had an underlying disease (ie. metabolic bone disease) or if it injured itself in its enclosure, but the fractures would not have healed well enough for it to fly.

The American Toad that had an obstruction in its stomach recovered well from that surgery (the stomach healed very nicely and she felt well enough to eat a grub on her own!) but  she remained lethargic and didn’t pass any stool.

To determine why she wasn’t fully recovered yet, we performed a barium study.  A barium study is where you feed an animal a liquid that shows up bright white on x-rays.  Serial x-rays are taken and you can see the barium as it passes through various parts of the gastrointestinal tract.

Here is one taken 1 hour after we fed her the barium.  The blob on the right is barium in her stomach and you can see it snaking through the intestines to the left.

we continued to take x-rays but after 24 hours the barium became stuck at the junction of the small intestine and colon.

She needed surgery again or she would die.  So we went to surgery but unfortunately, the part of the intestine that had all the barium in it was extremely fragile and burst.  She would have needed the fragile part of her intestine cut out and the two ends sewn together (called an anastomosis and resection), but we couldn’t find why she became obstructed in the first place.

It was decided to humanely euthanize her as the anastomosis and resection surgery she needed was very risky (high rate of failure) and we couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t become obstructed again.  It seemed unfair to put her through more pain when we couldn’t give her a good prognosis.

However, the Green Herons are doing well and eating on their own, the cygnets have been fostered out to a swan pair, and the hummingbirds are still thriving!  Amidst the disappointing outcomes are several more healthy and happy ones!

We released two Common Loons this week.  Both were found grounded on roads.  One had a few abrasions on a foot and the other was slightly weak in one leg–otherwise physical examinations were completely normal.  X-rays were normal and there was no lead detected in their blood.   It’s likely these 2 had ‘crash-landed’.  (they can mistake wet pavement as a body of water)

Loons’ legs are positioned far back on their body to make swimming more efficient.  This positioning makes walking on land essentially impossible, so if they accidentally land on ground (instead of water) they are stranded.

One of the loons was released in cooperation with Larry Backlund.  You may know him as “the Loon Guy”:  every year he shares live video feed of a loon nest.  He has wonderful photos of the release on his site.

A reminder to be careful of loons on our lakes this weekend.  With all the focus on loons due to the oil spill, we shouldn’t forget that their protection begins here in their home territory.  Visit the MNDNR site for a brief news release on boating guidelines around loons.  Keep your eyes open: you should see babies with parents!

Today we admitted not 1, but 2 Hoary Bats, a species we don’t see that often at WRC. The first admit (top photo) was an adult male, who was found in someone’s garden. He was weak and dehydrated upon admit. The 2nd was actually an orphaned baby, who was also a bit dehydrated. It was really neat to see a full grown adult and then a new baby, all in the same day!

Hoary Bats are the largest bat species in Minnesota, averaging 5 to 5.7 inches long with a 15.7 inch wingspan and a weight of 26 g. The bat normally roosts alone on trees hidden among foilage, but on occasion has been seen in caves with other bats.  It prefers woodlands,  mainly coniferous forests, but hunts over open areas or lakes. It hunts alone and its main food source is moths, it will also eat dragonflies.

This x-ray is of an American Toad that was admitted in a very sick state.  She was lethargic and her whole body was swollen.  

When amphibians (frogs and toads in particular) get a swollen body, it’s termed “edema disease” which can be caused by a long list of diseases–kidney disease, liver disease, electrolyte imbalances.  Pretty much anything that can make an amphibian sick can cause edema disease.  The radiograph shows a large amount of a mineral substance (likely sand/grit/stones) in her stomach (the white blob in the middle of the x-ray).  This grit was obstructing her stomach, not allowing anything to pass.  

The only way to get it out is surgery.  This toad was so sick that she would likely die during surgery, but she would definitely die if we didn’t get the obstruction out of her stomach soon. So she went to surgery.  By cutting through her skin and muscle layers, I was able to see the stomach, cut it open, pull the grit out and sew her back up.   (you can see the stitches if you look closely in this photo of her under anesthesia)

She survived surgery but is still very sick and may die despite our best efforts.  We aren’t sure why she got the obstruction.  

Toads live in an environment where sand and grit are abundant–why did she eat so much to get obstructed?  She was kept as a pet (wild animals never make good pets) so there is the possibility that having a limited environment and diet, she accidentally ate sand looking for food, or her insects were covered in a large amount of dirt–or perhaps she has some gastrointestinal disease that caused her stomach motility to slow, allowing small amounts of sand to accumulate over time–we’ll never know what exactly caused it.  We’re just hoping we got it out in time and she’ll pull through.

We are amidst of the busiest time of year and the veterinary clinic is no exception.   As one of the veterinarians, I thought it would be neat to fill you in on a typical day–however that would take hours!

So here are some quick numbers I jotted down after a long 13 hour day. Yesterday I examined, admitted and determined treatments for 73 new patients, performed recheck exams on 40 of my 54  existing patients and treated various nursery patients who became ill throughout the day.  Along with answering the phone and speaking with the public intermittently, the day flew by and I went home with a smile on my face knowing I helped a lot of animals that day.

The rescued loons from Florida have been released at Vadnais Lake.  Our staff released them yesterday along with DNR personnel and local film crews.

Here’s footage of their admit exam at WRC.

Who would’ve thought that 2 loons would create such a media frenzy?  Well, I guess they are our state bird.  Oh, and they are coming from the oil spill region.  Combine those two topics and you have coverage on all 3 major networks!

We’ll be picking up the loons at the airport this evening, and some of the media will be covering events live.  Sorry we don’t have more details right now, but we’re still trying to gather all the details.  Check out the Pulse tomorrow for an update on the loons’ health, photos and links to the film clips.

I can tell you that 1) the birds are not oil contaminated and 2) they’re coming from rehabbers in Florida who were working with the birds.

More to come tomorrow!