FUR FACTS 129 



a day or two of fasting followed by short rations of cooked milk or 

 milk and eggs, at intervals of two or three hours, will effect a cure. 

 During such an attack vitality runs low, and care must be taken to 

 keep the afflicted animal in a warm, dry place. It should have access 

 to water that has been boiled. Growing cubs are frequently subject 

 to weakened and distorted legs. This disease, known as rickets, 

 can be prevented by including ground bone in their meat rations and 

 by adding limewater to their milk. The bones of calves and those 

 from briskets of beeves are comparatively easy to crush so that 

 foxes can swallow them. 



At quarantine stations where imported animals are examined, 

 particular attention is directed to symptons of rabies and mange. 

 The fact that rabies, or^hydrophobia, is communicable to man makes 

 it doubly dreaded. Fortunately it has not appeared among domes- 

 ticated foxes so far as known. Mange is characterized by a loss of 

 fur. It is caused by a tiny parasite, somewhat like the itch mite 

 and is, therefore, very contagious. Were it to obtain a foothold 

 among domesticated foxes, it would seriously hamper and perhaps 

 ruin this branch of the fut industry. All animals showing a tendency 

 to have bare spots should be isolated at once. The diseased parts 

 should be treated daily with ointments, as petrolatum or a mixture 

 of lard and sulphur. 



Foxes serve as hosts for a number of other parasites. Lice and 

 fleas infest their hair and skin, whUe roundworms and tapeworms 

 drain their vitality from within. The death of a fox has occasionally 

 been attributed to lice. Even if not fatal, lice and fleas diminish 

 the vigor of their hosts and should be persistently combated. Some 

 fox breeders dip all their animals in a nonpoisonous bath such as is 

 commonly used for dipping sheep. It is well in any case to dust the 

 dens with sulphur and insect powder at frequent intervals. 



The intestinal worms infesting foxes are difficult to eradicate. 

 Probably more young foxes succumb to the effects of roundworms 

 than to any other cause. These worms are whitish and cylindrical, 

 tapering toward either extremity. Among the symptons indicating 

 their presence are dullness, barking, frothing at the mouth, dragging 

 the body by the forelegs, and convulsions. The flat, jointed tape- 

 worm, often a foot or more in length, is a less fatal as well as a less 

 common internal parasite, but animals suffering from them are ema- 

 ciated and lack overfur or guard hairs. As a cure for worms one 

 breeder of long experience frequently gives his cubs a meal of crushed 

 flaxseed and milk, alternating now and then with six or eight drops 



