Covered in ticks

“Kirby” was found by the side of a road with blood around his nose, and with a minimum of 500+ ticks on him. Seriously, we’re not exaggerating, they were EVERYWHERE… between every single toe, in his ears, around his mouth, eyes, bum and even on his little manhood.

These tiny bloodsuckers were draining the life right out of him and despite being sprayed with frontline, which at such a young age you can only use so much of, we were still removing at least 30 ticks, every day, for the 5 days that followed.
Whilst the odd tick doesn’t usually pose a huge threat to a fox cub, the sheer number Kirby was hosting resulted in him feeling, quite understandably, absolutely rubbish! Kirby was so weak he was unable to suckle or even swallow any milk, and on day two in care, his home-carer was becoming increasingly concerned.

However, after 24 hours of supporting Kirby, providing a warm and cosy incubator, sub cut fluids throughout the day, and honey on his gums to keep his sugar levels up, at 10.30pm Kirby finally latched on to the bottle and began to suckle, much to his carer’s delight (not so much to her partner’s, mind you, as she woke him up to film the moment!).

As you can see, he looks a little different from the day he arrived (who doesn’t love a good before and after?!) and he has also gained an adopted sister. “Olbas”, nicknamed after the decongestant oil (give us a minute, we’ll explain why: she arrived VERY underweight and sounding like she smokes 100-a-day, see the name connection now?!). With suspected pneumonia, Olbas was struggling, to say the least, to even just breathe. After starting her on antibiotics, she remained in the treatment room incubator, where the vets could closely monitor her throughout the day. But, then, in came Kirby’s home-carer!

Kirby was doing soooo much better and was now in desperate need of a playmate of a similar size. “Olbas” was the perfect fit, but needed stabilising before the pair could be mixed. So, over the next 24 hours, Olbas and Kirby were kept separate, whilst Olbas received support care, including being nebulised 3 times a day to help her breathe.

After 48 hours, the two cubs were introduced and, if we’re honest, we have never been more taken aback by such an instantaneous special bond! Olbas found so much comfort in Kirby’s company and, even though Olbas didn’t quite have the energy to play as much as Kirby would have liked, he instead became the ultimate doting big brother, always making sure she was safe and warm, and even tolerating her incessant snoring (a result of her congestion).