The Mange by Mail program is available for residents nationwide, and Canada, excluding California* and New Jersey**. You do NOT have to be a resident of Missouri or Illinois to use this program.
PLEASE READ – Here are the things you NEED TO KNOW before signing up for our Mange By Mail Program:
Step One: Verify animal has mange by sending us photos to mange@wildlifehotline.com or by visiting our Mange Gallery.
Step One and 1/2: Check locally to see if you have a local rehabber who may be able to help. You can go to www.ahnow.org to find a local rehabber near you. If they have a local program set up to help coyotes and foxes this is often a better option. It depends on a lot of factors, like how difficult the animal is to catch, whether or not your local rehabber has traps that they loan out, if they have room for a larger animal like a fox or coyote adult, and much more. You may find out that our program is the best option, and you may find out that you have an excellent local wildlife rehab that you didn’t even know about!
Step Two: This program starts today! Start acclimating the animal now by setting up a feeding station. Use RAW ground chicken or turkey to make 4-6 “meatball-sized” portions. Place food in the general area and at the general time when and where you see the fox/coyote most often. This is to help the sick animal develop the habit of coming to this spot daily to look for food, temporarily. When the medication arrives in a few days it will be much easier to slip the medication into the food with an animal that has become more trusting of this feeding spot/bait station. We want to be reasonably sure that the sick animal will return to a predictable area to get the medication when it is time.
NOTICE: This is ONLY recommended in cases with sick foxes or coyotes. NEVER feed wild foxes and coyotes recreationally. It can lead to these animals becoming tame and getting too close to people and pets, which can get them killed! A tame fox/coyote scares people, even if they don’t mean to do so. When humans feed predators like these on a long-term basis, they become habituated and lose the sense of the invisible boundary that normally exists between us and them. They need that boundary to keep them safe from people who are NOT as animal-loving as you are. Scared people will kill them out of fear. This baiting is done with purpose and it is meant to be VERY TEMPORARY. But don’t worry! When you stop feeding they will quickly adjust to eating normally again. These are animals who truly prefer to eat prey animals and gladly go back to hunting their own meals as soon as they start to feel better. A wild fox/coyote will typically give up on checking this bait station within 2-3 days after you stop putting food out and most will stop coming back to the bait station even if you keep putting food out because they prefer catching their own meals.
Step Three: Make a donation to cover our cost of the medication and priority shipping. The cost of shipping is approximately $9 to simply ship out an empty box of the right size. That is our cost. The medication, container/vial, syringes, and full, printed instructions’ cost is approximately $10.00. In total, our cost to make, assemble and ship one package is approximately $19.00. This is why we require a donation in order to send out an order. We wish we didn’t have to! We would truly love to offer this program at no cost. However, we receive no state or federal funding to run this program. It’s expensive, which is why many other rescues do not offer this option. The minimum donation for this program is $20.00USD.
However, if you are able to do so, please feel free to donate more! Your generosity will help to ensure that this program continues for all of the other foxes and coyotes across the nation who need help and cannot find it locally. In addition, we are a full-service rescue and rehabilitation center located in Missouri. We provide hands-on help to dozens of coyotes and foxes each year who come into our center. All donated funds are directly applied to the hundreds of animals that we admit into our care each year when they are sick, injured, and/or orphaned.
Yes, you can order the mange by mail program outside of Missouri & Illinois. This program is available nationwide (except NJ & CA) and in Canada! Orders received before 12 pm CST will be shipped the same business day. We ship using priority mail with the U.S. Postal Service and most packages are delivered to your home or business within 3 business days (within the 48 contiguous United States). Weather delays and USPS delays are outside of our control. Alaska & Hawaii destinations usually arrive within 7 days. Canadian shipments can take up to 15 days depending on delays within the customs department on the USA or Canadian side.
Warning!! You must be capable of predicting the movements of the sick animal with reasonable accuracy before using medicated bait. It is important that the bait is entirely eaten by the intended target species – the coyote or fox. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT PETS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE BAIT STATION! Some breeds of dogs are extremely sensitive to the medication we use (Ivermectin) and it can be toxic to them. These breeds include Collies, Australian Shepherds, Sheepdogs, and Shelties. Learn more about this sensitivity and have your pet tested for it at Washington State University’s Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology Lab.
*California Residents: The state of California does not allow Ivermectin (the medication we use in this program) to be shipped into the state. It is a state law. Even if you try to order Ivermectin from a farm store online, they won’t ship to California. You can only get it from a licensed veterinarian. Please ask your local vet for help with the fox or coyote you are trying to help.
**New Jersey Residents: We were recently made aware of a state law that prohibits residents of New Jersey from offering wildlife any medications, supplements, vaccinations, etc. without a wildlife rehabilitation permit. We have inquired to try to find alternate ways to handle mange cases in your state, but have not found a statewide resource that suggests anything beyond “let nature take its course” aka leave the animal to suffer and die. Please go to www.ahnow.org OR https://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/rehab_list.pdf to find a rehabber near you and tell them about our program. If THEY are willing to assist you we will ship mange medicine to that rehabber for FREE, but they must hold a wildlife rehabilitation permit to order through us. FYI: Ivermectin 1% injectable is the medication that we use, and that medication is still available in New Jersey at any farm and feed store. You can legally purchase it on your own. However, it is ILLEGAL to use that medication on a fox or coyote in your own backyard in the same state.
More Information About Mange…
When It Happens: From September – November in the Midwest, it is ‘mange season’. We see a spike in the number of cases every year during this time frame. You will find many photos of mange on this website, but there are also some behavioral signs to watch for that act as confirmation that an animal is truly sick.
How Animals with Mange Behave: less fear of people, lying out in the grass/sun during the day, not running from your dog, getting into trash cans to find food, living under a house or porch of a home that is inhabited (not abandoned), constantly stopping to scratch- even when in open areas like roads, parks, etc. It is NOT NORMAL for a fox or coyote to eat from your trash cans or live under a house with people in it. These are VERY shy animals when they are well, and they truly love the chase of live prey far more than any amount or type of trash.
How Animals with Mange Appear: extreme hair loss, extreme weight loss, red blotchy almost bloody skin appearance, ‘hunchback’ appearance when standing and walking, scratching often, dull, confused appearance. Check out our mange gallery for photos! Email our experts to confirm a mange diagnosis – mange@wildlifehotline.com
*Many mange chances are reported as sightings of a hyena, chupacabra, or other exotic sighting. It is surprising how unrecognizable coyotes and foxes can be when they have no hair, are starving and dying. If you live in Missouri or Illinois, you are NOT seeing a wolf, hyena, or chupacabra! It’s a mangy coyote or fox.*
Which Solution Do You Choose?
Letting “Nature Take Its Course”: Mange is not technically a terminal illness. Sarcoptic mange, also known as canine scabies, is a highly contagious infestation of Sarcoptes scabiei canis, a burrowing mite. The canine sarcoptic mite can also infest cats, pigs, horses, sheep, and various other species. The human analog of burrowing mite infection, due to a closely related species, is called scabies (the “seven year itch”). All these burrowing mites are in the family Sarcoptidae. They dig into and through the skin, causing intense itching from an allergic reaction to the mite, and crusting that can quickly become infected. Hair loss and crusting frequently appear first on elbows and ears. Skin damage can occur from the dog’s intense scratching and biting. Secondary skin infection is also common. Dogs with chronic sarcoptic mange are often in poor condition, and in both animals and humans, immune suppression from starvation or any other disease causes this type of mange to develop into a highly crusted form in which the burden of mites is far higher than in healthy specimens. Eventually, the infections become overwhelming, and the animal either dies of septic shock or starvation due to his inability to hunt for prey. When an animal has mange, they lose the ability to hunt effectively. They itch, 24 hours a day and they never sleep. It doesn’t take long before they are so tired that they cant spot prey, much less chase it. They get so weak and so miserable that it MAY be possible at times for a child or pet to walk up to them. At this point they are desperate for food, and they are not thinking straight. This is a dangerous situation for everyone involved. It is an intensely miserable way to die, and it can take MONTHS for the entire disease process to run its course. During this time, an infected fox or coyote will be more of a risk to the public then at any other life stage. Because of his condition they will take unusual chances and attempt to interact with people and venture into highly populated areas seeking relief and easy food sources for their own survival. Humans should be able to imagine how desperate we would be if we knew we were dying, starving, and how that condition may change our behavior for the worse. This makes for a dangerous brew of circumstances that has much more potential for harm to the public than any healthy fox or coyote ever would.
Lethal Action: In many areas it is legal to shoot coyotes and foxes but ALWAYS contact your local police department and/or the Dept. of Conservation before you even think about it! The main problem with this solution is that there are always more mangy foxes in the area and it becomes a never-ending battle. Killing a coyote only serves to increase the population in your area the following year. It makes sense when you think about it. Once you trap or kill all of the foxes and coyotes in an area, it is only a matter of time before word gets out that their territory is up for grabs. In addition to this, it’s not easy to shoot a fox or coyote, even when they are sick. They’re still extremely cautious, and quick on their feet until they are almost on their last steps. Lethal action should always be the last resort, especially when there are alternatives available.
Humane Resolution: We have followed the lead of our British fox-loving counterparts, and are offering a mange treatment by mail program for coyotes and foxes suffering and dying with the help of you, the concerned citizen. You call us at 1-855-WILD-HELP Option 5 or email us at mange@wildlifehotline.com to verify a sighting of a sick fox or coyote. Once we determine that it is a coyote or fox with mange, we ask that you donate a minimum $20 to cover our shipping costs, and we ship you the medication. Under the advice of our veterinarians, we use the broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug Ivermectin at a dose of 300 µg/kg to treat wild canids with sarcoptic mange. Outside of a special warning for cats and certain breeds of dogs, Ivermectin is considered extremely safe and has been used worldwide since 1981 when first developed. Farmers use this same medication in a pour-on variety that is quite literally ‘drenched’ onto their cattle and other livestock every season, with no known reports of soil damage or environmental impact. It has been widely used in livestock for 50+ years, and many studies have been published to show its efficacy in treating sarcoptic mange in one dose in wildlife. It is the same medication present in Heartgard Heartworm Prevention, Iverhart for Dogs, and many other flea, tick, and worming veterinary products. There have been no reported issues with public health. In fact, it is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medications needed in a basic health system. You will receive this medication in liquid form, in a sterile vial with sterile syringes. It can be easily injected into raw, ground chicken or turkey, which is what we suggest you use as bait. Just put the medicated food out and leave it in the vicinity of where you have been baiting the sick animal on a fairly regular basis. Please watch from a window on the night that you add the medicine to the bait and recheck the site in 2-4 hours to make sure that the bait was eaten, and clean up any medicated food left behind. Because we are suggesting you use meat products, it would be extremely unlikely that a rabbit or squirrel would accidentally eat the bait, and larger wildlife species will tolerate the medication just as well as the coyote or fox.