mange photos

[squirrelfriend]

here is what mange looks like. The mites are not visible to the naked eye. they burrow in the skin.

[TexanSquirrel]

[thundersquirrel]

here is another type of mange found in red squirrels. it acts in a different way completely. the squirrels do not itch, they simply go bald, mostly on their main body.

[squirrelfriend]

oh, the poor little guy. did he make it?

[Gabe]

Thundersquirrel, are you sure that's mange? I had a number of red squirrels like that this year. I think it is balding syndrome, much like Noel had. They test negative for mange mites, and do not respond to mange treatments.

[thundersquirrel]

yes he made it. his fur grew back and he's with three or four others who had the same problem and are all recovering.

i was told that this was a strain of mange. however, i wouldn't be surprised if in fact it wasn't. i touched this little guy and looked him over closely sometimes, and he was just bald. plain and simple. no itch, no crustiness, just smooth furless skin.

i think when people first started noticing it and it began to spread, they called it mange for lack of a better understanding. i suppose now, though, the proper name is balding disease. but it STILL doesn't make sense to me- why is this happening?

luckily all they need is time for fur to grow back, really. i'm just wondering what would cause this if not some kind of germ or bug. if it's a genetic mutation it would have been quickly eradicated by natural selection.

maybe we should make a thread for this one that's separate.....