4 Jun 2024
Female youngster was found dehydrated, unconscious, weak and with a low body temperature in a garden, but team at Goddard Veterinary’s Group’s Caterham practice in Surrey were able to save her.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
A vet team has saved the life of a fox cub found unconscious, cold and badly dehydrated in a Surrey garden.
The cub, named Berry, defied all the odds and was treated back to health by the team at Goddard Veterinary Group’s Caterham practice in Surrey.
Berry had been taken in by charity The Fox Project after being discovered with a dangerously low body temperature, unconscious, weak and dehydrated in a garden in Whyteleafe.
A team led by the practice’s vet surgeon, Miguel Fernando, was able to successfully rehydrate her, raise her temperature and boost sugar levels.
Mr Fernando said: “We were very worried about the cub when she arrived because she was extremely poorly, and we acted quickly to rehydrate her and used warm air to gradually raise her temperature.
“It was important to administer fluids to hydrate her, but as her veins were so tiny we couldn’t do this intravenously and instead I injected warmed fluids under her skin. We also rubbed glucose gel on the cub’s gums to boost her sugar levels.
“The treatment was effective, and it was very rewarding when she started to improve. She recovered quickly and it was quite a transformation. She opened her eyes and started asking for something to eat straight away, so we gave her some critical recovery food that we would usually give to sick cats and dogs.
“She continued improving and a couple of hours later she was ready to be taken into The Fox Project’s care, and we’ve been told that she’s making great progress. It’s very rare that we see wildlife in the practice, and she is the first fox I’ve treated, so I’m delighted that she’s doing so well.”
Berry has joined four other cubs at The Fox Project, and is expected to be released into the wild later in the summer.
The charity’s clinical manager, Denise Humphries, said: “The team at Goddard Vets did a brilliant job bringing Berry back to life and we really appreciate that they were able to see her straight away and are grateful for the exceptional care they gave her.
“We can’t tell why she was alone in the garden, but her mum may have abandoned her because they were disturbed or she sensed that the cub was unwell, or Berry could have been out exploring and wandered too far.
“She’s very lucky that someone caring found her and she was able to have veterinary treatment quickly.”
