Late last month, a Good Samaritan in Texas arrived at Austin Wildlife Rescue (AWR) with a wild young porcupine who’d been found alone and in clear distress. The animal’s quills and fur were patchy and sparse, and his body was covered in dry scales.
“This was the most intense case of mange and ringworm we have ever seen on a young porcupine,” Kathryn Mattison, operations manager at AWR, told The Dodo. “Staff immediately started medications and fluids.”
The porcupine was too tired and weak to even eat at first due to the skin conditions that were tormenting his body.
Then, slowly but surely, everything began to change.
After confirming the infection hadn’t spread to his lungs, rescuers focused on aggressive antifungal and antiparasitic treatments to heal his skin.
“We treat with a variety of both oral and topical antifungal and antiparasitics to kill the mites, which would ultimately stop the keratin growth that appears as the ‘fluffy skin growths’ all over his body,” Mattison said.
This poor porcupine had plenty of them.
Within days of beginning treatment, those “fluffy” growths started to flake away, revealing healthier skin underneath.
“For most porcupine cases, we need to sedate them to give a thorough bath and remove the growths and clean the skin, however our little pokey friend was able to remove them himself whenever he would scratch,” Mattison said.
Before long, the flakes were few and far between — and the porcupine seemed more than happy to see them gone.
“Mange is severely itchy, so we see a lot of scratching naturally, but we are highly impressed with how fast the medications worked and how healthy his skin was underneath,” Mattison said.
Now, about a month after being rescued, the porcupine is looking significantly happier and healthier.
“It has truly been a transformation in a matter of weeks. From a crusty creature to a naked baby that is currently rocking a killer mullet on the back,” Mattison said. “On the cleaned skin, we are now starting to see quill stubble as it is fresh regrowth, which, of course, is amazing to see.”
As the porcupine’s body healed, his spirit did as well. Mostly free of those painful, itchy flakes, his personality can finally shine through.
“He’s truly a character,” Mattison said. “This little porcupine came in so weak and scared, and has flourished into quite the ham! Being so bare, he still remains in a large incubator to help him stay warm, but he runs the show in there. He likes to push his food and formula bowls over and kick back with his feet up.”
A few more weeks of treatment remain, but Mattison is optimistic that his transformation will only become more dramatic. It may take around a year for his fur and quills to fully fill back in, but in the meantime, he’s in very good hands.
“I expect him to be a candidate for release by this time next year,” Mattison said.
To learn more and find out how you can help, visit Austin Wildlife Rescue’s website here.
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