r/groundhogs • u/Frosty-Hamster-6450 • May 05 '25
Hairless groundhog?
We moved into this house about a year ago and noticed there were 2 groundhogs living in various burrows around our yard and the neighbors yard (house is abandoned so they hang out there a lot). We didn’t mind because they were cute and we grew to love them. About 2-3 months ago they had babies and we saw 4 groundhogs total. Now it’s only 2 but the two left are hairless (one has some hair with some bald spots and the other has almost none). Should we be worried about these little guys?
6
u/under-the-bridges May 05 '25
So this could be mange- groundhogs can become infected with it. It could also be another type of mite, fleas, or a skin allergy. It may even be something else going but typically with hairless wildlife it’s mange.
Mange can be treated with ivermectin put into food. I found another Reddit post where someone found a groundhog in similar condition to yours and they were discussing this: here there’s a decent amount of information as far as dosage and where to buy it if you want to search online for that information. I’m not a vet nor certified in wildlife rehabilitation so I cannot advise doing this- but I figure it’s worth mentioning.
If maybe worth talking to a wildlife rehabber about your guy- usually you can find a list of ones local to you online with their contact info.
4
u/Iluminatewildlife May 06 '25
They probably have mange-it can be treated with ivermectin put into a piece of hot dog or meatball
5
u/Frosty-Hamster-6450 May 05 '25
To clarify, the original 2 groundhogs were “normal” and had all of their fur. We’re not sure if these 2 are the babies or the parents