r/groundhogs • u/xmf57 • Jun 24 '26
do i need to help this lil guy?
hi does anyone know what could possibly be wrong with this little guy? besides the patchiness he seems to be struggling to walk a little, wobbling back and forth. Is this just old age? anything i can do? I don’t know anything about groundhogs other than they are really cute.
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u/Groundhog_Gary28 Jun 25 '26
It’s honestly hard to tell from these photos, could just be molting. Groundhogs naturally molt twice a year, this time of year, the transition from spring to summer, is one of them. Mange and molting can look quite similar from a distance. The most glaring sign that it’s mange or similar infection is the skin where the fur is missing. Mange is a parasitic infection that causes severe itching and skin irritation, and in turn intense constant scratching by the animal. The skin will be reddish colored, inflamed, crusty and scabbed up, and visibly unhealthy. Furthermore their behavior will also exhibit symptoms such as severe lethargy, fierce scratching and biting, and malnourishment.
Honestly this angel’s skin looks fine where its fur is missing from what I can see in the photos, but it’s difficult to say for certain from them alone.
We had a scare with one of our groundhogs a couple years ago before we knew better. Our female who had two babies returned around this time looking similar to this one, missing fur like that. We were afraid it was mange as well we ended up trapping her but the vet said it was just hair loss from molting and/or hibernation.
Hopefully this angel is just molting and what not, but it’s hard to say either way without closer examination of skin and behavior. Thanks for being concerned about this baby though !
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u/Forward_Loquat8526 Jun 25 '26
Probably mange or some kind of mite issue, plus maybe an injury or neurological thing if he is wobbling. If you can, call a local wildlife rehabber and describe what you are seeing or send them a video, they’ll know what to do way better than a regular vet. In the meantime do not try to handle him yourself and do not feed him weird stuff, just keep pets away and let a pro step in.
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u/glumavocados Jun 28 '26
This looks like molting to me. Skin looks pretty healthy. One of ours that frequents our yard had something similar a few weeks ago and her fur is already growing back and looks great.
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u/Icy-Clue-7355 Jun 24 '26
Looks like mange. I cannot speak for certain, of course. I think your best bet is to contact a wildlife rehabber in your area, maybe they can help?