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We live in a heavily wooded area with a heavily wooded bluff off our back yard. Wildlife is abundant here, including groundhogs. Until we installed cams to watch wildlife I’d never witnessed the shedding process of groundhogs (or any wildlife).

I’m wondering if the shedding process causes itching, as I’ve seen one scratch on occasion?

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  • I don't know about groundhogs, but cats, dogs, squirrels, moose, all scratch a lot. I think any furred, feathered, or haired animal scratches. Possibly they (and we) are all shedding to some extent all the time. I wonder if snakes do an equivalent of scratching by rubbing themselves against a frictional surface.
    – ab2
    May 8, 2021 at 23:06
  • Thanks for the info. This is the first year I’ve put up cams specifically to watch the wildlife, so I’m seeing way more and learning far more than I anticipated. The behaviors I’ve seen have been amazing and surprising, but some of them itching is curious though unsure if worrisome at this point. One of the juveniles appears to have a botfly warble.
    – Summer Shadow
    Jul 4, 2021 at 22:10

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Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: Yes, but that's not the only likely cause of itching in animals. There are parasites like lice, chiggers, fleas, mosquitoes, mites (mange) etc. that can all cause itching too. In addition, fungal skin infections tend to be itchy. In general you should avoid the areas where you see itching animals as they may be shedding parasites like mites and fleas.

There are also spontaneous itches (as you will likely have experienced yourself - a random itch on your arm for instance).

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    Another cause of itching: reading lists of things that cause itching.
    – csk
    May 8, 2021 at 15:40
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    @GBG I fail to see how questions about animal behaviour observed in the wild are off-topic for an outdoors forum. Sure, the question might be better suited to a different SE, but I think it is perfectly on-topic here especially as animal behaviour is one topic specifically mentioned in the on-topic list
    – bob1
    May 11, 2021 at 2:10
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    @GBG second to last bullet point in my link: bird & animal watching and behaviour
    – bob1
    May 11, 2021 at 4:52
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    @user20551 I don’t see anything in my post as contentious at all. I don’t see any wildlife as “Pests” and never will, and we welcome them all to our property and garden and maintain our property for wildlife. I apologize if I posted in the wrong forum, but it wasn’t intentional. This was my very first post on this site so am still learning.
    – Summer Shadow
    Jul 4, 2021 at 22:16
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    @csk I’m not sure if your comment was meant to be humorous, but I am concerned for wildlife that may be in distress. the only info I find online is of the “Get rid of” kind. This particular site I thought I could find more information here. I love groundhogs and find watching them a true learning experience. They are one of the most misunderstood and persecuted animals, and few seem to care about them. But I care, which is why I’m asking. I’m just trying to learn more about their behavior and have likely posted in the wrong area. I certainly didn’t mean to be disruptive to the topic here.
    – Summer Shadow
    Jul 4, 2021 at 22:26

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