can you keep a fox as a pet?

Answer 1

This article I found may answer your question:

Why foxes shouldn't be kept as pets:

Have you ever wondered why such an endearing and beautiful creature like the fox has never been commonly kept as a pet?
The reason is that the fox - despite being from the same canid family as the domestic dog - is simply not cut out to be a human companion. Compared to dogs, foxes are completely different in behaviour and character.

From the moment a fox is born it has strongly inbuilt instincts to be afraid of man and this has been carefully developed through millions of years of evolution. It is true that some captive foxes are remarkably tame -sometimes inexplicably so - but even these can suffer great stress if taken out for a walk in the park like a dog.
A cub hand-reared from one-day-old may get imprinted onto a human but will always suffer great stress when around other people. Being in constant fear results in much salivation from the mouth and can cause excessive diarrhea.

Most healthy young foxes are able to fend for themselves independently in the wild by the time they are five or even four months old. These are instincts for a life in the wild, not a life in a house or an enclosure. So why would anyone want to keep a shy creature that runs and hides in the corner every time a human being is around, causing it great stress and discomfort for the rest of its life, not to mention taking away its freedom.

If you do find an orphaned cub, there is certainly nothing wrong with taking the animal in (you will be doing a positive thing for its welfare) but only do so with a view to getting it back to the wild again. Before making any move to rescue a cub, please remember to ensure that it is, in fact, an orphan and not just temporarily separated from its mother. Advice on rehabilitating cubs can be obtained from Foxwatch Ireland.

Answer 2

Foxes As Pets

Answer 3

I think you can have a fox as a pet because i read someone elselse saying some you can. I know that kids want a pet Fox but they are afraid of humans. If you go to a fox it may bite you. I want a pet Fox so bad. They are cute and fluffy.but ask a s for pets if you can keep a fox as a pet. I am sorry if you can t but foxes are my favorite animal because they are dogs.

Answer 4

A fox is a canine but not a dog ! Obviously, it is not a domesticated animal like a dog and should not be kept as a pet. If possible, any injured animal or abandoned baby fox pups should be rescued and rehabilitated and eventually returned to the wild....where they belong. If this is not possible, a zoo or permanent refuge center may be the best answer for the animal. I heard people are now breeding foxes with dogs to create the hybrid called a "Dox." The fox is a beautiful animal, but naturally wily and fearful around humans. The hybrid may exhibit more foxlike traits than domestic dogs and can be skittish, shy and often capricious or even vicious around humans and do not make ideal pets !

Answer 5

I have a fox as a pet. It's a wonderful story. We live in a specaial place a wineyard hill, out of civilization ( but with all odern facilities ). My Alsacian shephard dog Corb brought the fox when about 2-3 weeks old, very ill, starved and kept him into her place and fed him with her food ( she was at the time 6 month old ). I thought he was a dog ( his tie is not VERY fluffy, and he has little white only on the belly). He was raised as a dog, ony when fet came to vaccinate all dogs ( 4 more ) he said he's a fox. Nobody can touch him ( Puck is his name ) He comes, eats like a dog, barks like a dog ( well... sharp strident voice but he goes and fight with the troop to guard the house and the yard! ).Sometimes he comes and gives his paw to be shaked. Nobody teached that to him. Very scared of strangers, when the vet comes he recognize the sound of the car and he's miles away. Hunts pheastants near the yard and share with his mate dogs, really!. Because never vaccinated ( nobody could touch him ) he get distemper few month ago. I could than take him inside and treat him ( they didn't allow him in the vet hospital they said no wilde animals ) so I kept him inside the house, put him perfusions, give him all the medication. He cured in 1 month and a half. Now he is out again. In the yard, barking, stealing some chickens from the neighbour - not often - and giving his paw to shake.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
can you keep a fox as a pet?

Answer 7

I am interest in an actual pet fox but I have had three little visitors for the past 4 month think one of them is the mother and two cubs, not sure if they have a routine movement pattern after seeing them three times in my garden I ve decided to leave food out for them some old cooked chickens and anything that is meat coz as far as I am were there meat eaters nothing else. Also I keep my home door closed, but for the past few months they ve sat beside me in my garden now I do feed them only 1 same day of the week every week up until now, my neighbours want to leave food out for them, I live in a village so you can imagine farmers complaining about stock being eaten by foxes, but I figure if we as people feed them instead of wasting food, then they won t hassle the farmers. Foxes are like any animal they can all be dangerous and especially generation in and out foxes have been hunted and chased by man (in UK thank god for them banning the Fox hunting sport) brutally for 100 s of years, I don t know if it a genetic thing, but they are cunning and smart animals I wouldn t let them in my bedroom while I slept, they could highly likely rip your throat out while you slept (if given the reason to you abuse them or don t feed them, or just snapped, anything) wild and domestic animal should never mix as in animals or lifestyles! raised in the wild stay in the wild, domestic stay domestic. Respect them, all animals, don t be foolish & keep you guard up to wild and domestic, especially if you are befriending a wild animals or a domestic animal that s not familiar to you. If there is any tips or advice you can suggest to me and my neighbours then I ll be pleased to take it, in any situation.

Answer 8

These answers seem a bit outdated.

Yes you can keep a fox as a pet, IF:

A) it is from a line of domestic bred foxes - not a wild one you've found. Domestic bred animals don't have the same fear of humans or survival instincts (just like domestic dogs vs. wild dogs, domestic hamsters vs. wild ones, etc)

B) it is legal in your country to keep one. You may need a licence.

But above all, DO NOT raise a fox cub you find with the intention of returning it to the wild!! Especially if you don't have any experience with such animals. By doing this, you will remove its fear of humans, and not all humans are nice to wild foxes. Also, you will not teach it to survive in the wild the same way it's mother will, and it probably won't, unless you are very experienced and well equipped.

If you find a fox cub & you're 100% sure it's been orphaned (don't even go near it otherwise), call the RSPCA (or another animal charity who deal with with animals), and let them do their jobs.

Answer 9

Many foxes are actively fed by humans, so much so some have come right up to me at night, one even nibbled my trainer! They are a wild species, but just like some wolves became dogs because of affinity to humans, some foxes are predisposed to becoming friends or allies to humans.

Answer 10

I used to have 2 pet foxes I got them from a guy that shot the mother and found the pups under an old shed .They were about 6 or 8 weeks old when I got them They got real tame and were great pets .But they are a wild animal and are differant than a dog .They would play with my dog and could run circles around him .They would run accross the yard and jump up in my arms when I called them .After they were a couple months old . I would leave the door to there cage open and just put their feed in it and they would be their every night sleeping until they they got old enough to breed .Im sure that some one stole one of them because he just disappeared on day .The other one was there all the time until she went in heat .Then she would start being gone 1 or 2 days then return and eat .She never did get mean even after she got older . She made a den under an old car on my neigbors property .Then sometimes she would return to her cage at night and I wouldn't see her ,but I could tell when she had been there because she ate the food .Eventually she found a mate and quit returning to her cage . Everytime I see a fox in the area I'm sure it must be one of her pups . You can buy a wild game breeders lisence for like $20 and keep wild animals .The game warden usually will stop by a few times a year to make sure they are not being abused and are taken care of properly .