OMG!
Knock it off!
I can't afford more animals and now I was 2 of each!
I need an ark.
Knock it off!
I can't afford more animals and now I was 2 of each!
I need an ark.
OMG I want one!
- Thread starter KristyHall
- Start date
Quote:
I had a squirrel once too. jerk would grab on to my arm in the middle of the night and bite(not hard enough to break the skin, just to get me up). I would wake up, freak out, and throw the monster across the room. He would come running back and do it again til I wouldn't play anymore. Then he'd wait til I fell asleep again...It was his favorite game. He also liked waiting inside my door to jump on whoever's head walked through. Or climb up their legs, and they have some sharp claws. He was a cute lil thing when he was a baby acting all big and bad growling and stomping whenever he'd get a peanut though. I really wouldn't mind having one again.
I had a squirrel once too. jerk would grab on to my arm in the middle of the night and bite(not hard enough to break the skin, just to get me up). I would wake up, freak out, and throw the monster across the room. He would come running back and do it again til I wouldn't play anymore. Then he'd wait til I fell asleep again...It was his favorite game. He also liked waiting inside my door to jump on whoever's head walked through. Or climb up their legs, and they have some sharp claws. He was a cute lil thing when he was a baby acting all big and bad growling and stomping whenever he'd get a peanut though. I really wouldn't mind having one again.
What they did with these Fox is selectively breed for temperament to create an actual pet, not a caged wild animal. They bred the wild out while being really picky about the temperament. I wonder how much "fox" is left? Sure they like people, but I'm sure there is something about them making them high maintenance.
My concern, cute as they are, is that they'll become a fad, and people will start pumping out foxes and selling them as pets, when they are not, not at all off this bloodline of intended pets. That will be a disaster.
Imagine going to a flea market. Someone has a cage with some super cute foxes in it. You saw that article on it, and thought to yourself, that said they're pets, I will buy one of these for $300. So you take it home, it grows into a wild type fox, because it is, and ruins your house and hates life as a captive. All because someone was trying to capitalize on a new trend and knew where a fox den was on their property. Or they intentionally hunted them out.
How many ignorant people are going to get duped into getting a fox that is NOT off this strategically engineered pet line?
With media attention comes interest. From interest it starts a niche market, starts off really expensive. Copy cats capitalize with lower quality and lower prices. Pot belly pigs all over again. Calling a tiny piglet a micro mini, you pay your great deal price of $500 and it grows to 120 pounds instead of 40. You decide you want a fox but you're not willing to spend $5,000 or whatever. You find some for $800. Not off that pet bloodline though, and it decides at sexual maturity that it doesn't like you anymore.
It took them 14 generations of selective breeding to come up with people friendly fox. Someone else won't catch the trend in time if they try to do it right. I foresee more fox rescue organizations starting up though if too many people decide to get one and not one of the selectively bred ones. Or even if they get one of these bred for tameness, but still got more than they bargained for.
"Oh, they're like dogs now! I want one!" No they're not. Still fox, bred extra tame or not.
Hedgehogs, sugar gliders, skunks, ect... now it's the Fox's turn. At least they can't eat people as easily as a tiger can.
My concern, cute as they are, is that they'll become a fad, and people will start pumping out foxes and selling them as pets, when they are not, not at all off this bloodline of intended pets. That will be a disaster.
Imagine going to a flea market. Someone has a cage with some super cute foxes in it. You saw that article on it, and thought to yourself, that said they're pets, I will buy one of these for $300. So you take it home, it grows into a wild type fox, because it is, and ruins your house and hates life as a captive. All because someone was trying to capitalize on a new trend and knew where a fox den was on their property. Or they intentionally hunted them out.
How many ignorant people are going to get duped into getting a fox that is NOT off this strategically engineered pet line?
With media attention comes interest. From interest it starts a niche market, starts off really expensive. Copy cats capitalize with lower quality and lower prices. Pot belly pigs all over again. Calling a tiny piglet a micro mini, you pay your great deal price of $500 and it grows to 120 pounds instead of 40. You decide you want a fox but you're not willing to spend $5,000 or whatever. You find some for $800. Not off that pet bloodline though, and it decides at sexual maturity that it doesn't like you anymore.
It took them 14 generations of selective breeding to come up with people friendly fox. Someone else won't catch the trend in time if they try to do it right. I foresee more fox rescue organizations starting up though if too many people decide to get one and not one of the selectively bred ones. Or even if they get one of these bred for tameness, but still got more than they bargained for.
"Oh, they're like dogs now! I want one!" No they're not. Still fox, bred extra tame or not.
Hedgehogs, sugar gliders, skunks, ect... now it's the Fox's turn. At least they can't eat people as easily as a tiger can.
Well said, mandelyn. Those are all adorable pictures of BABY animals. Most babies are cute. Many times, not so much as adults. Look at all the cute puppies that as adults are piled into our animal shelters.
Actually, they are not an "extra tame" fox, they are a domesticated fox. The experiment was about activating gene clusters and changes associated with domesticity. On the flip side, they have also bred a super aggressive fox, with the opposite characteristics.
Most of the culls go straight back into the fur industry, where all the foxes originated. There is very little money for research in Russia, so the sale of the foxes helps support continuing research.
I do agree that a fad can cause problems. People see cute foxes in a magazine and want one themselves. These guys have some very specific dietary needs, and come with a fairly long list of instructions. Also key, all animals from the Russian breeding facility are neutered. Anyone who says they are breeding domesticated foxes from Russian breeding is lying. I also agree that fad animals are a sad thing, with too many people saying "oh cute" and getting into something they know nothing about.
It will be interesting to see if the breeding gets duplicated somewhere else, specifically for the pet trade. I don't think it will be in this country though. There is too much resistence to fur breeding here.
I told my kids that if I win the lotto, I'm buying a fox!
Most of the culls go straight back into the fur industry, where all the foxes originated. There is very little money for research in Russia, so the sale of the foxes helps support continuing research.
I do agree that a fad can cause problems. People see cute foxes in a magazine and want one themselves. These guys have some very specific dietary needs, and come with a fairly long list of instructions. Also key, all animals from the Russian breeding facility are neutered. Anyone who says they are breeding domesticated foxes from Russian breeding is lying. I also agree that fad animals are a sad thing, with too many people saying "oh cute" and getting into something they know nothing about.
It will be interesting to see if the breeding gets duplicated somewhere else, specifically for the pet trade. I don't think it will be in this country though. There is too much resistence to fur breeding here.
I told my kids that if I win the lotto, I'm buying a fox!
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Quote:
Okey Dokey, pics of those animals as adults:
Monkey
(already grown)
Piggy
Owl
(he's all grown up in that pic too)
Squirrel
(and I've raised a little bogger too so much fun
)
Their cute as grown ups to arn't they
Okey Dokey, pics of those animals as adults:
Monkey
Piggy
Owl
Squirrel
Their cute as grown ups to arn't they
THAT is what I want! Mini Russian Giraffe!!!! At least it won't burrow in the couch! It would need some cute rubber shoes for the slick flooring though.
I would just be afraid that eventually animal shelters would end up with a lot of them. Look at dogs and cats, so many unwanted ones. If they domesticate foxes it will take a while but eventually it could be another problem for the shelters to take care of.
Quote:
I was at an animal swap last fall and there was a guy who had foxes.
I was at an animal swap last fall and there was a guy who had foxes.
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