Pet foxes

[AquaEyes]

I know that among poultry keepers, foxes tend to be perceived as predatory pests. But I wanted to see if anyone here was familiar with the domesticated silver foxes (a color mutation of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes) recently being offered as pets. Here are some links describing them:

And here's the website of a distributor of them for the US. There are links on the "media about tame foxes" page that direct you to articles.

http://sibfox.com/


Red foxes aren't the only species kept as pets by some people. There are also pet arcic foxes, but the most popular now seems to be the fennec fox (which is the smallest species of wild canine, maxing out at about 5 pounds for a big male). A search on youtube for "pet arctic fox" or "pet fennec fox" will bring up lots of clips (more for fennecs, since they seem to be more common).

I realize that, cute or not, a fox raiding a henhouse is a pest. But I just wanted to sort of balance the perspective on foxes in general. Feel free to post anything else on the subject of pet foxes here. And enjoy the videos.



~Chris

 

[chickbea]

Either last month or the one before National Geographic had an article about foxes as pets.

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
OOOH, really? I want to find that. I'm so out of the loop lately. I never watch TV and most of my reading is for school. I'll have to find that article online. Thanks.



~Chris

 

[danielle82]

I skimmed the article in national geographic, but I wasn't aware they had them in the US

 

[Akane]

A pet fox is a lot of work and aside from fennec foxes require a very large very secure outdoor enclosure for them to run around in or they'll tear your house up. Not a good pet for most people. If you want a fox looking creature that doesn't listen to a word you say, runs laps around your house, eats anything it can get, and escapes all but fort knox try a shiba.

While a bit of comparison will show they are very obviously different everyone says they look like foxes and I actually had one lady come to get chickens who refused to touch our very friendly shiba because she could not be convinced it wasn't a fox.

And we don't have to pay for a permit to keep an exotic animal.

 

[AquaEyes]

Ooooh, found it:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/taming-wild-animals/ratliff-text

The domestication of the fox is such a wonderful example of evolution in action. The research center is replicating their experimental breeding with other species as well.



~Chris

 

[bossynbella]

If you google it you can find the information on the breeding program for the foxes. It really is very interesting. They also did a show on public television about it. Its a fur farm, many many years ago, they started two different lines the first was using only those foxes who showed NO aggression to people, the second was using those that where aggressive. The lines have been kept completely separate. Over the years the line using the "tamer" foxes started showing up with color mutations including white patches on faces and tail tips, parti color foxes and different colors all with white. The line with the aggressive foxes stayed the same color. They are comparing this to how dogs where domesticated, saying that the first wolves where kept because they where not aggressive to people or less aggressive, they now feel like the genes that control aggression are also related to the variety of colors we now see in dogs. All these foxes are kept outside in kennels (not very large either I didn't think). On the show they walked through the aggressive kennel area and the foxes would attack the front of the kennels, snarling and biting at the people. Then they went to the other kennel and the foxes would push against the kennels rubbing along it and they could take them out and hold them, the foxes would just snuggle up to the people. I think the lady who runs it had a few she kept as pets in the house, but I can't remember for sure. This wasn't in the US though, I can't remember where it was, maybe someone else can help out on that one?

 

[heather112588]

There was a special i saw on animal planet about that! Scientist were doing an experiment to ponder how dogs slowly became domesticated...fascinating show to say the least! A research facility caught wild red foxes (about 20) and breed them in captivity, they took to calmest pups from each litter and breed them. They did this for 3 or 4 litters of pups....By the 4th litter, they started noticing changes. The 4th litter had ears that bent down, thin tails and varied color patterns that modern dogs have. They were also docile and quite tame- thus what they sell (the sibern foxes).

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
Beautiful dogs! Yes, the red shibas have a foxy-resemblance. But I prefer the real thing for myself. I decided that after I get accepted to grad school, I'm finally getting my first fennec. I won't get into arctics or reds until I own a home. I will agree that foxes aren't good for most people. I will add that there are a lot of people who aren't good with any kind of animal. But there are also a lot of people who understand the different needs of exotic pets and can satisfy those needs successfully. I'm sure that I tolerate animal behavior and aspects of animal-keeping that most other people would not. Foxes aren't the only species on my "eventual list", and yes, I have spent years learning about various species, have some hands-on experience with a few things many people here have never heard of, and know enough about diet and housing for species that don't have their requirements met as easily as pet dogs and cats. I actually enjoy the idea of making a home-made balanced diet for my animals, appreciating unusual behavioral traits, etc. I like exotic pets because they are more challenging. I have some friends who work in zoos that wonder why I never followed their career path. I guess that for me, I'd rather enjoy the challenge of caring for my own exotic pets, rather than being paid to care for those belonging to others. And to be able to afford it, I returned to school to eventually get my doctorate.



~Chris

 

[lasergrl]

I have a fennec fox. there is a ton of info on sybilsden.com about pet foxes. The biggest problem i have with red/silvers is the very strong smell of skunk they have as well as trouble with housetraining.