Do foxes make good pets?

They look cute and playful. They look like they could make nice little friends to keep as pets. Right? Well before you make that bold move it is wise to find out if it can be done or not. Yes you can have a pet fox, however, you need to understand how and what type of a fox you need.

Foxes are not like dogs
You need to understand that even if they may have a look that suggests ‘dog’ about them they really are a different species from dogs. So no, you cannot go into the wild and just trap one and hope they become like your dogs. You can tame one or adopt a domesticated one. The difference in taming and domestication is that the first simply involves raising an animal in a different environment hoping it will adopt new mannerisms, while the latter involves changing part of the genetic material so that even its offspring is born with different traits from the original parent.

Your best option
Because of government’s protocol on bites from suspected rabies carriers, even taming one is not a very good option. Simply for one reason; even if the animal has had a rabies shot, it has not been shown whether the vaccines used currently work on fox. If you are bitten by your pet fox, you will have to put it down. That is killing it. You can however adopt a domesticated one. However this is a long process that will also cost you quite a bit. To do this you will need approval from Fedewa and you can only import it from Siberia.

If you tame or adopt
Should you go ahead with the adoption plan here are a few pointers;

• Foxes are very curious animals and you will have it rummaging every possible corner in your home.
• Fox urine has strong pungent smell which may be hard to withstand.
• They also have a musky odor which many people cannot stand.
• They like digging, so you must get it a cage which it can dig.
• Unless you have the domesticated fox, the rest are hard to tame, so you must be careful around the fox.
• They must get their anti-rabies vaccines just like your other pets.

Final thought
Because of their complex dietary needs, government protocol in case of a bite and the expense involved in adopting a domesticated one, it probably is best to let fox remain in the wild.