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Personality
Foxes are not a very common pet people think about having, but they are quite sweet animals if they are raised from kits. Fox behaviors have often been described as a mix between that of a dog and a cat. Like a dog, they are quite energetic and love to play. Foxes love to run around and play with other animals, and will also play with the family dog! Despite this, they are also like a cat, they love to nap in the sun and cuddle up with their owners for affection. So if you enjoy the aspects of both a cat and a dog, this might be the pet for you.

Behavior Towards Humans
The Behaviors of a fox depend usually on if you get a domesticated fox, or a tame fox. If you are confused about the difference between the terms tame and domestic, there is a link at the bottom of this post about the difference between the terms wild, feral, tame, and domestic. Tame foxes will always be more distant from their owners, not needing affection of any sort, and might even try to harm you if it feels threatened. Domesticated foxes on the other hand, might wag their tail upon seeing you, and crave to be near you and get affection. Domesticated foxes will always be more predictable, and safer than a tame fox. Word count 230.

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Wild, feral, tame and domestic: These are four descriptive terms used to refer to animals of all types, including cats and dogs. While at first glance, the meaning of each of these words may seem obvious, it is not always so cut and dried! Cats and dogs of different species and with different histories can fit into all four categories, and it might seem as if domestic and tame are interchangeable terms, and that feral and wild are as well. However, there are distinct differences between the meanings of all four of these words, and it is worth learning a little more about each in order to better understand the natural state of pets such as dogs and cats, and how we interact with them.

Read on to learn more!

What is meant by "wild?"

When you think of a wild animal, you may think of small animals like mice, rats and garden birds, or larger animals like wolves and tigers. The definition of a wild animal is one that goes through its entire life without any need for human intervention, either directly or by means of alterations to their environment of situation. They do not rely upon people for food or their other needs, and may in fact go through their whole lifecycle without ever coming into close contact with, or even seeing, a human being.

What is meant by "feral?"

An animal that is feral is an animal from a breed or species that has either previously been domesticated and then allowed to revert back into a natural state, or that has the potential to become domesticated. This is identified on a breed by breed basis, rather than by referring to the history of any individual given animal and their interaction with people.

Both dogs and cats can be feral, and in fact, a domestic or tame dog or cat that is released back into the wild and survives to reproduce will usually revert to a feral state within just one generation.

The terms feral and stray are often used interchangeably, and from a distance, it can be difficult to tell if an animal such as a cat or dog is feral or simply living as a stray; however, the term "stray" implies a prior history of living alongside of humans, and indicates that such an animal may be able to revert to a domestic state with relative ease.

What is meant by "tame?"

Tame is often confused with domesticated, but there are significant differences between the meanings of the two terms!

A tame animal is one that may be very used to the presence of people and accept or welcome their intervention into their lives; for instance, by using them as a source of food, permitting themselves to be touched, or by developing a symbiotic relationship with living relatively closely with people.

However, while various types of animals such as garden birds may become tame enough to feed at close quarters and lose some of their fear of people, they are still considered to be a long way from becoming domesticated.

While causing a tame animal to have reliance on people for resources such as food or shelter can impede their onus and learned ability to find these things for themselves, a tame animal will nevertheless need to go through several stages of behavioural and biological modification to be able to be considered properly domesticated.

What is meant by "domesticated?"

Domestication of any given animal is a process that interferes with the natural wild lifecycle of an animal, by means of artificial selection. Humankind is adept at modifying the behaviours of certain types of animals to fit our requirements and offer benefit to people, and this often begins with a symbiotic relationship with an animal, taming them, and over the course of several generations, leads to domestication.

This process can be seen in our earliest history of domesticating dogs and cats; cats provided benefit to humans by helping to keep the rodent population under control, while dogs got food on tap and a warm space to sleep out of the deal. Dogs, with their propensity to hunt and guard, would stick close to human habitations for a free source of food, while helping to defend the land against threats, and ultimately, working alongside of human hunters.

The active domestication of animals alters them on both a mental and sometimes, physical level (selective breeding is a good example of this) as over time, the animal in question not only serves a purpose for people, but becomes reliant on us for resources such as food and shelter. Most domesticated animals that have multiple generations of history living alongside of people would not be able to thrive in the wild if released, and this is due to both learned changes and to evolutionary aspects of this progression that ultimately, breeds out the animal's ability to fend for itself in the wild.

While dogs and cats might seem to be the perfect example of domesticated animals, even this is open to some debate! Mixed-breed cats and many pedigrees that have not been overbred or ultra-typed would generally survive just fine in the wild, as would potentially many domestic dogs!

Do you like this article? Have something to say? Then leave your comments.

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tame and domestic - the difference between the four terms

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Wild, feral, tame and domestic - The difference between the four terms | Pets4Homes

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Wild, feral, tame and domestic: These are four descriptive terms used to refer to animals of all types, including cats and dogs. While at first glance, the meaning of each of these words may seem obvious, it is not always so cut and dried!

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Have you ever wanted to own an animal that isn't something ordinary? Maybe not a dog, or cat; bird or fish? Have you ever wondered which "wild" animals, animals you can have as companions without worrying about being hurt by your furry friend? Look no further! My name is Rayn Christensen, and today I am going to teach you about why foxes might be a good pet for you. Word count 69

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Although these animals are adorable and sweet, they aren't as easy to take care of as a normal house pet. Foxes can absolutely destroy furniture if you keep them in the house, and it's important to keep an eye on them to prevent this. They also can hurt you if they are tame foxes, so you must be respectful of their space.

Something especially important when it comes to fox care is understanding what you should feed them. Foxes cannot just be simply be fed dog food, as they need supplements for Turin, and real veggies in their diet. Here is a great article on what you should, and shouldn't feed your pet fox. Word count 114.

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Pet foxes eat things that are similar to what you would feed your pet dogs and cats. Foxes are omnivores (like dogs) therefore a balanced diet for a pet fox includes vitamins, minerals, meat, vegetables, and other foods.

Protein for Foxes

In the wild, foxes generally hunt small rodents. From a very early age, they learn their characteristic pounce in order to quickly and quietly catch their favorite food. But your pets don't have to hunt in captivity. Instead, you generally should offer a formulated fox food (that contains taurine) since it has most of what your pet fox needs along with pre-killed mice, small rats, fuzzies, or pinkies depending on the size of the fox.

Fennec foxes will typically stick with the mice and smaller rodents while red or Siberian foxes can enjoy a rat or even a small rabbit since they are a little bit larger when compared to a fennec. Regardless of the source of the protein, the majority of your fox's diet should be protein.

Insects are also a large part of a fox's diet. In the wild, a lot of a fox's day is spent foraging for grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, silkworms, beetles, and mealworms in addition to an occasional crustacean (such as a crayfish). Thankfully, in captivity, it is easy to feed a few dozen mealworms, gut-loaded crickets, or larger insects since these are readily available from pet stores.

Some fox owners also opt to feed their pets raw meat. There are mixed feelings about feeding raw foods to pet foxes, but if you choose to offer raw meat to your fox, make sure you are feeding whole prey items, meaning entire chicks, mice, rabbits, and squirrels. Foxes need the organs, skin, and other benefits of the entire animal, not just the muscles as would be provided with a chicken breast or steak.

Fruits and Vegetables for Foxes

Vegetables, such as mixed frozen vegetables, cherry tomatoes, and other bite-sized veggies, should be offered to your fox daily. For smaller foxes, a few teaspoons of vegetables a day will suffice but offer a few tablespoons for larger foxes. If you notice your fox's stool has a lot of vegetable matter in it, you are probably feeding too many veggies and should cut back on the amount you are offering.

Fruits should only be offered as treats (unlike vegetables, which should be part of the daily meal for your fox). Foxes especially like berries and many fox owners also recommend giving cherries as treats to help with the odor of their urine. Care should be taken to avoid feeding grapes and raisins due to reports of the kidney damage they can cause.

Grains for Foxes

Foxes do not eat grains in the wild, therefore, you should avoid feeding things like wheat, rice, oats, and other grain matter in their food. Since foxes instead eat small prey such as mice and birds that eat grains, this is how they get some of the carbohydrates they need. The rest of the carbohydrates they require are found in the fruits and vegetables they consume.

Vitamins and Supplements for Foxes

Taurine is essential to pet foxes and is typically found in formulated fox diets or grain-free dog foods (as well as the animal tissues you feed). If it isn't already listed as an ingredient in the food you are feeding your fox, you can supplement it with taurine capsules. Smaller foxes typically need about 500 milligrams a day while larger foxes will need more.

Most of the vitamins and minerals that your fox needs will already be in the grain-free food you feed your fox and the rest of what they need will be in the rodents, insects, and vegetables you offer on a daily basis.

Keep the Diet Natural

Foxes need as close to a natural diet as possible. Despite the fact that they have quite the taste for sweets and other human foods, care should be taken to avoid feeding any foods other than what was previously recommended. Just because a fox likes something that doesn't mean they should eat it.

If you are ever unsure what to feed your fox check with your exotics vet for their recommendations.

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What Should a Pet Fox Eat to Stay Healthy?

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Pet foxes eat things that are similar to what you would feed your pet dogs and cats. Foxes are omnivores (like dogs) therefore a balanced diet for a pet fox includes vitamins, minerals, meat, vegetables, and other foods. In the wild, foxes generally hunt small rodents.

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Here is an example of a domesticated fox snuggling up in its owners lap. You can see with its body language that they do not plan to hurt their owner, and in fact love her presence. They beg for pets and even curl up in her lap after a minute for a nap. Notice that the person didnt need to even guide the fox into their lap, it just wanted the affection naturally. Word count 73.

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Not all states allow foxes, and plenty of them have special rules in place if they do. You may need to build a special enclosure for your fox to live in, or maybe the fox is allowed inside your house. Some states require a permit, or only allow native species. Although I am specifically covering Red Foxes, some places also allow Fennec Foxes.

I have tried to find a list that is accurate in exactly what states allow foxes, but it seems that they all disagree with each other. I highly suggest that you look up the legality in your state and county, so your pet fox doesn't get taken away. If you do not live in the states, I believe quite a few countries allow pet foxes, so don't worry quite yet! It is very much possible you can own a fox. Word count 142.

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Now if you want a domesticated fox rather than a tame one, you are going to have to jump through a few hoops. There is only one place to get a domesticated fox, and that is Siberia. In 1959, a geneticist by the name of Dmitri Belyaev decided go conduct an experiement to see if he could replicate how humans might have domesticated wolves. It just happened to be that instead of using wolves for this experiment, (as they are quite vicious when they feel trapped) he used foxes.

Over the years, the experiment went like this: Whenever a new generation was born, they bred the most friendly foxes with each other, and didn't let the hostile ones breed, rinse and repeat. The way they would test a foxes friendliness to humans was to put them in a room with a human sitting in the middle, with a circle around the human. The more time spent in the circle; the friendlier the fox. Continuing this over the years, the more friendly the foxes had gotten to humans and the more domesticated they became.

Through all this selective breeding, even physical indications of domestication like floppy ears and wagging tails appeared on the foxes. You can get one of these foxes, for 8,000 dollars that is. Word count 215

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Fox Behaviors and Personality:

Pets4Homes. “Wild, Feral, Tame and Domestic - The Difference between the Four Terms.” Pets4Homes, Pets4Homes, 7 Oct. 2014, www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/wild-feral-tame-and-domestic-the-difference-between-the-four-terms.html.

Fox with Log Photo:

Iangator. “Gorgeous Red Fox!” Reddit, 18 Sept. 2018, www.reddit.com/r/foxes/comments/9gxlfb/gorgeous_red_fox/.

Warnings for Fox Care:

Kruzer, Adrienne. “What Should a Pet Fox Eat to Stay Healthy?” The Spruce Pets, TheSprucePets, 20 Jan. 2019, www.thesprucepets.com/pet-fox-diet-1238708.

Video of foxes playing with their owner:

Videos, Epic, director. Fox Playing with His Owner! YouTube, YouTube, 25 Apr. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=g6ZZwFLhl4E.

Girl with fox photo:

Photo, Yrina. “A Little Girl with a Fox in Autumn Forest.” Shutterstock, www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-girl-fox-autumn-forest-734121244?src=nfu5sjsQ8ktsND5QCDO6kw-1-.

Other site:

Becker, Rachel, and William Poor. “These Domesticated Foxes Were 60 Years in the Making.” The Verge, The Verge, 11 Sept. 2018, www.theverge.com/2018/9/11/17842410/pet-tame-foxes-domestication-dogs-genetics?fbclid=IwAR1i-f6pcs5aumLZVEHdv2wrlzmDoh1USY-_th35bU2_1S9GJXixgyMZfBM.