Foxy the Domestic… Fox
“Fox” is a species that you used to find on a list of exotic pets, but after 50 years of breeding in, where else, Russia, they have made their way onto the domestic list. For a while, owning a pet fox was about as safe as owning a pet wolf – maybe slightly safer as a given their smaller size. They were nippy, hostile, and all around unhappy living with human owners. Now, the Siberian Fox is a new tame breed of silver fox, affectionately known as the “SibFox.” This new breed of pet is all the rage in Europe and becoming more common in the U.S. as well.
As is true for wild foxes, the SibFox is small, comparable to the size of a medium-sized dog. SibFoxes have sleek, silvery coats, big, intelligent eyes, and the trendiest new pet since toy potbelly pigs. Of course, upon hearing this most joyous of news, you want to buy one and take it home and love it and name it Foxy. So what can you exactly can you expect from your new pet, Foxy?
Food – What will Foxy Eat?
Foxy will need to eat 1 to 1 and ½ pounds of food each day. You can feed her a balanced diet of vegetables, red meat, poultry, fish, and veterinarian prescribed vitamins, although canned/wet dog food formulated for medium sized dogs is just as well. Canned dog food is also an easier solution that fixing your Foxy special meals. If you should choose to cook for Foxy, watch out for bones and fats in the food you give her. If she is energetic, and her coat is fluffy with a healthy sheen, you will know that you are feeding her right. Overfeeding is a danger; even more so than with dogs because the fox metabolism is designed for a higher level of activity than Foxy will probably get as a domestic fox. In other words, it is easier for her to become overweight. Also, Foxy will drink a lot, so make sure to check her water supply daily. If it is often dry when you check it, then check multiple times a day. Foxy, you’ll discover, is a drinker. The hotter and dryer the climate, the more she’ll tend to drink.
Housing – Where will Foxy Sleep/Live?
Foxy can live indoors or out, just like a medium to large dog. If you want her to live outside, Foxy will need shelter from severe weather like snow and rain and excessive heat. Be sure that she has a shade and a little house type structure lined with a blanket or towel. She will need to be in a fenced in area, with either a bottom to her cage or a fence that goes several feet down into the ground so that she can’t dig out underneath it. Remember, she’s not that far removed from her cousin the fox. They’re diggers.
If you want Foxy to live indoors, she will be just fine sleeping in a medium sized dog bed. She can also feel at home inside of a medium to large dog kennel or crate, especially during the adjustment period. This will help her to feel protected, and like she has her own space. It is likely that once Foxy is accustomed to her new home, she will enjoy snoozing on couches, chairs, and even the foot of your bed, just like a cat! However, if you are a person who is strict about, “no dogs on human furniture,” her own bed will be perfect.
Other Care – What Else Do You Need to Know About Foxy?
Foxy should be walked on a leash for about 30 minutes a day, whether that ends up being three 10-minute walks, two 15-minute walks, or one 30 minute walk, this is for exercise. Foxy will need quite a bit of it, similar to a Greyhound or Labrador. If you want Foxy to do her business outside, those walks will have to be separate. Foxy can be trained to use a litter box like a cat. But exercise is paramount for this breed.
Also, Foxy will be quite easy going. She should get along fine with any dogs or cats that already live in the house, though she may be hostile to smaller animals like rabbits, ferrets, rats, and other rodents that may have been food sources for her in the wild. Excellent training and establishing yourself as pack leader will mitigate any oopses that end up with your rabbit being um, Foxy’s lunch.
The most important thing to remember is that while Foxy may share traits in common with other household pets like a dog or cat, she is a fox – a domestic fox, but a fox nonetheless. You will need to learn about her just as you would your first dog or cat in order to help your pet/owner relationship to be the best it can be!