Same goes for ferrets. I own ferrets. I love them to pieces. But I could never leave them on their own because they are known for burrowing and are master escape artists. They need to be kept on leashes or supervised in their pens, because they will escape if given the chance. That's what's wrong with a lot of pet owners. They buy unique or exotic pets and expect them to act like a dog or cat. It's sad. When I worked at a vet, it was sad seeing exotic animals being surrendered because the owners didn't do enough research on what sort of animal they were buying and couldn't handle it. :(

Ameel, I know what you mean about ferrets. Snowball was pretty good at finding hiding spaces. She was never outside without a leash because I just didn't have a safe set up for that. When it was her free run time, I'd only allow her in certain ferret proofed rooms with a ton of bells on her collar so I could track her quickly if she hid in a new spot. Some exotics make great pets. Research is important as op knows. Experience is even more important. I've found talking to those who have the animal I want helps supplement the research. I even did that with huskies. And I'm constantly talking with other husky owners even though I'm 17 years into having them now. As far as a cheap way to secure a fence, attach chicken wire to the bottom of it. Have it come a few feet out. Bury it a bit down in the dirt. Pain to install, but it does work well most of the time. Sid hates it. But he hasn't escaped since it was done. So it's doing its job.

You can actually domesticate many animals, including foxes. Foxes are actually great pets/companions because they have the good traits of dogs and cats. Plus, they do not "want to hunt", although many people do let them hunt, they like being fed as well. Make sure you know what you are talking about before you comment.

Spaces are just not meant to be used between the final word of a sentence and the ending punctuation! Nor are exclamation points meant to be used in triplicate!!! If you loved exclamation points you should know that!

there is such thing as domesticated foxes

I just hope you're not a PETA activist that believes that it is more humane to kill animals than to keep them as pets.

I'll say it again here: domesticated foxes HAVE been around for years (several in fact, if you would like to look it up. I'm on a exotic animal forum that has several fox owners.) Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean they haven't. Please don't lump all of us exotic animal owners together - we all have fools like OP somewhere but most of us actually DO research and make the right environment for our new family members. Getting a domesticated fox (NOTE: 'domesticated,' not 'wild' - there is a difference! And there are reputable breeders/places) is not an on the whim thing.

Oh! And believe it or not - I know of several foxes that adore their owners and do want to be around them. Just like any other animal, if raised right they are respectful but do quite love getting attention :) On fact, a few get more attention and love from their owners than they need lol (aka spoiled buggers that act like princesses; similar to cats, really.)

I said HUNDREDS MAYBE EVEN THOUSANDS of years. I know about fox farms and the research to domesticate them. I didn't even attack ANYONE. All I said was that animals need to want to be with humans. To me 40 years just isn't very long for domestication. There may be some foxes that are perfectly fine living with humans but I'm sure there are still a large amount of traits that need to be bred out of them before they can be considered domesticated. Get off your soap box please, I have nothing against responsible exotic pet owners.

66- they have been being domesticated for hundreds/thousands of years. Just like what was previously said, just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it hasn't been around. There was even an old Queen of England (can't remember who, but I'm pretty sure it was Queen Catherine... Idk) who had a little pet fox.

You logic is broken...if people like op don't buy these beautiful creatures and own them as pets, who is going to domesticate them so that they CAN be owned as pets? If there is no money in it, no one will do it. Think about your logic and how it doesn't make the point you are trying to get at. -.-

I apologize - I didn't mean to sound as though I were attacking you, either. I was mostly speaking the general public. True, 40 (ish) years is not a long time, but we have to start somewhere just like everything else. It's unfortunately difficult to filter out the bad owners who think they've done research (when they haven't) to those who do know what they're talking about and/or doing. True also, about some genetics/behavioral issues needing to be bred out still, but if I am honest with you, I don't think it'll ever completely done. I think foxes (and some other animals, for that matter) will always have some problems and we will always have some idiots who make the rest look irresponsible as well. Like I said, I apologize if it seemed like I was speaking as though attacking especially considering I do agree with most of which you said.

See it's the bad owners and people who think they're just cute and don't want to put the work in that make owning these animals a bad idea. My "logic" isn't flawed. I just want to protect animals that have their autonomy taken from them. My point is that people have bred dogs and cats enough that they're an entirely different species than when they started and foxes have not gone through that process. Yes there's a demand for them and that's what drives domestication (obviously, I'm not stupid) but these are living things and they should not be subject to maltreatment bc unexperienced people want them before they are capable of being considered a domestic pet and not an exotic pet. I'm sorry some people don't agree with that, but I care more about the well being of a living thing than the demand for a cool, unique pet. Most of that not completely directed at you 76. I get where you're coming from. I just have a problem with it bc they aren't like domesticated cats and dogs yet. There are still only small amounts of pet quality foxes and even smaller numbers of people who know what they're doing.

Ignore this!! For some reason, FML posted another comment meant for somewhere else here.

No offense taken, 97! I agree :) I wish it was possible to just get those who WILL take good care of them and perhaps document it (not as in putting a bunch of wires in the animal, but just a document of behavior and such) while still enjoying the animal/taking care of its demanding needs. But nope - we have those like OP who think they know it all, but may have just cost a beautiful creature its life which is entirely depressing to think about :/ But I do get what you mean. I just suppose that foxes are going to have to get up there with cats and dogs one day. Pretty sure years ago, humans probably thought the people who had worked to tame dogs were retarded/just asking for trouble :'D

I own a fennec fox and a silver fox :) . They're both from breeders who have specialized in them for years. As long as you get them as kits, they're fine. But OP was at fault for this, I keep mine on leashes for that exact reason. Even with a fenced in backyard they can still dig very quick.

"See it's the bad owners and people who think they're just cute and don't want to put the work in that make owning these animals a bad idea." True. And I think that's the problem here. A lot of people buy unique or exotic pets like foxes or dingoes without doing the proper research on them (and no offence to the OP, but it doesn't sound like they researched this as much as they claim. Who doesn't know foxes dig?) They just expect them to be like a domesticated dog or cat. Then when the animal doesn't live up to their expectations, they either mistreat it or dump it at a shelter. :( I also think a lot of people here are mistaking domesticated with tame. Plenty of animals can be domesticated. That doesn't necessarily mean they are 100% tame though.

Who cares what you said? You are clearly not an expert on the subject.

@cmayer. I recently read an article about how fast pet rats have been domesticated. There have been experiments on their domestication, similar to those Russian fox farms where gentle rats were bred to other gentle rats, while aggressive were bred to aggressive. According to the article, the reason it took hundreds of years to domesticate dogs and cats was because no one was trying to; the animals were attracted to human settlements because of our waste (food). I can't remember the name of the theory, but basically, the dogs who were willing to come closer to humans for food were the ones who survived better because they didn't starve during lean months. So over time they eventually become tame enough to come right up to humans for food. However, when people are actively trying to domesticate an animal, it is done much quicker than the natural way because humans are deliberately selecting the best genes (for pets) to pass along to the next generation. Rats were domesticated in a matter of decades.

just because OP over looked one thing doesn't make them a "bad" owner.

I wouldn't pay $8000.00 for a pet if it gave ********.

They do not make great house pets. I've worked with five individual foxes of three different species. I researched them as pets as well. They are stubborn, they are incredibly fast, they are clever, they get into everything, and even after purchasing one they continue to be expensive. Not to mention very few vets can accept them.

who said OP got it from the wild? there are foxes that are bred in captivity and domesticated

foxes are and will be always wild. it is in there instinct. cats and dogs have been breed numerous times and are used to the presence of humans. Foxes are not. Remember the incident with the gorrila ripping a womans face off? Sure he was used to humans but he snapped and tore the poor womans face off. You should NEVER adopt or buy a wild animal as a pet. They are not used to people touching them and feeding them. they will get scared and run away or even hurt someone.

All animals are wild. All animals have instinct. Domesticated dogs have instinct. Domestic animals snap just as often as your so called "wild" animals. If said animals are bred in captivity it is then considered to be a "domesticated" animal. Born and bred in captivity means domestic. I'll also have you know that you can buy "domestic" foxes. This is just like buying any other dog of any other breed. They dig. No reason to be mean to OP for the dog escaping.

So the lions and tigers bred in zoos are 'domestic'? Ha no. They may not hunt for their food but they are still wild.

@67, foxes have been bred multiple times in captivity and make great pets if you get one bred in captivity. if OP just grabbed a fox from the wild, she definitely deserved it, but only an idiot would do that

BECAUSE SHE CAN AND SHE WANTS TO!

143 We're are not talking about lions here -_-