Absolutely not, I am NOT a USDA registered breeder and I don't plan on becoming one. My male foxes are fixed.

If you get a fox and an accidental litter did happen you could not sell the babies, you would have to give them away for free due to a federal law stating that if you're not a registered USDA breeder you CANNOT make a profit off of the sale of exotic animals even if you have permits for the parents. Adult or baby foxes cannot be sold if you're not a USDA registered facility.

Foxes only breed once a year around January so if you have multiple foxes and don't want this happening to you, I suggest getting your foxes fixed before mating season. ***Foxes are highly susceptible to internal bleeding when given NSAID pain relievers after surgery.

The NSAIDs to avoid are Metacam/Meloxicam.

My friend's fox almost died because this medication is extremely hard on foxes stomachs. We always ask for them to have Tramadol 50mg tabs cut into quarters.

As a non profit we have to save money when and where we can; we always ask for our prescriptions to be filled at our local pharmacy. The main antibiotic prescribed by veterinarians is called Clavamox they sell this same medication at your local pharmacy under the name Augmentin.

At the vet you will be given this tiny 15ml bottle that will barely last a week, but at the local pharmacy you're given a much larger 75ml bottle for 30% less than what they charge you at the vets office.

We usually follow the directions given by the vet but we add 1 day onto the treatment. We then freeze the rest of the antibiotics in case we need them in the future. If you don't freeze it then it will need to be thrown away as after water is added to the powder at the pharmacy it has a shelf life of 14 days***.

***Disclaimer*** This information is purely educational and should NOT be used as replacement for proper veterinary care. Wizard of Paws Wildlife Education & Conservation Inc. is not liable for any damages that may arise should you not seek proper care for your exotic pet.

I hear this statement far too often.

When people see that I have foxes I hear this statement a lot.

I did two years of constant research on foxes before I decided to rescue Starlord from the fur farm she was at.

Most states that allow you to have domesticated/tame foxes require you to have a wildlife permit and you must prove you obtained your fox from a USDA registered facility. (in the US, If you are from another country send me an email and tell me your government requirements for fox ownership.)

If you purchase a domesticated/tame fox from a USDA registered facility and you decide you no longer want or can no longer provide a suitable home for your fox and you need to rehome it; you absolutely CANNOT sell or ask for a rehoming fee for the fox if you are not a USDA registered facility.

By doing so you are not only violating state laws but federal laws as well. Conservation officers often go undercover on facebook and other social media to catch people marketing in the illegal sales of exotic animals which is punishable by not only fines but prosecution and even jail time.

The people who surrendered Gamora, Drax and Rocket took a decent size monetary loss.

​It's illegal in many states to own a pet fox it is up to YOU to make sure it is still legal to obtain a fox in your state by calling your local Department of Natural Resources and making sure.

This is how we ended up getting Drax, his former owner loved him dearly but her state changed the law regarding pet foxes earlier that year. If you DO NOT make sure it's legal and you are caught with a fox in your possession DNR can seize the animal and they will euthanize it. You can also be fined up to $250,000.

"I don't want to pay for a fox so I will take one from the wild!"

The first time someone said this to me I was completely livid for many reasons.

It is illegal to take a fox from the wild.

It is also illegal to release a domesticated fox into the wild should you decide you no longer want it; it's a felony.

Female foxes leave their young multiple times throughout the day to hunt and bring back food. If you see babies that are alone for more than 8 hours you should call DNR to send out a conservation officer.

Domesticated/tame foxes are bred for their tameness; wild foxes are not.

If you still think you want a fox I must refer you to the question that asked me "Do foxes make good pets?"

Although domesticated/tame foxes show similar characteristics to dogs and cats, they actually DO NOT make very good pets.

One must remember that a fox is NOT a dog or a cat, if you are going to expect a fox to act like either a dog or a cat DON'T get a fox.

Foxes dig a lot. They'll dig for many reasons, to bury food, build dens, and out of boredom.

I was fortunate enough to have hardwood under the carpet in my house so I removed all of the carpet and laid down tile in the rooms where the hardwood flooring needed to be replaced.

I bleach the floors twice a week. Foxes will hide caches of food around the house.

Starlord took a raw egg under the china cabinet, busted it and left it there. I had no idea until I smelled the rotting thing 3 days later buried under a missing roll of toilet paper and nearly every toy I had given her that day.

Foxes also love to chew and they will chew on anything and everything. This includes but is NOT limited to; clothing, blankets, furniture, walls, wires, dog toys, cat toys, your kids toys, and your electronics, including remotes.

I no longer have any furniture in my living room.

For example; I have no couch, no chairs, and I even had to get rid of my kitchen table and its chairs because the foxes peed on them so much the smell wouldn't come out.

Foxes love to climb...on everything.

Starlord usually limits her climbing to the dining room chairs and the coffee tables, I'm sure she would do more if she didn't have a luxating patella (a condition where the kneecap dislocates or moves out of its normal location).

Gamora only climbs into her top bunk crate when she is done playing; she doesn't really climb on things.

Drax and Rocket will climb on everything and yes, he has knocked things down, stolen things, chewed things up, and almost choked trying to swallow a rock from a decorative plate that was on my antique dry sink. I was freaking out but successfully gave him the Heimlich maneuver.

I often get asked "Do foxes bite?" common sense will tell you that anything with teeth or fangs can and will bite under certain circumstances.

Your fox probably won't like you at first, you get out what you put in with foxes.

If you have kids, a full time job, and are rarely home then you shouldn't get a fox.

Do foxes and cats get along? Some foxes do get along with smaller animals while others want to eat them. It would be stupid to leave a fox and small animals unattended for any amount of time. Foxes pounce and all it takes is one misplaced paw, even on accident, and the smaller animal could die.

Do foxes and dogs get along? Some foxes and dogs love each other and get along fine especially if they're raised together from a younger age. Some foxes hate dogs and react accordingly by barking, gekkering, snarling, snapping, growling, and some foxes have even bit dogs. Rocket does NOT like dogs at all so he falls into that category. The others love our dogs. Even though half of our dogs like them and the other half think the foxes are a tasty snack.

Do foxes like other foxes? Some foxes are okay in a group setting, while other foxes are not. Red foxes (Vulpes Vulpes) should NEVER be paired with Arctic foxes (Vulpes Lagopus) unles they're raised together from a young age. The reason for this is that they're enemies in the wild and something in their DNA tells them that they should fight one another and usually they fight to the death.

Because foxes are very active animals they need and are required in most states to have an outdoor enclosure complete with a doghouse. You will spend a lot of money on this aspect of fox ownership. I spent nearly $2,500 on our enclosures and I built them myself.​

Foxes are omnivores, like humans, they eat a variety of meats, fruits, and vegetables.

There are many options out there when it comes to a fox's nutritional needs. Some people feed their foxes a strict high protein diet and others feed a strict raw diet with veggies.

For the health and longevity of your fox, I suggest that you do both. Buy a high-quality grain free dogfood from your local chain pet store but you need to make sure that it has Taurine in it.

Foxes, like cats and ferrets require Taurine in their diet to avoid serious health problems in the future so this is a prudent need in your fox's diet so do your research on Taurine and make it a habit in your fox's diet.

To make sure that our foxes get an adequate amount of Taurine in their diet I spoke to my veterinarian and he recommended to add a powdered Taurine supplement to their diet and gave me the proper dosage per day to give them; foxes require 500mg of Taurine daily.

We leave out Merrick/Acana kibble all day. We do 70% raw meat, 10% livers, 10% bones, and 10% fruits and veggies.

Never feed pork or beef or bison. Foxes don’t hunt those animals in the wild and pork carries diseases that will kill your fox in a heartbeat.

Trust me, foxes who get toxoplasmosis suffer horrible painful deaths before they die. A lady I know had a fox who was diagnosed with carpal hyperextension. Turns out it was caused by a parasite called neospora and he’d contracted neosporosis. It can be caught from raw pork and beef. (Please read my article on Neosporosis on my blog).

I get most of my raw from a company called 'My Pet Carnivore'.

Never feed foxes cat food! Foxes can get spots on their eye lenses from too much fat in the diet, and cat food is going to have too much fat. Cat food also has different mineral and vitamin ratios than dog food. Dogs who are fed on cat food develop spinal disease from too much retinol and calcium. It's really not a good idea to feed too much cat food to a canid species. A little wouldn't hurt but then they wont be getting enough taurine so it's better to just buy a taurine supplement instead or feed raw.

I have foxes and people often make statement regarding “dog/fox hybrids” the most common phrase is “OMG ITS A DOX!!!...” my facial expression usually consists of an eye roll, a sigh, and a long detailed conversation.

Contrary to popular belief and lies spread on the internet by a crazy cryptozoologist (who was caught faking some of his so called hybrid animals) who runs the macroevolution website. Once you browse that website you start seeing the insanity seeping out. He has ridiculous hybrids on there like cow/dog, human/dog, horse/dog, and more.

Dogs and foxes, while both are canids, CANNOT interbreed. They don’t even have the same amount of chromosomes. Cats and foxes can’t interbreed because they’re not even in the same class.

Members of the dog genus Canis: wolves, dogs (both common dogs and dingoes), coyotes, and golden jackals cannot interbreed with members of the wider dog family: the Canidae, such as South American canids, foxes, African wild dogs, bat-eared foxes or raccoon dog; or, if they could, their offspring would be infertile.

Members of the genus Canis species can, however, all interbreed to produce fertile offspring, with two exceptions: the side-striped jackal and black-backed jackal. Although these two theoretically could interbreed with each other to produce fertile offspring, they cannot hybridize successfully with the rest of the genus Canis.

The reason for this lies in their genetics. The wolf, dingo, New Guinea Singing Dog, domestic dog, coyote, and golden jackal diverged relatively recently, around three to four million years ago, and all have 78 chromosomes arranged in 39 pairs. This allows them to hybridize freely (barring size or behavioral constraints) and produce fertile offspring. The side-striped jackal and black-backed jackal both have 74 chromosomes.

Other members of the Canidae family, which diverged seven to ten million years ago, are less closely related to and cannot hybridize with the wolf-like canids; the red fox has 38 chromosomes, the raccoon dog has 42 chromosomes, the fennec fox has 64 chromosomes, and the African wild dog has 78 chromosomes.

I at least have 3-4 people try and tell me their dog is part Fox every week. It’s not hard to read an actual medical journal and understand it. Cats are ***Felis Catus***, dogs are ***Canis Lupus Familiaris*** and wolves are ***Canis Lupus***. None can crossbreed with the fox; which are ***Vulpes Vulpes***.