please help! found an abandoned baby fox!

[hounddogcopper]

He needs to go to a wildlife rehabilitation center. They know how to properly care for them and eventually, hopefully, release them back into the wild once he is old enough.

Wild animals are called wild for a reason. You CANNOT tame them unless they have multiple generations of domestication in them.
It is also 100% ILLEGAL to keep a wild animal in most places. Some places have strict guidelines and you need to pay a lot of money to keep one as a pet.

Ask yourself. Do you have the money to build them at least a 1/2 acre enclosure? Too feed them everyday? Foxes do not eat dog food. They have a special, expensive diet. The baby fox that you found is cute now but once it's an adult it will no longer be cuddly and playful. You will not be able to handle it or pet or hug it. Chances are you will just let it loose in the wild after it bites you and then it WILL die because it doesn't know how to fend for itself. Worst case scenario is that he bites you, you get rabies and have to get shots in your stomach and then he will be killed by the authorities.

Take him to a wildlife rescue it may not be what you want to do but it's what is best for the fox.

[rachaelandrats]

but he`s a little baby & has no parents! hows he gonna get food?

Nobody is saying dump him but give him to a wildlife center. You cannot care for a wild animal. The amount of stress you will be causing it could make it sick. Also, foxes can catch food at 12wks for themselves.

[lilykrasie]

you could keep him,however it would be alot of work and if your not prepared to give him what he needs you may harm him.
however there are many states or provinces where you can get a permit(they can be very difficult to obtain however)
also foxes will mark and their urine smells like skunks.also you must consider if you have a vet nearby where they can treat him when sick and do you have plans for when you go on vacation?
but foxes can be fed dry dog and cat food or wet cat food,also you can give them occasional pieces of cooked turkey,chicken and beef. you can also feed them live food and raw meat (but this not entierly reccomended) also you can offer a plate of mixed fruits and veggies and see which your fox prefers. you can also give them the occasional treat of an egg(shell and all)
foxes will mark their food dishes annd any other dishes that are theirs so it is reccomened to put their food in an enclosre they can oly get their head in. also sadly,foxes will kill kittens ,chickens ,rats and mice. leather also appeals to foxes so make sure to remove all leather iteams.Please keep in mind, foxes are not like dogs or cats. Foxes should NOT be raised like a you would a dog.
Foxes do not understand correction the way a dog or cat would.

Foxes should NEVER be left on an outdoor chain. Foxes should NEVER be left to run loose. Chances are good, your fox will run away. I have seen and heard it happen.

Foxes in your House
Most foxes DO NOT do well, being in your house 24/7. Foxes love the outdoors, but also love being with their owners. I highly recommend an outside pen for him/her. of course you can still keep him/her in your house, but, they also like the outside. When your fox is in your house, plan on the fox marking your carpet, furniture, blankets, cloths. If this urine is left un-cleaned, your house will eventually smell like skunk..Foxes like straw and dirt and a place to hide. You can put straw or wood chips. (I like the wood chips better) but, you can use both. Foxes do like to play or bury their cache in straw/hay.

When building your pen, if possible, dig a few feet, put cement or chain link fence or some type of fence that won't wear or rot away. However, if you do dig a few feet, make sure you bring the bottom fence up to meet the exterior fence. once this is done, then fill in the dirt. Then begin your exterior fence.

I recommend chain link fence or some type of fence that is durable. However, keep in mind, that
putting a young fox kit in it's pen unsupervised, is not a good idea. They can get their head stuck through the fence. However, once the fox is full grown, that should no longer be a threat.

If you have loose chickens, or kittens or anything that can get through a chain link fence, then put a layer of chicken fence over the chain link fence. This should close up the holes, so no small animals can get in, or a chicken sticking it's head through the chain link. (This actually happened to me, prior to putting the chicken fence over the chain link fence.)

As for a roof (a must), you can put fence on the roof, or corrugated panels, or any type of slant roof.
Keep in mind, you still want to keep litter pans in their pen, so they continue to understand that is where they do their business at. If you have an open pen with no solid roof or partial roof, the litter will get wet when it rains or snows. This will only shy the fox away from using their litter pan.

I don't recommend keeping an adult fox in a small cage. That is just asking for problems. The fox will get bored, destructive and possibly wild. The more you handle your fox, the more he/she will be friendly, this also applies for others to handle your fox if possible. Foxes are generally born in April. I would highly recommend getting a very young fox, this will give your fox a better chance to bond with you.

When raising a kit (young fox) The first 6 You can start them out in a large cage. but, make it large enough that you can put a small litter box in it. If you have an extra room, that would be better after you have the fox for a week or so. The hard part is, trying to keep them friendly with you, but at the same time, litter train them and to let them release some of their energy.
There are several different options to try.If you have a calm or older cat, this is fine to keep them together while the fox is still small. It is also good, so that the fox can get use to a cat being around. However, once the fox grows up, I doubt they will be buddies. I don't recommend keeping a full grown fox with a cat in a room together unsupervised. NEVER PUT A KITTEN WITH A FULL GROWN FOX.As the fox gets older, most likely, he will want to do what he wants to do. But, still try to keep him with you and play with him/her as much as possible. Talk to your fox, no matter what the conversation might be. Keep in mind, foxes do not like to be hugged, petted all the time, and picked up. Don't force him/her, this will only confuse or upset the fox. I am mostly referring to adult foxes. There may be times, when your fox will come to you to be petted, or scratched. but, they do have their time limits.

hope this helps!!!

[lilykrasie]

He needs to go to a wildlife rehabilitation center. They know how to properly care for them and eventually, hopefully, release them back into the wild once he is old enough.

Wild animals are called wild for a reason. You CANNOT tame them unless they have multiple generations of domestication in them.
It is also 100% ILLEGAL to keep a wild animal in most places. Some places have strict guidelines and you need to pay a lot of money to keep one as a pet.

Ask yourself. Do you have the money to build them at least a 1/2 acre enclosure? Too feed them everyday? Foxes do not eat dog food. They have a special, expensive diet. The baby fox that you found is cute now but once it's an adult it will no longer be cuddly and playful. You will not be able to handle it or pet or hug it. Chances are you will just let it loose in the wild after it bites you and then it WILL die because it doesn't know how to fend for itself. Worst case scenario is that he bites you, you get rabies and have to get shots in your stomach and then he will be killed by the authorities.

Take him to a wildlife rescue it may not be what you want to do but it's what is best for the fox.

this is not entierly true,many foxes can eat dog or cat food and do not eed a whole half acre. many pet foxes do stay friendly as they grow older ,so long as you handle them regularily. many do like to be petted and scratched.

[hounddogcopper]

I own I fox. A 12th generation Domesticated Red Fox that I got from a breeder. He is three and has a cat-like personality and is terribly friendly with those he knows. He stayed friendly because he is a domestic fox. Fox's that are from the wild will not be like this. It isn't in their nature or in their genes.
The MINIMUM pen size for a fox wild or domesticated is 1/2 acre in most areas. A wild fox's territory ranges over 8 acres so anything less than 1/2 acre is something terribly cruel.
This fox that you found is a wild animal. It is not, nor will it ever be, a pet.

I will admit. My fox, Jace absolutely LOVES eating canned cat food and that is perfectly alright however, cat or dog food ARE NOT their sole diet. Even a domesticated fox needs a more complex diet to stay healthy.

Although mkj13 had many helpful points they, as well as I in my previous post, forgot to point out one very important thing.
Animals obtained from the Wild are in 99% of cases illegal for people to own. Educational institutions and Wildlife Rehabilitation Specialists are sometimes allowed to keep wild animals for educational purposes under very, very, very strict regulations. The average person is, generally speaking, never allowed to keep them and if the authorities were to find out about it you would be heavily fined.

[lilykrasie]

sorry ,forgot that part =) you can also get a permit for having a private reserve,but these can be very hard to get.

[Pangali]

I think you should call it todd if its a male and lily if its female. I do not think you should give it to a rescue center BUT. You should take it to a vet, get it vaccinated, de-flead and check yo find out its gender and make sure it is not carrying any disease or ill. Also I believe I'm right in saying don't give it cows milk because its too rich for them (goats milk can be a good substitute) take it to a vet and ask them to recomend a milk.
Whatever you do don't let it get put to sleep poor little thing. I want to adopt a fox when I'm older.
I hope you get to keep it.

[Pangali]

Also if it is very young it will probably imprint on you and become tame. So may be fine to keep its all to do with how its raised but it must be allowed get excercise and freedom regularlu

[MaeBorowski]

Do not keep it! This is a wild animal, it is cruel for you to keep it. It needs to go to somewhere that can provide proper care for it that will hopefully go on to rehabilitate it. Take it to a local wildlife center and tell them where you found it.

You probably shouldn't have taken it in in the first place, young kits often play by themselves, source.

I unerstand that it's cute and you want to keep it but to do so would be selfish, this isn't a domestic fox and you aren't a wildlife expert or a scientist.

[audball(:]

Deleted. I am much more mature than when this stupid post was posted. DONT KEEP IT