How to Breed The Fennec Fox

How to Breed the Fennec Fox. Often known as the desert fox, the fennec fox is a tiny species in the Sahara and some other areas of Africa. These foxes have oversized ears, usually held as pets. Fennecs look like a small, energetic puppy, and even though they were raised in captivity, it is necessary to note that they are indeed animals with wild instincts.

Typically, like dogs, they are not cuddly with humans. And since, in the wild, they are prey creatures, they may quickly be very skittish and frightened. Plus, most of them are nocturnal, which implies that they are more aggressive in the dark.

Managing their high degree of intensity during the hours that most people are sleeping can be extremely challenging. Therefore, taking care of a pet fennec fox is not straightforward. You ought to be sure to provide adequate room and experiences along with the correct food to keep the animal comfortable and safe.

During January and February, the mating season, males turn very territorial at this period, labeling their territories with urine and assaulting strangers. Soon until the females give birth to 2 – 5 young litters, burrows are dug in March. The male starts to carry food to the woman who stays in the cave sometime before birth. During puberty, this begins.

Fennec Fox Species info

A tiny crepuscular fox from the Desert of Sahara is the fennec fox (Vulpes zerda). The extensive and big ears that help to dissipate heat are the most distinctive characteristic. The smallest canid genus is the Fennec.

With extreme temps and little water, paws, and kidney health have adapted according to the desert climate. Its hearing is often alert to the existence of prey passing underground.

It consumes rodents, tiny animals, and birds primarily. Typically, the Fennec is allocated to the genus Vulpes; but, owing to variations between the Fennec and other fox varieties.

Data about what it’s like to house various foxes is minimal because they are so uncommonly held as pets. Different owners’ perceptions can differ. It is easier to note that a very patient and adaptable owner is needed for every fox, domesticated or not.

There is not enough selective breeding behind every fox row to reliably determine how they would act as pets. The details are given often explains foxes who have been bred by hand and socialized with humans. Indeed “wild” foxes can be a considerable challenge, and in a sizeable zoo-type enclosure they are better kept. A fox not older than 5-6 weeks of age has been suggested for buying.

Fennec Fox Lifespan

Fennecs will live in the wild, a famous life span for African foxes, for up to 10 years. For up to 12 years, Captive Fennecs can survive.

Breeding and Mating Information

Not much is known about how Fennecs lure their partners or defend them, although the social status can influence reproductive opportunity. Only superior males are likely to mate with the opposite sex.

Their mating period stretches from Jan to Feb, but the vixens only stay for some days in the estrus. The monogamous coupling contributes to socialization under which every couple is going to breed its territories. Both territories and pups, Fennecs are vigorous guardians.

The V. zerda breeding season starts in winter (Jan to Feb), and pups are born after a gestation period of fifty to fifty-three days. Fifty days is the average gestation period. Fennec foxes have a slow breeding rate & only give past birth in a year to vixens. For the first two weeks, their mother takes charge of them in the den before their eyes open.

The pups began playing inside the cave at four weeks old. Playing for five weeks stretches to the field right beyond the door to the den. Fennec Foxe’s pups suckle for more time than others, and separation from mother doesn’t occur before the age of almost three months.

For up to 70 days, young people will be licked, held, and carefully observed. At six to nine months of their age, reproductive development comes with the accomplishment of adult height.

Fennec Fox Behavior and Temperament

While wild fennecs usually reside in communities, they prefer to be like autonomous as other pets. Often, they love playing with their owners. But still, while they choose to play alone, there may be other moments. In reality, the bulk of pet fennecs would encourage individuals they are familiar with to pick them up.

By default, the Fennec foxes are wary, but if anything threatens them, they can run. Although most will choose to choose flight over the battle, they may bite if anything angers them. Some fennecs can also label their territories by urine, even inside the house, especially unneutered males.

To communicate their moods, these animals produce several vocalizations, and some may be very noisy. For anyone who wants a calm cat, they’re not a suitable match. Some Fennecs, especially dogs and cats about their size, can get along with other household pets. The introduction will allow them to coexist more easily with other species at a young age and interact with members of their human families.

Expect to hold your Fennec worked for a lot of time and commitment. They are animals that are quick, active, and agile. Fortunately, instead of being nocturnal, many fennecs can conform to their human schedule. Fennecs should be trained on a harness to travel, which allows each day to carry more of their stress out.

Fennec Fox Training

It’s time to teach him after you’ve taken your pet, Fennec Fox, around. Fennecs, a breed that is very friendly and interactive, are the majority of pet foxes. In certain respects, the Fennec foxes are just like sheep. They can practice a few simple games and rules.

Train Your Pet Fox to Use a Litter Box

Load about 3 inches of cat litter with a cat litter box. In a spot that will be convenient for your fox to reach, place the litter box. Display the litter box to your pet and encourage him to explore.

Foxes have a strong sense of smell, so she’ll quickly pick up the aroma. On a daily basis, carry your fox to the litter box while you continue to teach him. This could be as frequent as any hour. When you have an injury, send your beloved fox to the litter box. As soon as you find the accident, telling the fox the best way to go can make her remember the right place to go.

Train Your Pet Fox as You Would a Dog

Please put on your fox with a muzzle and let him get used to it until he begins working on a lead. Making sure the leash stays snug enough that it is not easy for him to wiggle free.

Attach your pet’s harness and stroll around her. When you deal with the fox, use the suggestions concerning healing and pulling from the dog-training guide. Play with your fox on the ball. After you throw it, teach your fox to recover the ball. Fennecs love playing, and this is a perfect way to interact with your cat.

Fennec Fox Housing and Space Needed

As desert animals, the Fennecs need to have at least 68 degrees F. If you live in a sufficient area, an outdoor enclosure that is as large as practicable is necessary to offer your Fennec some exercise.

Individuals also use wood and wire filters to create their outdoor pens. To keep the Fennec from digging under or leaping over the walls, the enclosure must be constructed, both of which are nice for these foxes to do.

Make the pen on pavers, dirt, or wood decking, preferably with a coat of sand or soil over the top for a more natural climate, to keep your fox from digging under the walls. And can tilt the fence on top or see the whole top of the enclosure. (They will drill holes 20 feet deep!)

You will let the Fennec run around in a fenced yard as long as you have a safe 5-to-6-foot hurdle. But to make sure that it does not start hopping or scratching under the fence, please watch your fox. You can also put your fox on a long leash as long as it is under your influence and let it run about outside.

When inside, your Fennec will probably jump on furniture and might knock over decorations and other stuff when it is working. But it is essential to put away breakables and anything that might hurt your animal. Fennecs can usually be kenneled because you are unwilling to supervise them simply so they can get into something. When you don’t have a suitable outdoor shelter, use a canine cage indoors.

Furthermore, to use a litter box, such fennecs must be conditioned indoors. A closed box suits well, regardless of their propensity to search. (A lot of litter will otherwise leak out of the bowl.) The training technique consistently brings the fox to the litter box and gives lots of treats when the container is successful. You may use the same instrument to teach the fox to relieve itself outside. Never blame the in-house accidents on the cat.

Diet and Nutrition

Fennec foxes are omnivores in the wild that consume a diverse meat and plant diet, including rats, birds, insects, and fruits.

A commercial wild canid diet is an optimum diet for a pet fennec fox and seems to be what so many zoos deliver them.

So, most people feed a combination of food, dog food, herbs, and berries into their fennecs. Ensure that a fennec’s diet contains a correct taurine quantity, an essential amino acid for several physiological, metabolic pathways. As this will differ based on age, size, and degree of operation, contact your veterinarian about the proper amount and range for your fox.

Many owners eat meals twice a day, but you can obey your vet’s guidance on this. You can easily place the food for your fox in a dish, and then you can conceal it in a reward challenge to provide a little psychological improvement to your cat. As well, at all times, have a bowl of clean water.

Protein for Fennec Foxes

Foxes usually kill tiny mammals in the wild. They master their traditional pounce from a very early age to grab their favorite meal quickly and silently. Although in captivity, the pets shouldn’t have to kill. If not, a formulated fox food (containing taurine) can usually be given because it has most of what the pet fox needs, together with already killed rodents, little rodents, etc. based on the Fennec fox’s size.

Usually, Fennec would hang to rodents and tiny rats, even when red or Siberian fennecs could also love mice or even a small bunny once they are somewhat more significant than just a fennec. The bulk with one’s fox’s intake should be protein, regardless of its source of protein.

Also, insects are a big part of the diet of a fox. In the wild, in addition to an odd crustacean, most of the first fox’s day will be expected to spend hunting and gathering for insects, grasshoppers, centipedes, snails, bugs, as well as earthworms (such as a crayfish) (such as a crayfish).

Fortunately, in captivity, as they are readily accessible from pet shops, it’s indeed simple to nourish just a hundred earthworms, stomach crickets, or more giant insects.

Also, individual fox owners prefer to feed raw meat to their dogs. There are conflicting emotions around feeding pet foxes with natural foods, so if you want to serve your raw fox meat, try to ensure you feed entire prey animals, indicating whole chickens, rats, rodents, and pigeons.

Fennec Foxes require complete animals, organs, body, and many other advantages, not only the muscles like a chicken breast or steak might have.

Fruits and Vegetables for Fennec Foxes

Your fox should be provided vegetables such as mix fresh veggies, cherry tomatoes, as well as other bite-sized vegetables regularly. A few tablespoons of vegetables a day would do for smaller foxes but allow bigger foxes a few tablespoons. If you find a ton of vegetable matter in your fox’s stool, you are presumably eating so many vegetables and can cut down on the amount you bid.

Only as snacks should fruit be provided (except veggies, which should be important in your fox’s daily meal). To deal with their urine smell, foxes, particularly berries, but several fox keepers consider offering strawberries as rewards. Owing to evidence of the kidney harm they can inflict; caution must be taken to stop feeding grapes as well as raisins.

Grains for Fennec Foxes

In the wild, foxes do not consume grains; thus, you can stop feeding items such as wheat, barley, walnuts, and other grain in their diet. Even though foxes consume tiny prey if not, such as mice and grain-eating birds, this is how they use some of the carbohydrates they require. In the vegetables and fruits, they eat, the majority of the carbohydrates they need are contained.

Common Health Problems

You ought to be sure there’s an exotic vet just next to you that can handle an animal before you can buy a fennel fox. Fennecs, close to pets, require preventive treatment.

Rabies, distemper virus, influenza virus, as well as adenovirus, must be regularly vaccinated. 

The doctor should be willing to prescribe the right course of vaccinations. An annual wellbeing evaluation is defined and, if appropriate, the veterinarian will inform you on heartworm preventative, and pest management.

Fennecs’ general health issues are close to those many dogs face. They are vulnerable, mainly if their nutrition is terrible, to kidney, liver, and heart disease. Lethargy and a loss of appetite are signs of these diseases. Skin diseases, as well as mites, and parasites, may also grow. With a lot of scratching, skin lesions can occur, while parasitic worms could even lead to irregular droppings, losing weight, as well as decreased appetite.

Is It Legal to Own a Pet Fennec Fox?

Depending on the state, rules governing the ownership of a fennec fox differ significantly. There are several restrictions surrounding fennecs in most areas of the United States, from outright prohibitions to merely requesting a license.

Some state ordinances can also clash with state laws, but again, check the laws nearly where you reside.

It’s also critical that you purchase the fennec fox from a respectable breeder and sometimes from a rescue agency. Although the changes will be limited to discovering a wild-caught fennec supplier in the United States, it is also necessary to make sure that the fennec fox is captive-bred. This species responds typically so much more to the entire life held in captivity than an animal that has traditionally existed in the wild.

Cost of Fennec Foxes

You should expect to pay at least on average between $1,500 to $3,500 from a respectable breeder for a reasonably young fennec fox. Typically, money far less than this is an ample warning and probably only the beginning of some other form of fraud.

Then you really might even have to continue flying a long way to a reputable breeder, since there are not many in the U.S. Few of the sellers start shipping their foxes for you, but for the sake of fox, all of this can be quite difficult and stressful. Also, before agreeing, it is better to check out the animal and a vendor in person.

Ensure that the vendor is willing to provide you with exact details about the animal’s origin and health records. To ensure sure the seller is trustworthy, strive to secure reviews from other people who got a fox from the same seller.

Furthermore, the U.S. can license breeders. Agricultural Department. It is easier to find a freshly weaned little fox, rather than an adult, even if they’re more costly. Usually, a healthy fox would be alert and engaged, but it might be nervous around you at first.

Conclusion

Foxes are mostly held in wildlife parks where they do quite well due to their resilience and ability to adapt, but they are quite shy. Fennec Foxes can’t be good animals because they are still vigilant and attentive, naturally, and are quickly distressed by noisy sounds and unusual incidents.

They quickly get accustomed to such types of noise and movement in the predictable atmosphere, but most people’s households are likely to have unsettling and surprising encounters.

They do not like being carried or stroked though they can be playful. Like air being expelled from a balloon, piercing cries are also used in their playfulness, which they can often create for minutes on end.

They love tearing items apart, so it is essential to secure dolls carefully, keepsakes, and other treasured artifacts, not to mention electrical cords and other dangerous material. Carpets, chairs, and bedding will quickly be destroyed by their incredible ability to dig.

Although they do not have scent glands like some other foxes, their healthy kidneys give a skunky smell to their urine, They should be taught to use a litterbox, or the entire house may soon smell like skunks. They do not even take collars, and because of their enthusiasm, when they can run off, they can never be able to be free from the gate. They are more likely to find hiding areas indoors where they could be tough to eliminate.