How Much Does a Pet Fox Cost?
One question we get quite frequently is “How much does a pet fox cost?” Now, I am sure most people asking that are only wondering how much the actual fox costs. The truth, however, is that buying the fox is the cheap part! After you buy the animal is when it gets expensive. You still have to provide an enclosure, food, vet care, enrichment, and more. So, do you want to know how much a pet fox really costs? Let me break it down for you.
The Cost of Fox Enclosures
Let’s start with housing for your pet fox. Not only are enclosures the biggest one-time expense, they are also one of most overlooked expenses by new owners. Red, arctic, and even gray foxes benefit from having an outdoor space of their own. Additionally, they almost always require one for the sanity of their keeper. Depending on your construction skills and how large you want the enclosure to be, the price can vary wildly. The minimum size of an outdoor enclosure for a pet fox is 10’x10’x6’. One of the most popular methods of building an enclosure this size is by using Retriever or Tarter kennels. However, in order to ensure these kennels will properly hold your pet fox, they must be modified.
Building a Pet Fox Enclosure with a Retriever Kennel
To make an enclosure using a Retriever kennel, you will need the following:
The 10’x5’x6’ size kennel.
A kennel expansion pack to make it 10’x10’x6’.
An extra door panel to create a catch door (Without a catch door there’s a high chance your fox could escape when you are going into or out of their enclosure.)
Another set of expansion panels to cover the top.
Another expansion pack If you don’t have a concrete base to set the enclosure on.
All of that combined comes to around $1100 give or take for just the minimum size structure alone. The Tarter kennels are a bit more expensive, but can be used in a similar fashion.
However, if you want to go above and beyond to give your fox the best life you can, building a custom enclosure is the best choice. Building an enclosure is more cost effective for the size, and bigger is ALWAYS better.
The Cost of Pet Fox Vet Care
After the cost of enclosures, vet care is the next largest cost associated with owning a pet fox. Exotic Vets are always going to be much more expensive than vets for domestic animals. On average, it is roughly between $300-$600 to have your fox fixed, microchipped and vaccinated here in Tennessee. Additionally, pet foxes require monthly flea, tick, and heartworm prevention. The costs can vary, but on average it is around $40-$60 a month. Emergency visits are where the cost of owning a fox will hit you hard, though. As they are still wild animals, foxes are great at hiding illness until it’s an emergency. Not to mention, they manage to get hurt in ways you wouldn’t imagine possible.
The Cost of Feeding and Entertaining a Fox
Now let’s move on to diet and enrichment. Foxes are wild animals that require a complex diet. Your pet fox cannot be fed dog kibble alone if you want them to be healthy. However, a high quality dog food that contains taurine can be a great base for your fox’s diet. Most dog foods that meet these requirements range from $60-$120 a bag. One fox could go through a bag of dog food monthly.
On top of the kibble, foxes also need a balanced raw diet that contains meat, bones, offal, and vegetables. You can either buy the ingredients and mix it yourself, or buy them from a supplier frozen where it’s premixed and measured if you aren’t confident in your ability to measure it all out correctly. This cost can range from $75 a month all the way up to $350 depending on the route you choose, and how much your fox needs to eat to stay healthy.
Lastly, foxes need lots of enrichment to keep them occupied and happy. Foxes are also incredibly destructive, however, so be prepared to invest on average $30-$80 a month on buying and replacing toys, treats, and chews.
The Final Cost of a Pet Fox
One Time Costs
The actual fox – $600-$1,000
The enclosure – $1,100 – $3,000
Initial vet care – $300 – $600
Total – $2,000 – $4,600
Annual Costs
Preventive medicine – $480-$720
Food – $1,080 – $5,640
Enrichment – $360 – $960
Total – $1,920 – $7,320
A pet fox costs between $2,000 – $4,600 up front, and $1,920-$7,320 annually. This does not include the costs of permits, which will depend on your state, and the costs of any emergency vet care.
So, when it comes to caring for a fox, do these numbers surprise you?
Linsey Hembree
Linsey is an animal educator and the Director of Exotic Pet Wonderland, a nonprofit sanctuary for captive bred wildlife located in Knoxville, Tennessee
