Watching the video now. She is so darn adorable with that box. (even though she's being territorial.)

awww happy B-Day Dasha

hach sowas süsses, happy birthday! ;) wie alt wird die kleine denn?
hihi wenn du hilfe beim auslaufbau brauchst sag bescheid ^^ mach solche bauarbeiten meistens mit meinem freund zusammen. er hat viel bauverständnis, wie man was am besten macht und ich pack an XD
na dann feiert noch schön ;)

Sie wird 1 Jahr alt (eigentlich jung!) Ok, nach Thüringen isses jetz nicht sooooo weit, aber ich denke, dass ich das mit dem Gehege allein bewältigen kann. Das jetzige Gehege mit allem drum und dran hab ich ja auch komplett in Eigenregie hingezaubert. Eigentlich sollte das ganze ja schon voriges Jahr fertig sein, aber der Winter hat mir dazwischengefunkt...

och, so ein junger flitzer :) na dann viel spaß bei der einweihungsparty wenns so weit ist ^^

Happy birthday to Dasha!

EEeee so cute :D

My (and lots of others) B-day is on March 22nd................................and nobody cares

Wow, cute animal and beautiful enclosure there. You mentioned that the noises were food aggression - is this common in foxes (those raised as pets at least), are you at any risk being near her as she eats or if you tried to take what she was eating [being bitten, lunged at?] and is this a behavior that can be somewhat controlled through training and socialization or is food (or even territorial/toy possessiveness or aggression) aggression something that one can't simply "train" out of a fox due to them not being domesticated?

Food aggression is common in ALL foxes. In wild foxes it's even more extreme. They defend the food even from their own siblings, usually turning their back to the "foe" while growling all the time and, when someone comes too close, even bites him/her away. Dasha's food aggression is not nearly as strong. If I come too close to her she only starts to whine and growl more often but she will never attack. In fact, she differentiates VERY WELL between a hand you reach out to her and a stick (or what ever). She NEVER bites you even if you touch her while she eats. But she attacks your shoes and anything that's not part of your body with full force! I'm not sure if you can "train out" that behavior. I never tried to take something away from her, simply because there's no reason to do so. Her food aggression was not present when I got her. It slowly developed over time. The reason is that she has her own food storages (buried), marks and protects them. If I would just put a bowel at a fixed spot with food in it, she would have no reason to bury anything and thus would never have developed food aggression in the first place. But this is no option because I will NOT restrict her! I want her to live her life as SHE pleases. I don't want a dog, I want a fox! Easy as that. Either you accept their habits or let go from the idea of owing one completely...

That's a great response and it's super to see that you treat her for what she is, and not pretend like she is a common domesticated pet. Thank you for the information, I was unaware of all that! She is precious and I commend you for giving her as much of a natural lifestyle as possible. I can see she must have a very crisp bite, the cardboard box getting stuck on her teeth and the swiftness she destroyed it is surprising. Thank you for responding and informing me, it's fascinating.

If she would bite you the same way as she does when "hunting for prey" it would left a TERRIBLE and deep flesh wound. It's no overstatement when I say that foxy teeth are actually able to rip your hand apart without a problem because in nature, those teeth have that very task to do: ripping flesh apart and chewing bones to pieces. But she can also be extremely gentle with her incisors. For example when picking up an egg she does it super carefully to make sure not to break the shell.

I'm actually glad you asked because some people restrict their foxes WAY too much and are not RELLY aware of their needs when they decide to get one of these wonderful animals. As long as you do not have the fox you can talk much and promise lots of stuff. But when the time is near and you finally get the fox and have it around you all day, you REALIZE that it's not as easy as in your dreams...

Thank you! Yikes, I do not doubt those teeth can do damage. Your fox is very well socialized it seems, and I appreciate that you are willing to disclose this information. I love foxes, if I ever won the lottery I would definitely buy a nice house with spacious yard and see about owning one maybe, but not without years of research. When I see people with foxes, I often see someone who is a young adult or late teen and have it in a harness, on leash, and take it with them places and show it off and want it to live in the home with them. I can't IMAGINE living with a fox inside, they need space and they are curious and destructive. I think if I owned one I would try to do what you do - outdoor enclosure, allow them to live naturally, yet socialize with humans. As cute as they are, they are still wild animals. And finding a veterinarian that will treat them, I bet that is not easy! Or one who can and is also very experienced! People do not think through the consequences of owning a fox for life I assume, it isn't easy or similar to a dog for sure. Thank you, I love learning about them!

You really lover her a lot, and I have the utmost respect for you taking care of such a wonderful friend

Indeed, I love her to death. Not just her but red foxes in general. The most wonderful beings on earth. Whenever I touch her ultra soft and thick neck fur to pet and caress her I start to freak out (silently) because it's so damn awesome - indescribable actually. I can't get enough of that furball. If you're the same "randomizer" from sybil's message board you probably know exactly what I mean

Wait, you know who I am? Awesome! Yeah, I'm on Sybil's Den every now and then, and also on Facebook and yeah, I know exactly how it is to pet a fox, they're SO CUTE!!!! Skitter is the fox I worked with in the summer as a volunteer, she is what made me fall in love with foxes and like your Dasha, she's very affectionate What was your username on Sybil's Den again? But yeah since then, I've had a chance to play with Fable as well!

I do not exactly know you in person (because that's pretty much impossible) but I read some topics about you & Skitter a while ago. I'm not active on that board and never was. The only reason I lurked there a few months was when Kay Fedewa wrote about Anya and all the hassle she has gone through. Since she basically left the forum and I have my own fox now I forgot about the message board. The "randomizer" just sounded familiar.

Yeah, I volunteered at a sanctuary and it was awesome. She is such a sweet fox, their potential for affection is what gets me and once again, you're lucky to have her in your life. Skitter actually bonded to me, it...I never felt anything like it before