5 Common Foods That Can Poison Foxes

Foxes are omnivores with more affinity for flesh and meat, the wide range of their diet has made foxes vulnerable. Some foods are considered toxic and poisonous to foxes; these foods cause metabolic and digestive disorders in foxes, leading to several signs of distress and can lead to death in severe cases. You need to know these poisonous foods if you live in a conserved environment and do not want to harm the animals around you.

Toxic Foods For Foxes

• Chocolate: contains theobromine and caffeine, both are toxic to foxes. Small amounts of chocolate can cause vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, seizures, and death in foxes.

• Onions: Raw, cooked, or powdered onions can cause oxidative damage to foxes’ red blood cells leading to hemolytic anemia. Onions can cause gastroenteritis and vomiting as well. Keeping your fox safe means avoiding the presence of onions.

• Avocados: contain persin, which is toxic to many animals including foxes. Persin can damage heart cells, leading to congestive heart failure in foxes. 

• Raisins and Grapes: contain toxic amounts of sugar that can lead to kidney failure in foxes. Even a small number of grapes or raisins can make a fox extremely ill.

• High-calorie Human Foods: Definitely bad for foxes but the irony is, that foxes look out for human food from waste bins. High-calorie human food increases weight gain, this can be a disadvantage to foxes because it causes obesity, bone deformation, and other metabolic disorders.

Natural Fox Diet

Foxes are omnivores and have a very diverse diet in the wild. Foxes primarily hunt small mammals such as mice, voles, rabbits, and hares in the wild. Birds, lizards, snakes, insects, spiders, earthworms, and crustaceans also make up a significant portion of the fox’s diet.

in addition, foxes will also eat berries, seeds, fungi, and other components of a plant-based diet when prey is scarce. Their diverse food choice allows them to take advantage of many food sources at different times and seasons. The red fox has earned the nickname “opportunistic omnivore” because they will eat almost anything that becomes available.

A fox’s diet varies based on its geographical location and the local prey sources available. Urban foxes have adapted to scavenging human food waste, but they still spend the majority of their time hunting live prey when available. Lastly, foxes are adept predators with a varied diet consisting mainly of small mammals, birds, insects, and fruit. Their flexible diet helps them thrive in many environments.

Dangers of Fox Eating Human Food

• High-Fat Content: Many human foods like chips, burgers, pizza, and fried foods contain very high levels of fat and oils. The fox’s digestive system cannot handle such fatty foods. Eating such food can make foxes become obese and other digestive issues.

• High Sugar Content: Sugary human foods like cookies, candy, soda, and ice cream are also extremely unhealthy for foxes. Excessive sugar can cause diabetes, dental problems, weight gain, hyperactivity, and other issues in foxes.

• High Salt Content: Excessive salt in many human foods like chips, canned foods, cured meats, and more, can become toxic to foxes. Salty food can cause vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, and hypertension.

• Gastrointestinal Issues: The ingredients, textures, and cooking process of human foods often cause gastrointestinal distress in foxes. Foxes cannot properly digest ingredients like grains, dairy, and more. Fox’s inability to digest these food items makes them vomit, have diarrhea, constipation, and other digestion problems.

• Obesity: Majority of human foods have high calories. Foxes can rapidly gain weight and obesity in foxes. Obesity in foxes can strain their joints and organs and cause many other health complications.

In summary, One of the best ways to control foxes on your property is to keep human food away to avoid attraction. Proper waste management and environmental sanitation can keep foxes away from your property and prevent them from eating some of your leftovers that can later poison them.