There’s nothing quite like wandering through a taiga biome at dusk and spotting a fluffy red fox darting between spruce trees, a random item clamped in its mouth. For years, I thought these skittish mobs were impossible to befriend, until I spent a few playthroughs testing every method I could find. If you’ve ever wanted a fluffy, loyal companion to follow you on your survival adventures, learning how to tame foxes in minecraft is far easier than most players realize. You don’t need fancy items or late-game gear, just a little patience and the right resources.
Where to Find Foxes in Minecraft Before You Start Taming
First, you need to track down a pair of adult foxes to work with, and they only spawn in very specific biomes. Foxes only spawn in taiga, old growth taiga, and snowy taiga biomes, so you’ll need to head to one of these cold, tree-heavy areas first. They spawn most often at night, when light levels are below 10, so you’ll have the best luck searching at dusk or dawn when they’re most active.
Snowy taiga biomes spawn white arctic foxes instead of the standard red variant, so if you want a white pet, head to a colder, snow-covered taiga instead of the standard green one. Foxes usually spawn in groups of 2-4, and you’ll often see a mix of adults and baby foxes in these groups. Don’t waste your time trying to tame a wild baby fox you find already spawned, though – those are still loyal to their wild parents and won’t stick around you.
Before you approach any foxes, make sure you don’t have any wolves following you. Wild foxes are terrified of wolves, and they’ll run away immediately if they spot one within 16 blocks. I learned this the hard way on my first taming attempt, when my pet wolf followed me to a taiga and scared off every fox within 50 blocks before I even noticed.
How to Tame Foxes in Minecraft: The Exact Step-by-Step Process
Unlike wolves or cats, you can’t tame a wild adult fox directly by feeding it. The only way to get a loyal tamed fox is to breed two wild adult foxes, and their baby will be automatically loyal to you. Sweet berries are the only food that works for taming and breeding foxes, so you’ll need to collect at least 20 of them from sweet berry bushes in the taiga before you start. More is better, because sometimes you’ll need to feed adults multiple times before they enter breeding mode.
Once you have your berries and found a pair of adult foxes, follow these exact steps to get your tamed fox:
- Equip your stack of sweet berries in your hotbar, and turn off your sprint to avoid startling nearby foxes
- Crouch (hold shift on PC, sneak button on console/mobile) as you slowly approach the pair of adult foxes you’ve selected
- Feed one sweet berry to each adult fox, until you see red hearts appear above both of their heads
- Step back and wait for the pair to breed, which will produce a baby fox that is automatically loyal to you
- Attach a lead to the baby fox and move it at least 20 blocks away from its parent to stop it from following the adult foxes
You don’t tame adult foxes directly – you gain loyalty from their offspring, which is why so many new players struggle with this process at first. I spent 10 minutes feeding a single adult fox my entire stack of berries on my first try, with no results, before I figured out you need two adults to breed. Once you move the baby fox away from its parents, it will stop following them and stick close to you instead, no extra feeding required.
If you want to speed up the baby fox’s growth, you can feed it extra sweet berries to cut down the time it takes to become an adult. Grown tamed foxes have the exact same loyalty as baby ones, so you don’t have to worry about them leaving once they mature.
Key Tips to Keep Your Tamed Fox Happy and Useful
Tamed foxes aren’t just cute decorations for your base – they actually have a lot of useful perks that make them great companions for survival playthroughs. Tamed foxes will automatically attack any mob that harms you, except for creepers, so they’ll help you fend off zombies, skeletons, and even phantoms when you’re out exploring at night. They’re small enough to fit through tight spaces, so they’ll follow you into caves and mineshafts too.
Foxes also have a unique habit of picking up dropped items in their mouth, and they’ll hold onto those items until you take them from them or they find something better. If you give your fox a sword or a tool, they’ll even use that item when they attack mobs, dealing extra damage. I once gave my tamed fox an enchanted diamond sword, and it helped me take out a group of 4 zombies before I even had to pull out my own weapon.
There are a few things you can do to keep your fox safe and happy, too. First, build a small enclosed pen for them near your base if you don’t want them wandering off while you’re working on builds. Foxes can jump over 1-block high fences, so make sure your pen has 2-block high walls or a roof to keep them inside. You should also keep them away from wild wolves, as wolves will attack both wild and tamed foxes on sight.
If you give your fox a totem of undying to hold, it will automatically use the totem if it takes fatal damage, just like a player would. This is a great way to keep your favorite pet alive if you’re exploring dangerous areas with them.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Taming Foxes
Even with the right steps, it’s easy to make small mistakes that ruin your taming attempt. Never feed foxes anything other than sweet berries if you want to breed them for a tamed pet – they’ll eat other foods like chicken or rabbit, but those won’t trigger breeding mode or help you get a loyal baby fox. I’ve seen new players waste stacks of cooked chicken on foxes because they assumed it worked like it does for wolves, and get no results.
Another common mistake is not crouching when you approach wild foxes. Foxes are extremely skittish, and they’ll run away immediately if you walk or sprint towards them standing up. You have to crouch the entire time you’re approaching them, even if you’re still 10 blocks away, to avoid scaring them off.
Don’t forget to attach a lead to the baby fox as soon as it’s born, either. If you don’t, it will follow its parents as soon as they wander off, and you’ll lose your tamed fox before you even get a chance to move it. I’ve had this happen twice, and it’s incredibly frustrating to waste a stack of sweet berries just because you forgot to bring a lead with you.
Finally, don’t leave your tamed fox out in the open at night without protection. Even though they can fight small mobs, they’re still vulnerable to creepers, skeletons, and endermen that might wander into your base. A small enclosed pen with a bed for your fox will keep them safe while you’re away or sleeping through the night.
Taming a fox in Minecraft is one of the most rewarding small goals you can complete in a survival playthrough. These fluffy little companions are cute, useful, and far easier to get than most players think, as long as you follow the right steps and avoid the common pitfalls. Next time you’re exploring a taiga biome and spot a group of foxes darting between the trees, grab a stack of sweet berries and give it a shot. Once you know how to tame foxes in minecraft, you’ll never want to go on an adventure without one by your side.