Possums as pets?

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   solarcaptainposted 16 years ago

   I leave my back door open for my cat enough that a whole family of possums came in the house and took over for about a week.
   
   These animals will capture your heart, especially the very young ones. My efforts were directed to keeping them away from kitties food and the counter I use for crackers and cheese.  One night I got up to find three of them having a party(complete with cheese and crackers) in the kitchen.
   
   My cat (Otella) was really getting into a tizzie so I concentrated on getting them out one at a time. But first I "jailed" them for four hours, which worked very well. They have been in the neighborhood but skip my house.
   
   They are very mild little creatures that become mild, large creatures. they tend to be fat, consuming anything in sight. They like cat food and are partial to steak.
   
   They have some notable bad habits such as excreting while they eat. They are protected in this state (ca).
   
   They are intelligent creatures and have an engaging look that says:  Feed me
   
   If you encounter one at six weeks,  they are completely unafraid. When I placed one outside, taking it away from its "feast," it's eyes were accusatory.   
   
   All of the possums eluded my efforts to get pictures and I still berate myself for the loss.

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2. 0

   MOmmagusposted 16 years ago

   They look like huge rats to me. and any possum i ever got to close to growled at me like it was going to eat my foot off!

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   1. 60

      solarcaptainposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Oh yes, they do look like rats, I forgot to mention that. They do growl but i don't think they bite.. Also they really do play dead.   I picked up  4 of them  several times  to get them out.They are kind of cute.
      thanks for reading my post

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3. 0

   RUTHIE17posted 16 years ago

   Yeah--me too!   Open the garage door late one night to set out the trash and surprised a big, fat ol' mama possum about 4 feet from me.  One look at those sharp teeth and the growls and hisses and I WAS OUT OF THERE!!
   
   Just can't see one as a pet in my house!!

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   1. 60

      solarcaptainposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Its all a front to protect themselves, I have never been bitten and handled then several times.
      They sound all mad and then play dead when I set them down. yA THOSE MAMA POSSUMS
      get big. Friendly though.\I 'll come by and se your cats when I get some time. I gotta finish me taxes so I can get that big fat rebate check iM GONNA take it and go shopping  ja
      Thanks for the post.
      The dish isn't hot , but of course you can substitute, I cook that way all the time. I usually just
      see whats aound and throw it in a pot
      I hope you enjoy it.

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4. 73

   Inspirepubposted 16 years ago

   We have possums who sleep between the floor of one level and the ceiling of the level below in our house. It's quite companionable, really. About 6pm they wake up, have an argument, run around screaming at one another, and eventually some time later emerge and trot along the outside sill of our loungeroom picture window.
   
   They have reached an understanding with the cats - the cats understand that any food they don't eat by 7pm belongs to the possums.
   
   They are protected here, too, as they are native to Australia.

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5. 68

   darksideposted 16 years ago

   We got some in our roof at the moment. Not sure what they're up to... game of football... domestic... tag... but they've made an awful racket.
   
   We've just bought a possum trap off of ebay.
   
   Though when I say trap, it's a cage. They go in, grab the fruit that's bait, the door closes.
   
   Then we have the pleasure of finding someplace else to relocate them.
   
   They are ever so cute. But they're not much fun when they make your house their own.
   
   I did see a possum down in Tasmania when I was there on a work trip... I thought it was a large wallaby. It was bigger than anything I've ever seen on the mainland of Australia.

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6. 34

   myworld2uposted 16 years ago

   Hi,
   
   So happened that I was at the mall pet shop yesterday and came to see "ferrets". They look cute to me but notice they have long nails. Are they dangerous ? And how are they different than possums ? I just can't remember how possum looks like for I am sure I have seen them on TV sometime ago.

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   1. 83

      Whitney05posted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Ferrets are completely different than possums. They are basically cats on crack.
      
      They sleep about 18-20 hours a day and are non-stop when they're awake.
      
      You have to check couch cushions and basically any crevice before sitting down or moving something, because if they find it, they'll probably be under or in it.
      
      They CAN NOT be kept in a cage 24/7, and need to be out of the cage when you're home, only locked up when you can't supervise them.
      
      You have to regularly clip their nails and give them a bath about once or twice a month, and no more. They usually have their scent glads removed to cut out some of the smell, but their feces has a God-awful smell, so you have to constantly clean their litter box.
      
      No they're not dangerous. If they were dangerous, why would a pet store sell them? 
      
      Possums are wild animals, ferrets are captive bred... For the most part... You have to have females spayed or else if you don't breed her when she goes into heat, she'll die. Yes, that may sound crazy, but it's true. Most pet stores sale Marshall's ferrets, which means that they are already spay/neutered and given their first set of shots. You can tell a Marshall's ferret by the tattoo on the ear. There will be 2 black circles on the ear.
      
      Ferrets need annual rabies and distemper shots, as well.
      
      Basically, caring for a ferret is like caring for a cat or a dog.

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7. 81

   PetMemorialWorldposted 16 years ago

   I had an opossum for a pet for a number of years.
   
   Mind you our opossums in New Zealand look more like a raccoon than the rat like opossums you have in America.
   
   To begin with it lived inside and would happily travel around on my shoulder.  However, it got banished outside when it started destroying all the curtains.  It also got a little grumpy in its old age - but then don't we all 

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