My Sons' New Pet???

[Ariel301]

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Marsupials are still mammals.

Rabies, maybe not...but they still can give you a nasty bite that will require medical attention and could get infected. Not to mention they carry other diseases (EPM, West Nile Virus) and can eat chickens or eggs. Best not to have them too close to home.

 

[billfields]

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As can any random four year old

 

[b.hromada]

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i always thought they were cute....

They are!

 

[b.hromada]

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'scuse me, but possums ARE mammals. What did you think they are? Fish, fowl or amphibians???

They may have meant rodents?

 

[Princess Poppycock]

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This. I'm a vet tech and just came to post this, but now I don't have to!

 

[GAchick]

b.hromada :

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'scuse me, but possums ARE mammals. What did you think they are? Fish, fowl or amphibians???

They may have meant rodents?

Aaaaannndddd rodents are still mammals...

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Feed it on milk and bread for about a week. Then slaughter it, gut it, and singe the hair off; you may also remove head and feet at this point. Roast in oven. To serve, peel hide and slice. The fat layer under the skin makes them self basting. Please don't live trap and transport without checking county and state regulations - not only do you risk spreading diseases; but you are giving someone else your problem. If you don't want to eat it, let it loose on your own property.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

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Well, here's the problem. Opossums may be markedly less susceptible to rabies than some animals; but they can get it. According to the Arkansas Online News of April 26, 2008 a five year old boy was receiving the rabies series because the opossum that bit him tested positive for rabies.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/apr/26/boy-bitten-opossum-rabies/

 

[zoo2u]

Found this thread quite interesting as we have a non releasable opossum, Mabel in our wildlife education program. Mabel's mom was killed by a car and now she is a vital part of our wildlife program, teaching children about native wildlife. A couple of things, it is true that opossum have a much lower body temp than other mammals making them much less prone to contracting rabies, BUT they are mammals. They are not rodents, they are marsupials with a pouch for carrying their young. Opossum are not aggressive or nasty but will hiss and show their impressive 50 teeth ( more than any other North American mammal). if scared enough, they will of course play dead. We have had 4 opossum over the years in our program and i am a big fan. Number one reason you should love opossum? They are actually immune to venom and are capable of eating copperhead snakes. They also eat mice and insects making them beneficial. As adults they spend most time on the ground so as long as your coop is secure they should not cause trouble for your chickens.
www.wildlifeambassadors.org
Pictured is Mabel, soon after she was brought to us.

 

[bobbi-j]

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OK, I've got to admit. Mabel is cute in a possumy sort of way. But I live in MN. I don't have copperheads for her to eat. I have cats to take care of the mice, and bats and other birds to eat insects. I have horses. They are far more important to me than an opossum. Any possums that show up here die.