Opossums
- Thread starter nancyw
- Start date
In California keeping wild animals such as a possum is illegal without some special permit like animal rescue. Infact we're not even allow to relocate them if they get in our yard where I'm at.
Side note... if we hit a dog with our car we have to report it to animal control but if we accident kill a cat with our car or on our property then we don't have to report it to anyone.
Side note... if we hit a dog with our car we have to report it to animal control but if we accident kill a cat with our car or on our property then we don't have to report it to anyone.
Never thought this information would come in handy but. As far as legal idk but my best friend had one as sort and it was one of the coolest pets ever. It would never bite it would let you hold it and play with you.
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The last time that I was visiting family in Florida, I went to a local reptile shop who had a house pet opossum. It was actually very friendly and acted rather like a cat, but I was still somewhat uneasy around it. Something about those things doesn't sit well with me. I'm really not sure what hoops (if any) they had to jump through to get it, but it shows that it is possible if your state allows it.
What state are you from? the legality of these guys varies a lot. In FL you need an easy to get permit and I have been around multiple that made great pets for my friends. That being said- they are more work than a cat or a dog, tend to be messy and get into everything, and they smell pretty bad after only a couple of days without a bath.
Hard to add to that ^^^ still I will add a couple of quick things that might be important since your considering obtaining one if possible where you live. Opossums tend to age quickly and are generally short lived most making it to 3 and maxing out at 4 years. They also tend to develop cataracts after reaching a year in age and older Opossums tend to develop bacterial infections very easily if their enclosure isn't on point when it comes to cleanliness. So while they are awesome keeping one long term can become a expensive, time consuming and heart breaking experience.
I am from Canada, have heard some people around here keep/sell something called the Short Tailed Opossum (though I don't know anyone who does personally, believe it is a south American type). I have always thought the Virginia Opossum looked like a neat creature to keep, read something on the internet a while ago about people, keeping them as pets.
I have some as pets....well kind of,just about every night a family of them comes poking around my yard and on my porch..I have heard of the short tailed species,I think it is a South American variant..Just about every time I have seen a listing for an opossum for sale it was that type.
I know a guy that rescued 37 babies from a mom he found dead in his back yard. His tried to nurse them with kitty replacement milk, but one by one they all started to die off. Like someone said before; they can have a lot of health issues & since they are illegal to own in a lot (if not most) states, it's not like you can just take them into a vet's office.
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Sounds like a tremendous amount of babies to one mother.I doubt she even has half that number of teats to nurse them all.