Opossum
 

Have a friend offering me her opossum.
She raised it since a baby with bottle feeding. It's very m
Nice and lives in a ferret three level cage. It has a pouch to sleep in etc that comes with it for free. She's basically giving it to us because our kids went ape-nuts when the saw her and she is very friendly. Is the any down side to these animals as pets that have been raised since babies, other than the obvious odor that is approx the same as ferrets?? Is ther something is there something i should be concerned about?? Thx in advance!!

R, jacqulyn

In some places it's illegal without a wildlife permit(depending on species). I personally don't know of more than a couple that are kept as adults without them getting "wild" and starting to bite and such. They were all extremely messy and can be difficult to contain when full grown.

If it's the native possum, I don't know how an adult would live in a typical 3-level ferret cage as they get pretty large.

If it's a exotic species of small possum... then disregard all the above. I've only dealt with our native ones.

I'm assuming it's a native possum as well. I've never kept them as pets and don't recommend doing so. They have HORRIBLE vision and bite can result if you are careless. Wash your hand before handling them, any smell food can cause a accidental bite. They get huge, and you might have to invest in a new and bigger cage. They have a short life span. Be careful not to overfeed. Training is possible. Here's a fully grown possum:

Ok you brought up a bite and thats some things I had questions about. I've seen their teeth and they look like they could do damage akin to a monitor or raccoon. I've also seen my kids feed her by hand and now that you reminded me about their eyes that doesn't sound wise any longer. If we do keep it, should it gave shots? Like a cat based on weight? Or should I just ask the vet?

i catch wild ones all the time. they can get VERY big for sure. i've been bit by raccoons before, never by a opossum and i would say that the raccoon canines are much smaller in proportion to body size compared to the opossums. be careful.

definitely contact a vet about shots.

Oppossums are generally more resistant to disease than other animals, and as far as I knwow there is no rabies vaccination out there for them, they are formulate for cats and dogs.

http://www.opossum.org/

Read everything at that website.
They are pretty undemanding animals.
It's not going to snuggle up to you like a cat, but generally they are quiet tame if never abused.

^I forgot how to spell today.

Never been bit but I heard they are nasty and good chance it's gonna get infected. Good site Brian