Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can easily pick the ticks off my horses every day - something I have done for many years. I can't fix the neurological issues they might get from EPM.
Mosquitoes carry WNV. Purple Martins return to nest in their boxes (on our property every year -- they do a stellar job keeping the mosquito population down.
I don't recall saying I think Opossums are ugly but that seems to be the interpretation. I don't view any of Nature's creatures as ugly but I do have the common sense to NOT feed or attempt to make pets out of critters that are meant to be wild. If the injured ones can be saved, there are rehab places they can be taken to.
Why so defensive? The general consensus here is that if we worried about every obscure disease an animal carried we would go NUTS and be afraid to leave our homes and need plastic bubbles to put around our animals. Chill out on the opossums already!
Just trying to share some appreciation for one of God's creatures that he put on this earth for a reason - and a good one at that - no one here meant to get the minority "horse lovers" all riled up.
I swear, I have to quit posting here. Not worth it. Especially the dog board where it's now the new thing where you can't be an honest tax paying citizen and actually WORK for a living and own a dog without being accused of cruelty. I have NEVER seen so many people so OCD in one place for the wrong reasons (Paging Dr. Phil!)
I will say this; I live in a poor rural state (I don't think you do) and even though we have a reputation for being ignorant, toothless, shoeless country bumpkins we don't brag about going around "shootin' possums". (Most people in my state can't afford even to keep a horse!) IMO THAT'S how you put your foot in your mouth with some posters here - it ain't me or anything I said.
If you are going to talk like that, don't bring all country people down with you. Ellie Mae from the Beverly Hillbillies loved all animals and she probably loved opossums too! LOL
I think they are kinda cute to look at, & are the only American marsupial. However, I believe in keeping wildlife wild. I have more than enough problems with my naughty cats no need for anything else.
This pic is fuzzy and looks huge. But believe me, it was really cute.
That IS a cute pic.
We have thought about passing ours off as "Exotic Kittens". I bet it would work with the rich out-of-stater's who come to this area to ride horses. LOL
Any animal with 50 teeth—which rake backwards so that trying to pull your hand, arm, foot—whatever is bitten—just gets more firmly fixed in the possum’s mouth isn’t something I would want to try to make a pet...
Opossum should be living in the wilds, safely away from humans and domestic animals -- they aren't meant to be hanging out on somebody's deck --
Well, unfortunately it is us humans that are taking away their "wild" habitat by building homes where THEY have been living. I don't expect the opossums, coyotes, foxes, deer, turtles, snakes etc to just pack up and leave because someone put a house with a deck in the middle of their home. Maybe you should pack your bags if you can't coexist with the animals that were there before you.
Location: Forest Service Cabin-90% of the yr. Sis & I inherited it and I bought her out.
175 posts, read 125,212 times
Reputation: 307
Quote:
Originally Posted by loves2read
People in my local NextDoor feed are talking about how opossums can be domesticated
Couple of them found baby possums and raised them
No problems they said
That creeps me out
Opossums have 50 teeth—-
And while their body temp is supposedly too low to cultivate rabies infections and thus aren’t as common a source of rabies
I couldn’t believe that anyone would want one inside the house...
Am I nuts
They were quoting passages about how they eat grubs and shoots and only fight back if threatened—
Well you could say a rattlesnake only fights back if it is threatened—
But I wouldn’t try to make a pet out of one
No nothing weird about it
Ringtail cats, aka miners cats, are easily domesticated.
25 years ago we lived in northern OC in CA. Went out one night to get something from the garage refrigerator. Meet by two huge eyes and a mouthful of teeth as the frig opened. Back off to realize it was a big possum.
Decided we now knew the reason why cat food in the garage sometimes vanished while the cats were in the house.
Led to the immediate installation of a controlled entry cat door. Had to have a proper magnet on your collar to get in.
Ended the food disappearance. Never really figured out where she lived. Had to be close but no obvious place.
Most baby mammals will imprint on a human if that's what they meet. The problems come when the "parent" figure becomes superfluous; remember Travis the Chimp. He was cute and playful until he wasn't.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
no need for anything else.
[/IMG]
LOL
