Virginia or Common Opossum

#1 10-11-2002, 10:22 AM

This is Hippopossumus ~ or Hippy for short

Dillon, my youngest son with Hippy in the yard

Brad, my second oldest with Hippy

***Jade*** · #2 10-11-2002, 10:23 AM

Hippy's adorable!

You ought to go over to Intro and say hello, Rhonda.

#3 10-11-2002, 10:50 AM

Thanks Jade, he's a real doll too, he loves attention

Becki · #4 10-11-2002, 01:08 PM

He's SO cute! How old is he?

#5 10-11-2002, 01:37 PM

He's about 6 or 7 months now, I'm not sure exactly how old he was when he came home. Somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks I assume, he was so tiny. The photo of him on my son's shoulder was taken in June, about a month after he was home. The other shot of him in the yard was done in August, a bit older there, and he had really grown alot then.

He's a pretty big boy now, about the size of the skunks give or take, I do need to get some updated photos of him

capnsweets · #6 10-11-2002, 05:21 PM

Very cute pictures, on his little leash! aww!

#7 10-11-2002, 06:07 PM

such a cuddly little thing

#8 10-13-2002, 04:45 PM

A friend of a friend of a friend wanted to tell Hippy HI !

possummomca · #9 10-13-2002, 07:34 PM

OH NOW I AM JEALOUS lol. How do you find your possum as a pet. I rehab alot of them for release and would love to be able to have one. Where do you live. he is gorgeous

capnsweets · #10 10-13-2002, 09:28 PM

awww so cute!

#11 10-13-2002, 09:59 PM

The O' is an unreleasable Opossum, she was caught in a fire as a tiny young'en and is became way to tame and lost some toes and most of a tail so she could not go back to the wild due to those facts and also the fact that she can not climb very well. :0(
But everyone who is in contact with this little girl finds out how mis understood these lil'critters are and how smart and yes CUTE they really are.

possummomca · #12 10-13-2002, 11:07 PM

Yeah I know what you mean I have one here that was the hit of a seminar at a school yesterday. I have done about 15 different educational sessions with joeys and it is amazing how many ppl do a complete turn around once they learn a little about them then actually can see them close up. I think it makes all the difference for the kids and adults.

Becki · #13 10-14-2002, 12:00 AM

Have any of you ever been bitten by a possum? My mom had one and he was the biggest baby I've ever seen(stinky baby though). When he was scared he would open his mouth real big and show his teeth, but that was it, lol. You could stick your finger in his mouth and he wouldn't bite it!

#14 10-14-2002, 08:23 AM

Nope, nobody who has handled the O' in the picture has been bitten. And Becki as you said they , if scared, they do open their mouth and act all mean and oooo so very vicious! But it is part of their "big" act! Wild Opossums when confronted will start with the "I am gonna bite the heck out of you pose" then go straight into the "oooo hey I think I am SOoooo very SICK"-so you dont want to eat me routine., this portion of the act they will froth at the mouth wobble back and forth hold their mouth all the way open, and even wobble enough to fall over, this act is so very convincing that it has convinced many of fellow humans that opossums are mainly sick diseased and rabid animals. A heck of an act . Unfortuntaly too good sometimes, the ironic thing is that Opossums are one of the very few animals that are NOT a rabies carrier!! (it is very very rare that any o' has rabies , a fact that is studied by the scientific people on how this is possible.)
The final act of this little series is the most common.. "PLAY OPOSSUM!" this is where the little guy or gal flops over and plays dead. *UGH*-*FLOP!* Opossums can play dead for up to 4 hours!!!!

Of course I have to say a disclaimer.. Any wild animals CAN and probably WILL bite you. And should never be approached. If sick or injured GET HELP just because they are not rabies CARRIERS doesnt mean one might not be sick or have a serious issue with it's health. This little opossum has been around people since it was very very young it doenst know to look or act mean!

possummomca · #15 10-14-2002, 01:07 PM

With my guys I can honestly say no one else has been bit. If i have done my job right if you stick your hand in their den to pull them out you are probably going to get nipped. I have never been hurt though. But if they come to me as a single joey they tend to lose the biting very quickly. I still have 4 here,3 will be released in the next week or so, one will be wintered here till spring. I have probably rehabbed 30 this year (not sure) and have been bit maybe 5 times. LOL yeah i was fooled by this little single joey i have here. He was playing possum a couple days after he came to me . Upon opening his cage I found this little guy mouth open curled up looking really the worse for wear. I touched him and no movement , but when i went to pick him up i guess my finger went into his open mouth and faster then i could even see there was a quick snap of the jaw then back to the motionless stance. lol he was fine just playing possum.

hi!

the O'

possums