Our little visitor

Originally Posted by Willowy

There used to be a couple that ate the cat food but I haven't seen them in a while. Either someone killed them or the feral cats chased them off.

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Opossums actually don't stay in one place for that long. The only reason we see them hang around as long as they do is for the easy cat food meals. Usually after a few months they move on.

I'm not sure what makes them more resistance to infections, other than a good immune system. I'll have to research that tomorrow.

ETA: Low body temperature and immune system. I'm sure I read that somewhere before.

Awww, she's cute! I'm glad you're letting her eat.

We've had a family of three groundhogs for years now; their main den is up at the rear of our property. We leave them alone, unless they start to build dens and dig down around the house and shrubs....then we'll try to trap them and close the holes. Notice I said "try" to trap them? We've tried everything, but those animals are smart!

Now we have no idea what the sex is of any of the three groundhogs. One is a dark brown; we call her the Brunette Bombshell and she likes to come down and sun herself on our deck. She actually flops over on her back with all four paws in the air, like a cat doing a bellywave. The first time I saw her doing it, I was worried about rabies, too, but she's fine.

The other two are lighter in color and we call them the Blondie Boys. They're the little buggers who try to build dens down by the house. As soon as we see a den, we'll close it....that's mostly during the spring season.

They love sliced apples and cantaloupe rinds. Sometimes, we'll buy some ears of corn and throw them up for the groundhogs...they'll come out and eat the corn off the cobs. We used to put dry cat food out on the deck, but we figured that's why the Blondie Boys were digging around the house...it was closer to the food. We stopped the dry cat food snacks on the deck. Oh, and they love peanuts! We'll throw a couple handsful of unshelled peanuts up around their den....they gobble them up.

We've never tried to touch them....I've heard they can be ferocious fighters and we don't want any trouble. But for the last twelve years or so, we've all managed to live together without a lot of hassles, although I'm sure they're not the same groundhogs who were here originally. Still when the Brunette Bombshell suns herself on our deck, it makes me smile. And the cats are quite used to her, too.

I have an interesting possum story that involves my (OTB) greyhound Tyler. Greyhounds have been bred for thousands of years to chase down and kill small prey. That is the reason why most people are afraid to keep them with cats, as a simple shake of their head with their prey in their mouths will kill the prey.

Tyler was a momma's boy and never once failed to come running when I called him. He idolized me and lived to please me. I caught him in the act of chasing down a feral cat one time and chastised him harshly (basically I ignored him for 2 weeks, which was a living h*ll for him). About 3 years later I let the dogs out (4 at the time) for their evening run. Everyone came back except Tyler, and he didn't come when I called. 30 minutes later and still no Tyler. So I grabbed a flashlight and went out to look for him. I saw a possum laying on the ground on its side behind the house, then saw Tyler standing in the field pacing back and forth and looking extremely nervous. He thought he had killed the possum and he was terrified that I was going to reprimand him again. I had to get his leash, walk out to him and drag him back into the house. When I walked past the spot where the possum was laying (Tyler was in pure panic mode by then), it was gone. It had been playing possum and totally fooled poor Tyler.

That poor possum was living proof that you can train thousands of years of instinct out of a dog if you find the right motivation to correct their behavior. It was also living proof that possums use the act of "playing possum" to survive.

He's so cute, I've seen them in my back yard at night, but not as clear as your picture shows!

That IS a tiny one! We have much bigger ones around here, bigger than Genever for sure.. A few months ago the light went on in the backyard from the motion sensor, so we went to look out and see why, and there was a big bad opossum just walking around. I actually went out to try to shoo it away, because we think/thought (i'm honestly still not sure) we have/had some in our attic.

There was something up there that ran around at night and pooped. No chewing damage so we didn't think rats. We put a humane trap up there, but then when we saw the huge one in the yard, well that would never fit in that trap! But we haven't heard anything in a while. I hope whoever was squatting up there has left for good! I like the critters, they can hang around all they want in the yard, but they are not invited into our house.

ANYWAY... So I went outside to chase the opossum away, and it just very slowly wandered away from me, like it didn't know I was there or just didn't care. Then after it left, we saw something, maybe the same one, run along the wire to our roof. That was back when we were hearing critters up there.

Hope your little visitor stays an outside visitor!!

Look at your little cutie, Laurie! So glad you found those important facts about possies. Yes, it's true, we're more likely to carry rabies than opossums! It's unknown exactly why they are resistant to the disease, but some theorize that it's their lower body temperature. They're also immune to snake bites!

Bless you for caring for this precious little one! Opossums are the absolute most loving, trusting animals I've ever had the joy to work with. They are non-aggressive, non-territorial loaners. I'm so glad you know that this little guy poses no threat to your kitties, they are opportunistic feeders and s/he is so happy to have found someone to provide a tasty meal! They love over-ripe produce if you have any to share, as well. They'll eat just about anything, but it's great to keep their diet as healthy as possible. Wish I could come over and love on your new little friend! Please let me know if you have any other concerns!

Got a couple of pears that are too ripe for Gary's taste. Maybe I'll give them another day or two and put them out for him!

That gave me a good idea, I could put some fruit or something out behind the garage, that way they might think it's ok to be around, but back where the food is, not near/in the house..

I know whenever an apple drops from the tree and it has a bite or worm hole or something in it, I put it behind the garage and it's always gone the next morning.

Do they like oranges? We've got loads of them coming soon...

You could find out!

My Bitty baby used to love pears! They absolutely adore red seedless grapes, too. Citrus isn't a favorite, but it wouldn't hurt to offer for sure! Great idea to put their food back behind to garage to let them know they're especially welcomed there! Meal worms are quite enjoyed by possies and an excellent source of protein for them if you have a pet store in your area where you could pick some up

Awwww, what a cute little guy!

I have a giant one who comes around for leftovers.

I have read that is it not wise to feed them all the time...so they don't become dependent on feedings.

They are one of the cutest animals out there . And that is one adorable picture .

Originally Posted by DawnofSierra

Meal worms are quite enjoyed by possies and an excellent source of protein for them if you have a pet store in your area where you could pick some up

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Just a word of caution to anyone not used to buying meal worms. Some stores will sell "giant meal worms", these are meal worms that have been treated so as to stop (or at least drastically slow down) them from turning into pupae. There's not really any information on how harmful that would be to wildlife, but it's dangerous to pets to be fed these.
Not to be confused with super worms (zoophobas moro) which are a completely different beetle larvae and larger than a meal worm.

Meal worms from pet stores also tend to be kept on bran or even in saw dust, the latter of which is completely inedible.. And will also be dehydrated. If you buy them intending to feed them to anything, and to have any nutritional value at all, you need to feed and give them moisture.

Our little visitor is back.

Well - not so little, and very unlikely to be the same one - but still cute, and the cats don't mind sharing!

It may be the same one. There has been plenty of time for him to have grown that much.

That's so sweet Laurie. He's like "are you finished yet?" never mind the bowl in front of him!

Hehe, he looks like my ferret (except for the rat tail, but you can't see that in the pic). He's cute!

Laurie, if it were a skunk I would worry and take up all the feeders and try to find another place to feed. Skunks are notorious rabies carriers but possums will come out in the late evening toward dusk if they are hungry or they have a brood to feed in their belly.

Originally Posted by DawnofSierra

My Bitty baby used to love pears!

They absolutely adore red seedless grapes, too. Citrus isn't a favorite, but it wouldn't hurt to offer for sure! Great idea to put their food back behind to garage to let them know they're especially welcomed there! Meal worms are quite enjoyed by possies and an excellent source of protein for them if you have a pet store in your area where you could pick some up

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Hey stranger! When are we going to see Sierra #2 in your sig?