# do Virginia Opossums make good pets?



## Emilina (May 17, 2009)

hi,

does anyone know if opossums make good pets?

What should you keep them in?

Should you get a male or female?

:flrt::flrt:thanx
em pem x


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## kellystewart (May 11, 2010)

Hi there, 

I just got my baby opossum about 2 weeks ago. She is adorable. But to answer your questions.....

Yes, they can make good pet's....if they are looked after properly and given the proper diet as they have very specific requirements.

You shouldn't keep them in anything, they should be free roaming. (They grow to the size of a large cat) although when they are just young you could keep them in a large dog crate during the day but let them out in a safe room at night as they are nocturnal. 

Phoebe has a pet carrier full of cushions/t-shirts (with my scent on) as a bed and a litter tray sits beside it. She wakes up about 8/9pm to eat and wander about the room and is always back in her bed curled up right in the middle of all the cushions/fleece by about 5am. She sometimes wakes up in the afternoon for a wee hour too.

As far as I'm aware there is no difference in the sexes....

Hope that helps


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## sam gamgee (Apr 8, 2009)

*Puck.......*

She settling down ok, Kelly?
Puck is a different creature now!
Sleeping on OH at mo.......!

Stayed at an excellent bed and breakfast near Elgin the other night.....converted large church, middle of nowhere near Urquhart.......I guess ya wanted to know that, :lol2:!

Dave.


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## kellystewart (May 11, 2010)

sam gamgee said:


> She settling down ok, Kelly?
> Puck is a different creature now!
> Sleeping on OH at mo.......!
> 
> ...


Yanno not really  she is very hissy and dives at me still....she will settle down once you have her in your hand but it's hard to pick her up without her diving for your hand or face.

She is eating and using her litter tray and knows where her bed is so that's something. But if she is out in the room running about she will run away and hide from me.

Dunno what else to try? Just have to keep at it I guess.

Elgin is a lovely wee place lol 

x


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## africa (Sep 12, 2008)

kellystewart said:


> Yanno not really  she is very hissy and dives at me still....she will settle down once you have her in your hand but it's hard to pick her up without her diving for your hand or face.
> 
> She is eating and using her litter tray and knows where her bed is so that's something. But if she is out in the room running about she will run away and hide from me.
> 
> ...


Our male is very shy(not aggressive) but the female is much friendlier, we cuddle them every day, they love their food and come for it straight away. They really like the cats for some reason and seem fascinated by them. We are keeping them in an aviary at the moment with branches etc, we have divided it into two so there is not so much height for now, they love climbing the branches and dont mind us picking them up off them. They also come in the house for a run round.


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## sam gamgee (Apr 8, 2009)

Im sure she will tame down Kelly! Just keep handling, usual stuff, I guess.
At least she is litter trained - Puck has a pooing fascination on the back of a leather settee, lol. We just need to catch him at it and this should be sorted....fortunately, despite the range of veg he devours, they (the poos!) arent too, er, sloppy (sorry all). 
But when he gets big..........
We intend on building some sort of enclosure in the garden for both him and our skunkies to increase thier space, although they have almost all of the house to run in at the mo and they are pretty good, generally, TBF.
Puck has run of a largish living room, we have done away with the dog crate, it appeared to be hindering his taming, so to speak. Also he has made his sleeping area at the bottom of a curtain drape!!!!
Small problem, well, not really a problem but we (read "me") have to close the skunkies out (we did this before he came along) and `possum proof the room before "I" go up to bed.
Yes, Elgin not bad......

Dave.


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## kellystewart (May 11, 2010)

Well I am defin sticking with it.....that's all I can do.

Awe bless Sallie....they will love the aviary!

Have ordered a ferret pouch so I can carry her around with me "handsfree" during the day and keep touching/stroking her as much as possible. Think I'm going to hand feed her from now on too. I'm up all night anyways as Mya is due her pups anytime from now.


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