I tried to catch this guy 3 nights in a row with no success. So last night I put a trail of bread OUTSIDE the cage and then a trail of bread going INSIDE the cage. Well, just like Hansel and Gretel, he followed the bread crumbs all the way into the cage far enough to trip the door closed. This morning, I took him over to the woods about 3 miles away from my house and let him go. I hope he doesn't find his way back any time soon. Here is a photo of him and I don't think he looks very happy, do you?
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Salami meat works really good in live traps for all those pesky animals!
Why in the heck would you want to snare a Opossum, they are virtually disease free and very pet friendly.
I usually feed them to keep them around my home.
I agree with Dorie. They are totally harmless. I throw old soup bones or ham bones out and they clean them off for food, even the skunks and their little ones. Last summer, we saw a mother with her babies on her back, she came to get a drink of water. I keep a low basin on the ground full of water, so the animals can get a drink. We also, have a heated bird bath and you would not believe all the birds that come for a drink everyday.
I am sorry but I agree with both Dorie and Malinda! When I lived in Michigan (in the city not the suburbs or the country) we had an opossum that would climb our back fence looking for food and water and was completely harmless so we urged it to come and go as it pleased! It didn't become friends with our little six pound poodle who would go out there to poddy but it didn't attack either and just hid until our poodle went back inside!
You probably meant well but I can't help but ask why is it that we humans think the territory we have encroached on belong more to us than to them :-(
Opossums also like cat food. They are just plain nasty. Sorry just my opinion.
Cat food also works well to catch a opossum. Sorry to me opossums are just nasty.
I agree, all animals our welcome in our yard. The only thing my husband ever did was that after a skunk had taken up residence under our shed (which is next to our neighbor's fence), once he knew that it wasn't under there anymore he blocked the access. This was only after our neighbors had told him that they weren't leaving their dog out in their fenced in backyard because they had seen the skunk.
We have a ground feeder for rabbits, squirrels, etc. that we put out in the Winter, in addition to a hanging bird feeder, and a birdbath with a heater/de-icer in it.
I've even seen a deer drink out of the birdbath, while its family member ate from the hanging feeder!
Our school nurse told us that any mammal could carry rabies. Isnt an opossum a mammal? We had one stumbling around in our yard last year, acting strangely. A neighbor called Animal Control, who said stay away from it, it could be rabid. By the time they got here it had wandered into the woods, but we were all put on alert for it.
Possums may be harmless creatures, but, just like stray cats,as cute as they may be, there is a potential risk.
I think Florida Gal did no more harm than any natural predator of the possum would have done.
Some of you people just crack me up !! Florida gal in NO WAY harmed this Opossum, she took it back to the woods 3 miles away, his chances of survival are much better now thanks to her. I live in the middle of 32 acres with 300 acres(undeveloped)behind me in a very rural area of NC. I too am wildlife friendly unless it is a big ole buck. He is as good as in the freezer, but anyway have any of you that are giving her a hard time ever found one of these"very friendly"opossum in your hallway at 3am? They ain't so friendly then! I now have holes in the floor. Good Job Florida Gal
By the way, this purdy little pups name is possum, how funny is that?
First hand information. Opossums are wild animals and need to be treated as such. They're also omnivores. They loved our live chickens and literally and brutally tore them apart once they managed their way into the coop. They can traverse incredible obstacles. They can be a real significant threat to any small domestic animals and any outdoor nesting birds, the young and eggs. Their hide is profoundly tough and they can be very very aggressive. DO NOT place your hands near their mouth. Relocation or consumption(in parts of the south). Opossums, raccoons and skunks are a serious threat. They like cat/dog food-which have high percentages of animal protein. Yes they'll eat other plant and animal foodstuffs. Once contained, we displaced a younger opossum during the day and instantly hundreds of small birds appeared in the area and desperately tried to shew the opossum out of the area. It was a national geographic moment. The young opussom is no doubt cute, nonetheless they still had a ferousity but they grow up! SO please be careful. TV cartoons/media and stuff animals distorts reality making nice people walk around in make-believe land. Sadly, the very best bait is...chicken/bones.
do read en.wikipedia.org/
ps For those who raise chickens and other land or water fowl, you may think that chickens are safe in outdoor above ground cages. Not so, we learned the hard way that if the holes are wider then a raccoons paw is a recipe for torture. The raccoons somehow getting to the cage and then reaching threw the holes and pulling their heads right off.
Wild animals are - WILD!
Opossums body temperatures are too low to carry rabies, but if you don't take them at least 10 -15 miles away, you will likely be revisited. I would rather have the opossum than the rats that are in our yard.
Racerl
When you all get done hugging that big tree slide down your rainbow back to earth with the rest of us. Anyone with more than a suburban interaction with these creatures look at them as a threat and with good reason.
Opossum are the number one carrier of disease including rabies. If you've ever came up on a cow and watched as three opossums came out of it rear you would understand why. But, my biggest beef with these vermin is their heartlessness. I raise birds of different kinds and these things are ruthless killers. A opossum will not simply kill one chicken. They will kill every bird in the room by ripping them apart. Then they place them in a pile for later consumption.
Their killing methods aren't like that of a large cat or a wolf. They dismember their prey till the die of blood loss, or shock. They are greedy eaters destroying my turkey duck and chicken nests when ever they get the chance. They have their place in nature out in my forest and I respect them as a part of nature. Opossum in my yard tells me they're over populated. Any opossum I catch in a trap in my yard won't be released 3 miles away. It's life will be ended by the fastest case of death by lead poisoning possible.
The Virginia Opossum is probably one of the most docile and beneficial of creatures in that it prefers to scavenge on carrion and does not generally kill. There is more of a possibility that another predator is killing the chickens. Making a chicken coop predator-proof is the only real way to protect the chickens and this is easily accomplished by using 1/2" hardware cloth on the top, bottom and all sides. We need to realize that the wild predators are only acting by their instincts and we need to be the smarter by having caging that foils any attempts at the chickens.
Any mammal can have rabies, however, studies have shown that the opossum is very low on the list of species. We should all exercise caution when dealing with a wild animal. As for an opossum being aggressive with humans (and other animals) they will definitely snarl, growl and drool and if you get close enough they will bite, as will any wild animal. Their biggest defense is to "play possum" which actually is where the animal goes into a trance for a short period of time. They will do this if their growling and snarling does not chase the predator away.
As a licensed wildlife rehabilitator I try to educate the public on ways to co-exist with wildlife and we need to realize that we have been entrusted as stewards of this planet and need to act accordingly. Instead of blaming a species for normal behavior we need to use our intellect to figure out ways to co-exist with the wildlife.
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