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Hi guys.
I have a chance to pick up one or several possums later on in this year (september) and am tryng extensivley to find out as much as their captive behaviour as possible.
Anyone from australia in here ever re-home or orphan these cable chewers?
I've been in love with possums for years, and now the chance to obtain a pair is here i dont think i'll turn them away..
Are they anything like sugar gliders? Ie you cannot keep one on their own, or are they solitary animals?
Any information/experience welcome.
James

I dont have any information to give you just wanted to say.... possums 'ey?

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

Well even though I've never purposely kept and oppossum as a pet, It's very common for them to move into people's homes and make a nest in between the ceiling and the roof.

I've hosted a girl 'possum under the roof of our shed for the last 2-3 years and thinking back to the early years, I can recall having one at least visit each single house I've lived at.

The current inhabitant I've only seen alone or with her brood of little 'uns, when she walks out through the fence's ledge and goes off into the wood thicket. I've never seen the other parent, so this leads me to believe that they are more loners than communal, at least during this nurturing phase. This gathered from observation only so I may be wrong, but I've always seen the loner nesting by itself.

Goodluck!

James

opossums are a totally different animal

which possum though? there's many species

Common Brush Tail Possum, Trichosurus vulpecula...

No Australian I've heard of ever keeps a possum as a pet because they are; solitary, nocturnal and arboreal.
(if you have been in love with them for years wouldn't you know that?)

Wildlife carers are trained to care for injured possums for release or the possum is taken to a sanctuary if it can't be released.

In the UK I cannot imagine you are nursing them for release . So they must be bred as pets. "Pick up" this means buy? How much would you pay? Are they babies?

Since the outdoor weather in the UK is unlikely to agree with them will you keep them indoors? They roam the tree tops in the wild.... how will you recreate this indoors or on a suburban block.

Possums are only seen in the day if conditions like bushfire and extreme heat bring them out. They are nocturnal so unless you want to be kept awake by a racket I see little point. (there is an industry in Australia of relocating possums from suburbia to bushland... because they are not good neighbours - the nocturnal thing.... and you want one as a roomie?)

What do the sellers tell you about feeding them? I have read about what they eat. You don't have those plants in the UK.

Possums can not be happy as pets.
Contact with their own species in domestic situations and contact with humans is very stressful... caring for them is impractical. They are handled as little as possible whilst being rehabilitated for release because handling stresses them (they can die from fright if a car narrowly misses them on a road, although untouched they die of fright...sound like a good pet?).

Supplying them is unethical because possums cannot be cared for adequately in a domestic situation.

Sadly it seems the UK laws are much more lax than in my country.

I love komodo dragons but I know they are not good pets.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

There is a book called "Care of Australian Wildlife" by Erna Walraven that is well worth getting your hands on. Primarily aimed at rehab and release, but still some very good information. There is another one that is also pretty good, but I can't remember what it is called

I've never kept/rehabbed them, but one of the teachers at college was a native animal guy so we spent a fair bit of time on them.
The wild ones seem reasonably personable creatures. I doubt you'd get to 'cat' stage where they'd let you cuddle them, but you don't strike me as the cuddly type anyhoo

BIG enclosure as they are active. A 3m2 space would be a minimum IMO, with plenty of room to climb and good space to run. Probably need double-doors as they are very cluey and very quick. Honestly, they'll not think twice about using you (or anything else of suitable height) as a tree should it suit their plans. Very sharp teeth and very sharp claws, so make sure you work in with their pecking order and carefully earn your stripes or blend into the background. Heading straight to the top can be painful. They are nervy, but those males think they are just the bees knees.
That being said, they don't appear to be hard animals to get along with, even the boys. Pretty easy to read, very similar to horses IMe. A lot of people have brushies as 'wild pets' that just come and steal food or check out the humans, and they seem to just develop an understanding of boundaries.

I imagine captive-bred ones for the home market are less likely to end up with white muscle disease etc due to the type of human exposure they'll have gotten from very young, so you should be right there. Mange seems to be pretty common, and you do get the odd one that stinks of chlamydia, but otherwise they seem reasonably hardy.


It is odd that they are available over there. Gliders I can understand, in an odd way I would understand devils too if they were more prolific, but possums just seem an unusual thing that would be very hard to cater for, mainly just in terms of environment.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

[Play nice. - Text removed by Adam]

Calla - hehe, im not really, but most of the captive bred possums are more monkey or koala like, and seem to like human interaction (bit like gliders).
Wish-ga, as a final note, understand that i am not just some bloke who wants a possum, ive actually been researching them for months (could technically say years) and have captive care experience with many difficult species, although mainly reptiles.
James

Just pointing out the facts, joe

I see this thread turning out well...

Come on now, play nice.

Joe Potato

I apologise for any offense caused. If I hurt your feelings I am sorry.

To put my opinions in a social context ... in Australia our laws are designed to limit the sale/breeding/keeping of our native animals. Our media is saturated with negatives of trading our native animals. My opinions are as a result of growing up in a country where we are taught that native mammals are not appropriate for pets (some birds/reptiles are kept).

So I am sorry if my response seems outta whack with the way things are done over there.


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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

If I remember rightly some possums are covered under the dwa licencing in the uk, youd need to prove to your local authority you have a double doored enclosure etc.Its a environmental release hazard.They also carry tuberculosis, and may need medical certification. Ive looked after some weird animals over the years , lots of stuff that you wouldnt think needed dwa's, like the kinkajou for example, but the council will still want you to have one anyway im betting. I,d be surprised if they are actually provided legally. Lots of exotics get past the net thanks to smuggling them in from ireland, but it doesnt mean theyre legal.

Theyd be a sucky pet though. If you give it the cover it wants youll probably never see it, balancing the diet with insects, flowers like hibiscus,and balancing the vegetarian part of the diet as oppose to stuffing it with dogfood and hoping that it doesnt get obese is ludicrously expensive seeing that it has a metabolic rate not far off that of a shrew,it might bite youregularly, get stressed at being handled, and basically their urine stinks and so does their spoor, they have anal glands from hell. They can also be quite loud when the mood takes them. Veterinary care will be expensive, no-one outside of zoo vets in the UK will have any experience, and even deworming such a beast could be hell. And on the compatabilty front, they sometimes fight to the death, and will not appreciate the presense of other mammalian pets.

Get a sugar glider or something. Much more fun and it wont bite you so much. It will still smell though. A bargain at £1000 each .lol

Perhaps not the best choice for a pet. I think reptiles are possibly much easier on the whole and the two keeping styles dont really have a lot in common.If the possum doesnt turn out handlable, its gonna nee some large accomodation. And remember , just because someone gets a possum to breed, doesnt make them an expert in this species humane care,so be careful about too many premises of easy keeping.

It's probably a good idea to give them a run at least the size of a room, with branches and nesting boxes, this is not an animal for comparison with the small vivaria used by most reptile keepers.

Check with DEFRA before you buy one, and your local authority too, some exotics are covered under secretary of state policy for zoo animals,and an unregulated animal if discovered living in a domicile may simply be taken away from you and put to sleep,and you might face prosecution so be sure and check the legality thoroughly. Many years ago we had to take charge of illegally bred tamarins a few years back and the breeder had no idea what she was doing had to be licensed, nothing surprises me anymore.Some local authorities are strict, just like with reptiles they sometimes demand to be notified of animal births and deaths and there are heavy fines for failing to do so.

Ive got nothing against people keeping exotics as long as they are well cared for and above board, so please do be careful and check up thoroughly. Dont forget , new animal welfare laws were just passed in the uk, and if they state that this animal needs large enclosures, that is absolutely what you have to give it, or face prosecution. Its not as easy as it used to be.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/defrasearch/search_results.jsp?template=&category=&query=Trichosurus+vulpecula&doctype=&date=&batchsize=20&database=Internet_Files%2B

Like i say LHG this may still be in planning, probably wont end up buying from hamm anyway, houten would be better,but thats not until next year so i have some thinking time anyway.
Have checked with DEFRA/FOCAS and the Brush Tailed Possum is not on the DWA (neither is the striped Opossum, which i ddnt know!).
ta.
J