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  • From: sjc <indexer AT fairpoint.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Playing Possum
  • Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:35:32 -0500

EarthNSky wrote:
I know I know...they eat all kinds of stuff, including eggs and chickens.
After I wrote that about rabies a few minutes ago, I looked up rabies
and possums...

Their body temperature is too low to support rabies, fortunately for us, and our domestic critters.

Tried to make a pet out of 3 little ones whose mother got 'combined' (so that tells you how long ago that was!!). No clue how old they were, but about 3" body length. They lived on goat's milk and assorted scraps, and were uniformly and unrelentingly primitive in their interactions, both with each other, and in interactions with dogs, cat, etc, including the person who brought food to them and talked to them in a soft, quiet tones. For her efforts, she got several good puncture wounds, one of which still can be seen. Eventually one got my brother, at which point they were summarily fed to the hogs. I'd say they were nearly full-grown at that time.

It seems to me they are on automatic pilot at all times; they really don't seem to think at all, near as we could see. Never did we see any action between them that wasn't jostling for food, or outright fighting over it. No observable attempt was made to form a particular sleeping area or to sleep in a group. Food was everything; other than that, all other action we could see was reactive.

Bev's comment about their immune systems is right on, not much bothers them, partly the low body temp, partly other reasons. The do seem to be host to all sorts of parasites, though, both internal and external, and they carry/support some diseases to which they are not subject themselves, so they are the one and only critter we used to routinely kill. We don't have them here, I'm happy to say. I'll take porkies any day....

SJ




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