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  #1  
Old 10/28/08, 06:53 AM
 
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What color are possoms?

I feel like this is a stupid question because I am not a newbie to possoms. In another house there was a broken window they would go through to a rarely used part of the house. I always saw gray when I looked at them, even when they would come running to get the cat food. (long story that had a happy ending)

Anyway - I found a dead possom in the garage. Yuk... It had crawled under something so all I saw at first was its head. Couldn't figure out what it was untill I got its body out to see its tail. That bare possom tail. It's color is black and white, spotted. All hazy, with enough of the opposite color hair mixed through each color to make it look muted. Huge thing. But not gray. So do they come in different colors or is this a spot?

Hmmm..... Guess I better go on possom alert, all the cats were sleeping next to the back door last nite and it got really cold. Maybe there is one that is not dead in the garage where the cats are supposed to sleep. No, I do not leave food out at night, I leaned my lesson at the other house.
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  #2  
Old 10/28/08, 06:59 AM
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I believe I've seen them both ways. Perhaps the darker is their winter coat?
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  #3  
Old 10/28/08, 07:04 AM
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I found this link and it shows different colors.
http://www.opossumsocietyus.org/opossum_photo_page.htm
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  #4  
Old 10/28/08, 07:21 AM
 
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WIHH - the ones in town were more that color. But I did see one in the pics in the link that looked somewhat like this one. Guess I am in a different color range for them here. This is the first one I have acually seen here, although I have know they are around.
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  #5  
Old 10/28/08, 07:26 AM
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I've only ever seen gray ones. Some are lighter gray and some are darker gray, and they tend to have a lighter colored face than the rest of their body.
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  #6  
Old 10/28/08, 08:08 AM
 
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I saw one in my yard yesterday. It's face was pure white and its coat was a medium gray with a stripped tail somewhat the color of a raccoons but not as bushy.
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  #7  
Old 10/28/08, 09:16 AM
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Smile

I have one in a cage right now- a grey one-- He will be brown & surrounded with taters & carrots in about a week.
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  #8  
Old 10/28/08, 10:43 AM
 
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Waylon & Willie - AWESOME NAMES!

Anyway, our compost visitor is gray.
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  #9  
Old 10/28/08, 01:03 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by THETOOLMAN View Post
I have one in a cage right now- a grey one-- He will be brown & surrounded with taters & carrots in about a week.
urgh
Possum stew?
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  #10  
Old 10/28/08, 02:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by THETOOLMAN View Post
I have one in a cage right now- a grey one-- He will be brown & surrounded with taters & carrots in about a week.
you remind me of my grandparents! They never passed up a possum or a coon.
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  #11  
Old 10/28/08, 05:49 PM
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It may have been a big rat!


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

Last edited by blufford; 10/28/08 at 05:58 PM.
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  #12  
Old 10/28/08, 07:11 PM
 
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Originally Posted by blufford View Post
Okay, could have done without the maggoty carcasses.
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  #13  
Old 10/28/08, 08:23 PM
 
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[QUOTE=blufford;3397845]It may have been a big rat!

If you meant the one I found, it either was a possum or the biggest rat ever. It was larger than a big cat. Now, if this was a college town, maybe an exotic pet got loose. Would see that kind of thing now and then at the other town.
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  #14  
Old 10/29/08, 12:15 AM
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WIHH..I LOVE that photo! The pet possum we had when I worked at the U.S. Forest Service was named Brandy. She LOVED to have her tummy rubbed.
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  #15  
Old 10/29/08, 04:34 AM
 
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I've seen them in a few different shades. Caught one in a trap several years ago that was extremly dark.

The don't come in fluorescent orange but some little hooligan who shall remain nameless once caught one in the neighborhood, spray painted it fluorescent orange and turned it loose. It was the talk of town for a while.
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  #16  
Old 10/29/08, 06:40 AM
 
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Opossums around here have a thick pure white undercoat Some will have a mollted wkite/grey coat but for the most part white around here. Always catch several on the trapline, most usually just dispatch them and throw them out. I personaly like possum fur, it is soft very thick and warm. The leather is very tough and can be used for a great number of things. Not much use to the fur sell/trader bring bout $1 each for the biggest of the possums.

Keep your powder dry
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  #17  
Old 10/29/08, 02:39 PM
 
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It's hard to tell since it is always quite dark when they throw themselves under my car. Suicidal critters!
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  #18  
Old 10/29/08, 07:49 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan Doling View Post
It's hard to tell since it is always quite dark when they throw themselves under my car. Suicidal critters!
LOL. the first thought I had when seeing the title was.....red, round, and inch thick and the size of a garbage can lid, PT. As in Post Tire.
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  #19  
Old 10/29/08, 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by tiogacounty View Post
LOL. the first thought I had when seeing the title was.....red, round, and inch thick and the size of a garbage can lid, PT. As in Post Tire.
LOL, Me and a friend carried some coons to sell to a fur buyer and he said a couple of them were" radial coons". I was hoping they were worth more. Nope,friend said that was two he picked up on the road.
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