Let me preface this by saying that this was an orphan. She was either intentionally left by her mother or fell off of the mother. There was no adult female found in the area.
I don't want to insult any one, but I may with this next statement. After raising and/or training a steer, lambs, horses, chickens, cats, dogs, and rabbits... I found out that possums are the dumbest of them all. Now this may not be true of all opossums, but the ones I have had contact with are very stupid.
They like to use a shallow water source as a bathroom, so litterbox training is out of the question. This one couldn't seem to figure out how to not get her tail and belly covered in feces (even though we arranged an area above the water for her to rest while doing her business). She wasn't very good at cleaning herself either. Possums are supposed to be fastidious, but this one was only concerned with her hands and head.
She occasionally tried to clean us. Within seconds I would have a large puddle of drool on or under whatever part of me she was trying to clean.
Possums are true ominoves. You have to be very careful to make sure that they get the correct amounts of everything or they will become very ill. This is one of the biggest reasons that it is discouraged for people to make a pet out of a possum. Not to mention that it is illegal in most cities to have wild animals without a wildlife rehabilitator license and proper facilities.
As for size, the last time I saw her, the body was over a foot long. I've heard that they are usually the size of a large housecat. My cats are 15 pounds each without fat, so my idea of a large cat is a bit different.
While I am glad that I had this experience, it is not something I would suggest others attempt. Caring for an orphaned opossum takes a lot of time and patience. I would adopt another baby to rehabilitate for release, but I would not have one as a pet.
Hopefully, that answers all of your questions.
~ Lisa
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!
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