Why can't we just domesticate possums? I'm a europoor so I've never seen one in person but watching videos of ones that were raised by humans, they seem so docile and eager to be domesticated, probably more fit for the role than any other "exotic pet" species.
>>5159288>Why can't we just domesticate possums?We probably could, there just isn't demand.They only live for two years. They can reach 4 in captivity, but having a lifespan that short compared to similarly sized animals does not make them very enticing pets.They're also seen as being kind of filthy due to their diet and rat-like tail, which leads to there being less demand for them as pets.
possums live around my house and i see them basically every night. they are so shy i doubt you could have one as a pet who wasn’t raised from infancy. they are basically raccoons with a hairless tail and no mask.
>>5159288They smell incredibly bad and aren't particularly intelligent.
>>5159337hol up
>>5159288I just found the opossum that lived around me dead under the bushes in the far corner of my backyard. It's been nearly 3 years since ai first spotted it, so it led a pretty long life I guess. Still, kind of sucks I'm not gonna be seeing it around anymore.
>>5159288I like possums because they wear fingerless gloves and respond poorly to stress.
>>5159386sounds like my ex
>>5159337right but thats me?
>>5159289You have a point about their size relative to their lifespan but we managed to domesticate rats and mice even though they have all the same issues (short lifespan and bad reputation). Rats are obviously very friendly but from what I hear of mice most of the domesticated ones seem more skittish and aloof than possums that were raised by us.
>>5159288Ugly animal
>>5159731false
Possums come to my bird feeder at night so I've been leaving out water for them too and some fruits because it's hot as fuck here in Texas. This is one of them I snapped a pic
>>5159761What does their tail feel like?
>>5159761My mom's place has this huge apple tree off the side of her porch and at night its nothing but fat possums and racoons fighting for the apples that fell and bullying my mom's cat.
>>5160819Smooth and leathery, very similar to that of rats
>>5161335
>>5159288One of he biggest issues with domesticating them is their entire evolutionary line changed very little since he dinosaurs and it picked for detrimental traits which let them reproduce and spread but left them with essentially defective hearts. Not just that but when they get obese their bodies store fat around their eyes which shortens their lifespan significantly, and because they have such a specialized diet normally it's EXTREMELY easy to overfeed them even doing rehabs and they require an extremely strict diet and exercise regimen as a result. They are, however, extremely trusting and if you feed them they basically become companions, they're strange.
>>5159288No marsupial is intelligent enough to be domesticated.I would believe a monitor lizard could be domesticated before a marsupial.
>>5159288I think you could theoretically, but they just have such depressingly short lifespans that really undermine any potential they have as a pet. If you could find a way to get them 8 years lifespan (6 is the absolute bare fucking minimum), it'd make them much more enticing.Also every opossum I've met smelled like death, and I'm not exaggerating they smell like a carcass, it's pretty unbearable.
>>5160819yeah leathery and kinda rough and stiff.Their fur is very soft
>>5159288Don't they only live like 3 years?
They have short lifespans. Are rather solitary. Nocturnal. Have pretty complex diet you need to keep them on, if you want to keep your possum healthy.
>>5161415I remember reading up a theory years ago about how they might have been quasi domesticated by natives befire colonization and that's why they act somewhat oddly. No clue if there's anything to that though.
>>5161335Fatass
>>5159337yeah, but we let niggers wear human clothes and vote.
I grow fruit and there's tons of bugs in my backyard so I see them pretty regularly if I go out at the right time of night.>>5159333trips>>5159288>>5159344>>5159400>>5159744>>5162244dubs>>5159761cute>>5160819cock>>5160821epic
>>5161415so you are telling me they are living fossils? qrd on the heart issues?
