My pet opossum Monster snoozing in my lap

PSA: Wildlife rehabber here, just a reminder that:

1: Opossums do not carry rabies, their body temps are too low and the chances of them actually getting rabies is extremely rare. (Same applies with distemper and various other viral diseases)

2: Opossums are immune to pit viper venom. Bites from rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads do nothing to them. What’s better? They love eating snakes.

3: They are one of the biggest benefactors against ticks. They eat lots of ticks…rats, mice, bugs, snakes (as mentioned above). See where I’m going with this? Pest control!

4: “Playing Opossum” is involuntary. They basically faint from stress and their body stimulates death to dissuade predators! They would much prefer to run away and not engage in fights. As such, it is extremely rare for them to attack pets or humans, only doing so if cornered.

5: They are North America’s only marsupial. They are nature’s clean up crew and pest control. They are naturally clean animals.

So please, be kind to opossums! They’re beneficial!!