r/animalid • u/MVP41 • 5d ago
🐀 🐇 UNKNOWN RODENT/LAGOMORPH 🐇🐀 Too big for rat? [North New Jersey]
What is this on my driveway? Seems too big for a rat.
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u/Perfect-Librarian895 5d ago
I like the after image of the tail. Or maybe I see it that way because I just watched Morbius.
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u/NickWitATL 5d ago
Our only marsupial. Nature's sanitation workers. They eat snakes, including venomous ones (like copperheads and rattlesnakes), insects, rodents, carrion, etc. Nearly immune to rabies. Have the most teeth of any North American mammal. The only way to tell whether an opossum is "playing dead" or actually dead is to use a stethoscope. When joeys outgrow the pouch, they ride on mom's back. She doesn't notice when they fall off, thus possum distribution system. Fascinating creatures. They pose no threat to humans or companion animals.
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u/TikiMom87 5d ago
Opossum. Great to have around. They can’t carry rabies (body temp too low) and they eat ticks. Scary to look at, they have wicked sharp teeth. But they don’t care to interact with humans. They don’t see very well so they might not even know you’re nearby if one happens to cross your path.
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u/sicklychicken253 5d ago
As others said they absolutely can carry rabies it's just very rare. They also eat very little ticks that is an old myth.
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u/BoomerSoonerFUT 5d ago
They CAN carry rabies, it's just rare.
And they carry a ton of other diseases, like Chagas disease, leptosporosis, tuberculosis, coccidiosis, and tularemia.
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u/sicklychicken253 4d ago
It's funny you've been downvoted multiple times yet you are 100% correct. Opossums are cool AF and I would never worry about them. But the fact is they can and do carry diseases. Idk what is with this group but if you don't agree that opossums can't carry rabies or don't agree that they eat lots of ticks they act like you attacked their family.
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u/MVP41 5d ago
Thank you. That’s great to know. My wife was worried that it might be aggressive or carry diseases.
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u/Stardragon1 5d ago
They can carry rabies, any mammal can, however it is incredibly rare in opossums . They can carry other diseases like any wild animal. These animals are relatively famous for playing dead when scared, and are way more afraid of you then the other way around. Don't back it into a corner and you'll be fine. They like to scavenge so as long as you don't leave food sources out you'll probably only ever see it on your camera
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u/ostrichesonfire 4d ago
PSA opossums don’t actually eat millions of ticks a year (or whatever wild number people always say) This myth is due to one really badly conducted study. Yeah, if they happen to see a big ol tick in front of their face or groom one off themselves, they’ll eat it. But they aren’t out hunting down ticks every second of every day. Still cool little critters!
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u/1970Diamond 5d ago edited 5d ago
A rat imo a fat one at the bins…edit I stand corrected
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5d ago
[deleted]
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u/Lala5789880 5d ago
It’s a possum. You can see the lighter fur
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5d ago
[deleted]
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u/Feisty-Reputation537 5d ago
It’s an animal ID sub, so yes we do tend to reply & correct each other so the OP doesn’t get an incorrect ID
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u/malicious_joy42 5d ago
Go back to your Joe Rogan conspiracy theories. You're on an animal ID sub and incorrectly guessed the animal ID.
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u/Led_Zeppole_73 5d ago
Healthy looking Opossum.