Last night I let my bunny PJ's out for his nightly exercise on our deck. I let him out and he is free to meander around our deck and the furniture grill, etc. I typically will let him out for a couple of hours. Often he will be back in his cage when I go back out and occasionally he is reluctant to go back in but lately he has been easy.

Last night he was a little reluctant to go back in but did so after a little hesitation.

Now the deck is lighted only partially from lights attached to the house so it is not like daylight out there.

After he jumped into the cage I was walking over there to close the door and ...Yipes!!!!.....there in the cage with him is an oppossum! He is sitting there nose to nose with that ugly gray thing and they are just looking at each other with their noses either touching or very close!

I speak sternly to the oppossum and tell it to get out but he just looked at me stupidly. So I go and get the broom. I managed to coax PJ out and took the broom and swept the oppossum out. I was a bit fearful because 'possums have a lot of teeth and I could not be sure it was not rabid, but it eventually got out onto the deck and I knocked it off into the woods.

This was all a little voilent and frightening to PJ's who was under the grill and thumping the deck with excited fear by the time I got the stupid
possom off and out.

A minute of coaxing got him back into his cage and I said good night to him and went to bed.

Think I need to worry about him contracting any illnesses from the possum?

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I've noticed that some possum are just dopey. Others are alert and active. I've had them walk right up to me in the dark while I've been working out at the shop.

This is a little disconcerting because you just don't expect a wild animal to move toward a human normally with good intention. The last thing I need is to accidentally step on it's tail in the dark and have it tear up my ankle!

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Tom,
You are a good man!
I have no idea about possible harm to PJ

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I grew up around a lot of opossums and we still have them around here (I have two bunnies too, Tom, but they're "insiders"). I wouldn't worry about it - if the little bugger bit your bunny, I'd be concerned, but that's not the case. Next time, listen to your bunny's body language! He's smarter than you!

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

I think rabies are over-rated. So I would not worry there. If anything I would be worried about fleas. Many wild animals are covered with em. I would inspect PJ for a while to make sure he did not catch em.

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1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car

Yeah the bunny should be alright - he might have got the odd flea - but I guess you treat him for that right?

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Unless PJ was bitten I can't think of any cause for concern.

I somehow ended up with two inside lop-ears whom I lovingly call Hass and Pfeffer (to my wife's and daughter's chagrin, thanks Fulcrum! ). They're buddies with my wife's toy poodle, one is larger than it and the other is a little smaller.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

We had a possum that lived with our cats on our porch for over three years when we lived in Texas. I mean it actually hung out with them. It was a fairly young one hanging out at the house when we bought it and it stayed and grew up around the cats. I think the cats just thought it was one of them with a fairly odd nose. The boys called him "Senor Popo".

Oh man you actually did that!

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

Normally, I would not have thought it was a big deal. However, recently our relatively young cat died from a blood infection most likely caused by a bite from an infected flea. Shortly before her death, a dirty feral cat was hanging around the block and it seems likely that our cat got in a fight with it and most likely picked up the flea from that cat since she'd never had fleas before. So, if it were me, I'd put a flea collar on the bunny just to be safe. I have no idea whether rabbits are subject to the same kind of blood parasite infections that cats are.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Just make sure that the bunny can handle the flea collar...

Absolutely! Cats and dogs are different enough to require totally different topical anti-parasite treatment. That may be true for rabbits. Any small animal vet should be able to advise you on this.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Fleas! good thought.

PJ is pretty mellow!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

In the UK I used to use an anti-flea product called front line for a cat - it was a fluid that you applied to the skin on the back of the head / neck. Yet again ask a vet as I don't know if this sort of thing is appropriate for a rabbit - at least an animal with this sort of solution can't string itself up on a collar.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Yeah, I am not sure he would tolerate a collar. It might drive him crazy.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.