22 Adorable Photos From The Twitter Page #PossumEveryHour That May Make You See These Creatures Differently
When people hear the word possum many words probably come to mind – scavengers, creepy, dirty – but adorable is usually not among them. Well, the Twitter page #PossumEveryHour might have unintentionally changed all that, by encouraging people to share cute photos of their pet marsupials with the internet, and it really shows the critters in a new light. Released every hour, the photos showcase the adorable animals, not as nocturnal trash burglars, but instead cuddled up in towels, wearing party hats, lounging in mini-beds, and perched on their owners – and it may make you question everything you ever thought about these beautiful animals.
The page was created by Twitter user @thunderysteak who said the viral page was an experiment that ‘got out of hand.’ “The PossumEveryHour page was simply an experiment to see what Microsoft Flow is capable of,” she told Bored Panda, “If I had known how popular it would get, I would build it completely different from how it’s built right now. To be honest, when I built it and let the bot loose, it only had 4 followers and I completely forgot about it for two months. I realized that it was still running, and I went to shut it down until I saw it already gained over 750 followers.” Turns out there are lots of pet possum lovers out there.
Possums aren’t the most loved animals, some see them as ugly, other’s hate them for their characteristics
Image credits: LtCabbitsu
Image credits: Alycianini
Image credits: cornerwallmi
Possums get a really bad rap, but why? Some people like to cite the fact that they are dirty and carry rabies, but this is actually extremely rare. All mammals can get rabies but because of these animals’ low body temperature, it is very difficult for the virus to survive. Another complaint is that these wild animals knock over trash and spread it about – the truth is it’s the opposite. Possums are very clean and are ‘opportunistic scavengers’ who clean up after others. They not only clean up your trash but eat unwanted visitors such as cockroaches, crickets, beetles, rats, mice, and snakes. They even clean up animal remains.
But despite the public hate on possums, these photos are changing people’s minds one pic at a time
Despite having rat-like features, possums are marsupials – “pouched mammals” like kangaroos or koalas. They are distinct in North America because they hold the title as the only North American marsupial. In total there are over 65 species of opossums, however, the Didelphis virginiana or the Virginia opossum is the only one native to North America.
Thundery Stake refers to the animal as ‘possum’ on her page which is an acceptable spelling in North America along, however, in the rest of the world ‘possums’ and ‘opossums’ are two different animals, “Mostly that people think there’s only one type of possums. If you ever look at the responses of where the account posted an Australian possum, people won’t even know what kind of animal it is or that it isn’t a possum,” she said. The Australian possum is still a marsupial but looks like a cross between a squirrel and a chinchilla and belongs to a different mammalian order.
The average lifespan of these cute animals is only 1 to 2 years because of predators. Despite having 50 sharp-looking teeth, these animals are not aggressive. We all know the famous phrase playing possum (playing dead), the response these animals have to a predator. Well, don’t give these little guys an Oscar just yet, this is an involuntary response, in which they fall into a comatose-like state and cannot control how long it lasts.
PossumsEveryHour was inspired by a different animal page @hourlyFox. As a website developer, the creator of the possum page wanted to copy the page’s functions. So why possums? Since I visit a discussion board where people discuss the terribleterribleterrible webcomic where the main character called Clem is a possum, I already had several pictures of possums on hand.
The creator said that while she is no expert on the animal she encourages the message her page has sent and has learned about them in the process. “Please be nice to possums and don’t harras them. If you see one yourself, you can take a picture from afar without flash but don’t corner them and poke them with a stick or something similar, please.”
As cute as these possum pics are – the account pinned an important PSA about how these creatures shouldn’t be kept as pets
Image credits: PossumEveryHour
Along with a detailed manifesto on why these creatures aren’t meant for domestication
In the possum briefing, acquired from the National Opossum Society, they explain that these pet animals are very high maintenance and require a very particular diet that, if not followed, can lead to metabolic bone disease, the breakdown of their internal organs, or obesity. Females are very prone to the urinary tract or genital tract infections. Unlike with dogs or cats, if your opossum gets sick it is very difficult to find a vet specialist who knows how to treat them. The NOS explains that even if you have the resources to say raise an orphan possum the ethical thing to do is to then release it back into the wild.
One of the members of the society even shared their heartbreaking story in the PSA to drive the point home. The contributor said they had rescued an orphan opossum, after the mom had been hit by a car, and thought she could help it using her wildlife experience. Instead, she goes on to say it was the most, “heartbreaking, stressful, confusing, and selfish mistakes I have made in my whole life.”
Lots of people in the comments were happy to see possums finally getting some public love
For fans of the page, the developer said she plans on continuing the possum party, ” I’d be crazy not to. If I stopped suddenly, I’d disappoint a lot of people.”
BoredPanda: Can you please edit the page so that it says "opposums" instead of "possums"? They are two different animals and all of the pictures here are of Opposums as the PSA correctly states. Maybe you can add a note that the Twitter page is a misnomer so your readers can learn this common mistake.
the person who made the twitter acc made the mistake too(i actually didn't know that, so thanks!)
Load More Replies...i don't know why people dislike them, i think they're adorable. they visit my yard for leftovers from the colony cats most nights and about ever 6 months there are little ones. i love it!
Hehe! Same here. And sometimes I put a chicken carcass outside for the resident opossums.
Load More Replies...I remember one time going out to the back yard and finding my very young cat running around with a baby possum. They would go back and forth chasing each other. When I called my kitty in the darn baby possum tried to happily follow her onto the house lol so cute but I had to say no
Opossums are one of the cutest thing in existence. And they all deserve happiness, freedom and abundance. Stay out of the way, opossums are doing their thing!
Wrapped up in the baby blue blanket, looking like he just arrived in heaven. I can't even stand the cuteness!
I suppose one good thing about opossums that's comes to mind after looking at these photos: they do not carry the rabies virus owing to their very slow metabolism. My own story: I saw a full grown opossum feeding out of a cat bowl bite the nose and front teeth off the cat when it attacked the possum to reclaim its food. This is not sone second hand story. I saw it happen. Some people have been profoundly angered to have heard me relate this. To be clear I only bring it up when o hear someone say opossums are harmless. Nope. And a virus or bacteria they carry can really sicken horses if the horses eat possum-urine soaked hay or straw. So please stop handling these critters unless you're trained and licensed as a rehabber or a vet or are a first responder.
They are not totally harmless. They will attack small dogs if they have a litter around. These little ones are probably fine, but the ones around here get so much bigger.
Yep, and have very nasty dispositions too. I remember more than once going out to my car, and coming upon an opossum trying to (unsuccessfully) get into the garbage cans. Red eyes glowing and a hiss to scare the life out of you. Bigger than you think, too. Their claws are sharp and, yes, you don't know which one may be carrying rabies. As with all the wild animals in my yard, and the field and woods behind my house, I keep a very respectful distance. I really love all animals and enjoy watching them, but feel it's only right to do so from afar.
Load More Replies...Opossums, when they're fairly clean and not screaming at you from inside a humane trap, are so goddamn cute, I love them.
Just nope. "Opossums carry diseases such as leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, and Chagas disease. They may also be infested with fleas, ticks, mites, and lice. Opossums are hosts for cat and dog fleas, especially in urban environments. This flea infestation on opossums is particularly concerning for transmission of flea-borne typhus, which is increasing in prevalence in Orange and Los Angeles Counties." UC-IPM
But they take care of there opossums and groom them as well as treatments ❤️
Load More Replies...Opossums carry equine EPM and are neither cute nor welcome around the barn.
Opossums stink. If one takes up residence in your garage or shed or under your house, it will stink so bad.
BoredPanda: Can you please edit the page so that it says "opposums" instead of "possums"? They are two different animals and all of the pictures here are of Opposums as the PSA correctly states. Maybe you can add a note that the Twitter page is a misnomer so your readers can learn this common mistake.
the person who made the twitter acc made the mistake too(i actually didn't know that, so thanks!)
Load More Replies...i don't know why people dislike them, i think they're adorable. they visit my yard for leftovers from the colony cats most nights and about ever 6 months there are little ones. i love it!
Hehe! Same here. And sometimes I put a chicken carcass outside for the resident opossums.
Load More Replies...I remember one time going out to the back yard and finding my very young cat running around with a baby possum. They would go back and forth chasing each other. When I called my kitty in the darn baby possum tried to happily follow her onto the house lol so cute but I had to say no
Opossums are one of the cutest thing in existence. And they all deserve happiness, freedom and abundance. Stay out of the way, opossums are doing their thing!
Wrapped up in the baby blue blanket, looking like he just arrived in heaven. I can't even stand the cuteness!
I suppose one good thing about opossums that's comes to mind after looking at these photos: they do not carry the rabies virus owing to their very slow metabolism. My own story: I saw a full grown opossum feeding out of a cat bowl bite the nose and front teeth off the cat when it attacked the possum to reclaim its food. This is not sone second hand story. I saw it happen. Some people have been profoundly angered to have heard me relate this. To be clear I only bring it up when o hear someone say opossums are harmless. Nope. And a virus or bacteria they carry can really sicken horses if the horses eat possum-urine soaked hay or straw. So please stop handling these critters unless you're trained and licensed as a rehabber or a vet or are a first responder.
They are not totally harmless. They will attack small dogs if they have a litter around. These little ones are probably fine, but the ones around here get so much bigger.
Yep, and have very nasty dispositions too. I remember more than once going out to my car, and coming upon an opossum trying to (unsuccessfully) get into the garbage cans. Red eyes glowing and a hiss to scare the life out of you. Bigger than you think, too. Their claws are sharp and, yes, you don't know which one may be carrying rabies. As with all the wild animals in my yard, and the field and woods behind my house, I keep a very respectful distance. I really love all animals and enjoy watching them, but feel it's only right to do so from afar.
Load More Replies...Opossums, when they're fairly clean and not screaming at you from inside a humane trap, are so goddamn cute, I love them.
Just nope. "Opossums carry diseases such as leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, coccidiosis, trichomoniasis, and Chagas disease. They may also be infested with fleas, ticks, mites, and lice. Opossums are hosts for cat and dog fleas, especially in urban environments. This flea infestation on opossums is particularly concerning for transmission of flea-borne typhus, which is increasing in prevalence in Orange and Los Angeles Counties." UC-IPM
But they take care of there opossums and groom them as well as treatments ❤️
Load More Replies...Opossums carry equine EPM and are neither cute nor welcome around the barn.
Opossums stink. If one takes up residence in your garage or shed or under your house, it will stink so bad.
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