In Reply to: Snickers still needs a home! posted by Jessi on July 15, 1999 at 20:53:30:

Okay here is the deal.
In Australia the gliders are called possums.. In the states the words Oppossums means any marsupial or pouched animal.. In Australia they dropped the O inopossum in order to put a definate distinction between the two groups of marsupials they are only distantly related , and VERY, VERY different. In the states Opossums are rodents, UNLIKE the possums of Australia.. Melinda, please don't get upset over her ignorance of the separation of the two, She didn't understand the difference, maybe, she was giving the glider a break , but wanting someone that she felt knew about them and has researched them. Can you imagine someone writing and asking for a breeder for "a rat looking thing"?? Some people still feel they are rodents due to their sounding of the word opossum.. Their teeth don't constantly grow, IN VERY RARE instances they do, but as a general rule they don't. Opossums have prehensable tails where as possums don't.. Many differences.. I hope this clears up the confusion..

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