Is this a rat or a possum, I need help from Australians - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2025, 01:24:04 pm
content: Sorry for asking for help here, I'm an immigrant, I used to live in an apartment, and recently moved to a townhouse with a lot of poop in the backyard, I need someone with experience to help me identify what is in the video.THANK YOU!

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2025, 01:32:00 pm
content: seems more a rat than a possum

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2025, 02:54:18 pm
content: Does it have a bad odor or are there large droppings?Possum (opossum) have anal glands that they can control like skunks. The smell is not quite as pungent as skunk, but definitely worse than rats. They also leave more and large deposits of poop.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2025, 04:18:28 pm
content: Oh, Austria, you say?! Then that must be a mini Kangaroo or somethin'!

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2025, 05:31:40 pm
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on May 22, 2025, 04:18:28 pmThis is a different country closer to you.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AustriaThe place the OP is living in, is Australia.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AustraliaBut I looked at the video and it looks more like a rat, but it is hard to tell with the black and white footage.Should be easy to identify based on the poop.https://thebugmaster.com/rodent-droppings/The internet is very useful for stuff like this.Search for "rat droppings images" or "opossum droppings images".

author: wilfred
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2025, 06:58:13 pm
content: Looks more rat than possum to me but it is hard to tell from that video. Are there rubbish bins nearby with droppings around them? More likely rats. Are there tips of plants, shrubs and trees, nibbled off and maybe bits laying on the ground? Not rats. Possum droppings of the common suburban ringtail or brushtail tend to have rounded ends in my observation. Possum droppings in my experience are dropped from above in trees and appear on paths beneath. I think rat droppings are not so out in the open. I don't see rats enough to have bothered paying attention to droppings. I know they're around but I don't tend to see them nearly as often. One year I saw a half a dozen rats eating lemons. They did a lot of damage that year but for me that wasn't I've seen before or since.The tail looks a bit on the too short side but that's not a reliable guide.But in a suburban setting if you've been there for any time you'll hear them screeching at night as they fight over territory.If possums are on or in the roof you'll hear them. They're not stealthy. Rats are much quieter.

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2025, 07:17:49 pm
content: It's good to learn something every day. Today, I learned that the Australian possum was not simply a misspelling of opossum. The "possum" spelling is seen in America too.QuotePlease disregard my comment.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 12:59:06 am
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on May 22, 2025, 07:17:49 pmPossums are cute as hell, but since they only really come out at night, they can scare the crap out of you if you don't know what they are. They sound like a creature that would come snatch you out of bed during the night.Skip forward to about 18 seconds.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 08:59:00 am
content: Thank you so much for your replies!When I first moved in, I asked a friend to come over and help me identify poop. He said there were two types of possums that were pooping in my backyard from the big tree next door.So I know there are possums here, I am just confused whether what I saw in the video was a rat or an possum. Yesterday I showed the video to that experienced friend and he also said it was hard to tell.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 09:11:40 am
content: If you're willing to share roughly where you live, that might help narrow the animal down. e.g.: East coast, North/South?There are all kinds of critters around here and some are very much dependant on the area. It would help rule out some species.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 09:40:47 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on May 23, 2025, 09:11:40 amI currently live in Malvern Victoria 3144, southeast of Melbourne.

author: gbaddeley
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 10:32:32 am
content: Malvern will have brush tail possum (known as ‘brushies’) and ring tail possum (much smaller than brushies). They are nocturnal and live in trees. They have bigger & greener poop compared to rats or mice. HTH

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 11:16:17 am
content: Quote from: gbaddeley on May 23, 2025, 10:32:32 amYes, brush tail possum and ring tail possum, exactly what my friend concluded after seeing the poop.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 11:50:21 am
content: Or, it could be just a small nice beaver:The Naked Gun - Nice BeaverABC CINEMA

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 02:32:15 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on May 23, 2025, 12:59:06 amLooks a bit like a critter we have in the Netherlands and here in France, but a possum is probably a bit bigger:https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/RelmuisIn English called a dormouse and "loir" in French

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 03:15:41 pm
content: Quoteand lunch in a few places

author: Xena E
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 04:37:27 pm
content: Quote from: coromonadalix on May 22, 2025, 01:32:00 pmIs not a rat... is a hamster!

author: ozcar
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 07:02:40 pm
content: Quote from: themadhippy on May 23, 2025, 03:15:41 pmA creature called Glis Glis comes to mind, a less formal name for which is "edible dormouse".Like Gorilla Gorilla, Glis Glis - so good they named it twice. Somewhat infamously, Glis Glis is common around Tring in the UK, where some escaped from a zoo. I guess we can be thankful that Tring was not named twice, as that would be b***** ridiculous.To me the subject of this thread looks more like Rattus Rattus.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2025, 07:19:08 pm
content: If you catch one, in the daylight they look like this:

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 01:26:31 am
content: Quote from: pcprogrammer on May 23, 2025, 02:32:15 pmThe common brushtail possum is about the size of a cat when adult.

author: Messtechniker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 09:10:37 am
content: How about installing a night vision WLAN camera?They no longer cost an arm and a leg.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 09:49:34 am
content: Quote from: Messtechniker on May 24, 2025, 09:10:37 amI installed one, that's where the video I posted in the first post came from.

author: gbaddeley
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 12:32:45 pm
content: There are comprehensive Wikipedia pages for common brush tail possum and common ringtail possum if anyone needs a bit more info. I live not far from Malvern, near a park. On any night I could go out ‘spot lighting’ and see these 2 animals. Ring tails are very timid, however brush tails will walk about near humans and can be hand fed if you can gain their trust. At least they are not one of Australia’s ‘deadly’ animals, like various spiders around here….