Possum in the Scope

[pjphilli (Peter)]

Hi
During a short period of inattention a possum decided to make its home in my RC 200mm scope - see attached photo. I had to remove the front reflecting mirror and spider assembly to get it out. I use a stout glove as
it tried to bite and scratch me and as it blew itself up into a big furry ball
it was like extracting a big wine cork. Luckily the mirror was undamaged.
My wife said "I hope you didn't you hurt it". Moral - keep a close guard on your open type scopes in possum territory.
Cheers Peter

[DavidU (Dave)]

Oh no LOL That's rotten luck, I'm glad all is ok.
Next is to clean that mirror (now with possum fur as well).

[RB (Andrew)]

That's unreal !!!
Glad it had a happy ending.

No doubt someone will come up with a new scope accessory on ebay ,"possum protectors for scopes."

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Oh Noes!!!

[RobF (Rob)]

What a classic
Lucky for him you didn't engage in any solar viewing lately

[GeoffW1 (Geoff)]

Love it. Maybe he was helping.

To clean mirror....first remove dust with a soft brushtail....

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

Omigawd!
If it happens again - Banana(s)
Possums will follow you to hell and back for a Banana.
And no scratches.

[DavidU (Dave)]

A great idea but who can afford a banana these days LOL

Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous

Omigawd!
If it happens again - Banana(s)
Possums will follow you to hell and back for a Banana.
And no scratches.

[gregbradley]

That's amazing.

Greg.

[g__day (Matthew)]

Would have been nice if you sent it to a telescope store and said - I just can't seem to get it to focus...

What an amazing event! Glad your OTA wasn't damaged.

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

At least the body heat stopped the dew forming

[Chillie (Henry)]

Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous

Omigawd!
If it happens again - Banana(s)
Possums will follow you to hell and back for a Banana.
And no scratches.

Can you confirm that Peter?

I have up to 3 possums living in the walls of my house.

[SkyViking (Rolf)]

That's hilarious! Good to hear your scope is OK.
I see possums around our house now and then, but I didn't think they would go for delicate astro equipment, lol.
I'm glad I built a truss tube now, hopefully it won't be so tempting as a hiding place.

[Barrykgerdes]

According to the Clampets (Beverly Hills Hillbillys) Possums make great soup. If you can let the possums know this I am sure they will take up residence elsewhere.

Barry

[Liz]

.... that is amazing Peter, and am glad no damage was done!!

[pjphilli (Peter)]

Thanks everyone for your commiserations - those who live in possum territory all have their favorite possum stories. Now I have got mine!

Henry - My neighbor had possums in his roof. As possums are nocturnal
and need to go out at night to forage, my neighbor first found the possum
entry hole (confirmed by seeing fur around the entry hole) then he waited
until it was dark for a couple of hours when the possums should have left
for their foraging and then he closed up the hole before the possums returned. It fixed his problem.
Cheers Peter

[leon]

Now I have seen it all, I have had the occasional spider/bug, but a possum, amazing, good to see nothing was damaged, but you have to admit it is quite funny really

Leon

[Gem (Grant)]

Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous

Omigawd!
If it happens again - Banana(s)
Possums will follow you to hell and back for a Banana.
And no scratches.

Not sure which is the more expensive... the scope or bananas!

I am quite nervous now! I have had lots of possums around my scope recently!!!

[el_draco (Rom)]

Originally Posted by Barrykgerdes

According to the Clampets (Beverly Hills Hillbillys) Possums make great soup. .

Barry

Alas, from experience I can tell you they taste like crap... but apart from that they are magnificent animals... though some might disagree.

This is definitiely one for the books though

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Hopefully only 3! We thought we had a couple, ended up trapping 7 of the blighters in our roof.

Malcolm

Originally Posted by Chillie

Can you confirm that Peter?

I have up to 3 possums living in the walls of my house.