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Words For Wildlife
by State licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, James Orr
OPOSSUM ORPHAN UPDATE
Believe it or not all 15 rescued possums are doing very well. You might recall from earlier articles that four are from a roadside rescue several months ago and 11 are from a similar rescue about one month ago. They are all orphans having lost their mothers to road accidents. They weighed less than 2 ounces each when they arrived here.
While teaching my new assistant Cyndi how to feed formula to possums I explained that they rarely bite even though all of them open their mouth, hiss, and show all their teeth when approached. With fifty teeth each, that's 700 teeth flashing at you when reaching into the cages. I demonstrated their spoofing by actually sticking my finger in one of the piranha like open mouths with no ill effects. Cyndi accepted this as proof I knew what I was talking about and proceeded to start introducing herself to the little patients.
Suddenly she jumped backwards and with a squeal, “That little sucker bit me!” Somewhat surprised I looked over to see her cautiously peaking back in to the cage. “Did it actually bite or just try to scare you ?” I asked. Before she could answer a tiny 2” long possum leaped out of the cage and latched on to her. I had never seen one jump at such a young age and after I stopped laughing we named him Cujo.
Out of the eleven little guys and four larger Foster possums Cujo was the only one with an attack attitude. He was small enough he did not really cause an injury but it does hurt when he nips. It is actually quite funny to see such a tiny little baby trying to look fierce as he growls and hisses with his tiny squeaky voice. As he has become familiar with our routine his demeanor has improved considerably but he still tries to act ferocious.
Cyndi had a more pleasant experience with the tiniest “runt” of the littler. He refused to go back in his cage after taking his formula. He would pitch a tantrum making raspberry sounds and throwing himself against he bars when he was placed in the cage after his feeding. He would hang on tight to her hand and would not let go. If she did manage to get him off he would immediately jump back on. Possums have tiny fingers and little claws so they are like velcro if they decide to stick to you. In the wild their life depends on their grip as they spend many weeks of their life clinging to their mother as she teaches them to find food. It turns out all the little guy wanted was to be held. As long as he was on her shoulder he was perfectly happy. He just wanted a Mom. We place a stuffed animal in bay possum cages to give them a furry by to nestle against but he wanted warm flesh.
She would always feed him first and let him snuggle on her shoulder while she fed the others. He would usually be sleeping by time she finished.
All of the possums are now eating solid food so the feeding chores are a little easier. They need a very diverse diet so we give them a smorgasbord with fruit, egg, meat, vegetables, grains, insects and fish. We vary it day to day to make sure they get use to eating a wide variety of food. In the wild they can’t be too picky or they may not survive.
DONATIONS NEEDED If you would like to help any donation amount it is greatly appreciated. Donations should be made out to Witter Wildlife Refuge and can be sent to P.O. Box 1118, Huntsville AR 72740.
See web page under "HOW YOU CAN HELP" for specific ways you can help us help wildlife
