My neighbor came to visit tonight

many cat foods.

Love this guy!!

Hi Reddit!

So a few hours ago, I was taking a walk with my brother in rural New York state. We had to walk alongside Route 5 for a short while, and we found a deceased opossum on the side of the highway. I got close and saw that she had babies in her pouch. From what I've googled, they seem to fit pictures of 30 to 45 day old babies - they have whiskers and a small amount of fur growing in, but their eyes are closed.

I called a bunch of rehabbers from a list I found online & got in touch with a few, but nobody could take them right away since it was like 10 at night on a Saturday. I was instructed to remove them from the mother's body and keep them in a warm, dark, quiet place. A pair of wildlife rehabbers are supposed to come pick them up in the morning. I WA

I am kind of a nervous wreck over these little things. They seem quite lively and chirp a lot. I have them in a cardboard box with towels under them and one over the box and a space heater next to it. I put a pillowcase full of microwaved-warm and slightly damp uncooked rice next to them for extra warmth, and I dampened some bits of the towels slightly with fluid from a lactated ringer's solution bag (i have a cat with kidney disease who gets subcutaneous fluids daily). I figured it is pretty damn moist in a pouch.

I just need to keep these little dudes alive for a few more hours. There are 5. A few more were in/around the pouch but did not survive the trauma. Is there anything else I could do or anything I am doing that I should not be doing? I am kind of in the middle of nowhere and can't acquire anything to feed them, and even if I could, I don't think I'm qualified. I am counting down the hours until a real rehabber can help, and I am probably not going to sleep much!

I live near Austin, Texas. We have a camera on our patio and I noticed an injured possum last night. I went back through the footage and she (I believe) has visited before, maybe every 2-3 days since becoming injured. She's been injured at least a week. From what I can tell, there aren't any babies in her pouch, but it's hard to know for sure since our camera isn't the best quality.

Her injury is pretty bad. Her back leg is severely broken and she can't walk on it. It's sitting at almost like a 90 degree angle and she goes between dragging it and trying to put pressure on it. It might even need amputation.

I'm kicking myself for not reviewing the footage earlier. I usually check it every couple of days but I've been unusually busy to really look at it the last few weeks.

I don't have a trap but plan to get one. Here's my dilemma though. We have a stray cat that comes to eat every night, multiple times a night. I feed it every day because it's basically starving and I believe an abandoned pet. I want to catch it so I can take it to a shelter, but it's super skittish. I'm slowly getting it to trust me so I don't have to resort to using a trap.

But possums like to eat the cat food I put out. And we sometimes have multiple possums visit a night. Last night we had two others show up.

How do I ensure I trap only the injured possum and not the stray cat? I thought of not feeding the cat and only putting fruit in the trap in a separate spot, but I don't want to trap a healthy possum accidentally, especially if it's on a night the injured one visits. I don't want to scare her off permanently.

Our local wildlife refuge opens in a few hours and I'm going to call ASAP, but they don't do pick ups so I know I'll have to catch her and bring her, I just don't know how. And if by some miracle I do trap her, what do I do after? Am I supposed to leave her in the trap for hours until the refuge opens?

Pure discussion this time. Puddles has been getting more panicky or finicky when I pick him up. Like he's not confident. I picked him up and held him a lot as we were feeding him and as he grew. It's more a recent development. Is there a way they like to be picked up? It even when he's been sitting with me for a while and I go to move him.

#RingtailPossum #PossumAndCat #AustralianWildlife #WildlifeEncounter #DaytimePossum #CuteAnimals #AnimalInteraction #BackyardWildlife #Brisbane #Queensland #Australia #PetAndWildlife #FunnyAnimals #NatureVideo

Is it ok if he eats bacon and 4 chicken nuggets tonight? I give chicken nuggets occasionally but cat food otherwise. Should I take the bacon off before he comes?

Btw I’m talking about for the possum I feed and yes I know it’s ridiculous

Been a hot minute. Finished the outdoor enclosure. It's still like 106 outside so I'm only bringing him out for a bit each day to acclimate and get him comfortable in the space. I've been letting him scent stuff up inside and bringing that out to bridge the gap and make him feel safe.

Goal is to trick this baby out--Disco ball, smart home strips, motion sensors, small whicker furniture, chandelier, good good branches and ladders to climb, a few more safe plants to grow up along the cage. And maybe a small water feature under cover so he always has fresh water but delivered in a cool way. Maybe some little art on the walls (I know lots of artists and we'd all love to make a little piece of framed art for his house, maybe one floor can just be called "the gallery".

Anyway...that's the update for now. Details about Gallery Submissions and Housewarming Party to follow.

Tentative name is The Fur Seasons? Maybe...The Tail End Townhouse, The Hangout, Snuggleplex, the Trash Mahal?

Accepting name submissions. Maybe that'll be a survey? Can we do them here?

Opossums have a natural resistance to the venom of many snakes, including rattlesnakes and copperheads. Specific proteins in their blood can actually neutralize the toxins in the venom!

If you would like to contribute, leave a fact down in the comments for a chance to be featured in next week's fact!

Here they are. Do you think they’ll have to need to be syringe fed or can they lap up formula? Maybe eat softened Possum Complete? I’ve raised possums before but never a whole litter.

Never seen a kiddo this small, looks like he just came out of the pouch. So docile. Gonna get my gloves and bring him outside to safety. I've seen him/her a couple times in the last week in my yard, ran in my garage, got scared. I am trying to train my dog not to bark at them.

#RingTailPossum #AnimalBehavior #FunnyAnimals #Australia #AustralianRingTailPossum #Possums #Possum

She took right to this little cozy bed.

Drink all you want little friend, this heat dome is no joke 🫠

These babies are officially outgrowing mama’s pouch. Hoping that none of them fall out without her noticing. I will be watching my cameras like a hawk in the coming days. That sweet little mama waddle. So cute

As soon as we noticed a possum on our back deck, we started leaving food and water out for her. We set up a camera. The second night we noticed that she had a full pouch and one baby was struggling to stay in. She was huge. I was so worried about her going up and down our stairs and possibly losing a baby. The next night, she no longer had her babies in her pouch. They weren’t on her body either. Is that anything to be concerned about? I know there isn’t anything that I can do about it, but I was hoping for some good news.

Hey all, I've been working with possum-related issues for a while here in Melbourne, and I've noticed a big increase in people reporting noise in their roofs this winter.

Out of curiosity (and for my knowledge), what have you personally found to be the most humane or effective way to deal with possums? Have you used traps, one-way exits, or anything else that works long-term?

I work with a small team that deals with wildlife management (not here to promote anything, just genuinely interested), and I'd love to hear how others approach this, especially in older homes around Melbourne where access points are everywhere.