Opossums are North America’s only marsupial – they carry their babies in a pouch on their belly, just like a kangaroo. They have 52 teeth, 13 nipples, an opposable thumb and a prehensile tail that is capable of grasping.
These slow, non-aggressive animals have poor eyesight and are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night. An adult opossum has an average life span of approximately two years. They are omnivores and eat both plants and animals. Their diet includes slugs, insects (including ticks), worms, fish, small rodents, eggs, wild berries, nuts and rotting fruit. About 75% of the diet of urban and suburban adult opossum is carrion (dead animals).
Female gives birth to the first litter of the season in late January through March, with a second litter in late June through August. The young are born about 13 days from conception in an embryonic form and crawl directly into the mother’s pouch. They find and attach to a nipple and do not come off the nipple for the next 2 to 3 months. By that time, their eyes are open, and they are fully furred. The young opossum will travel outside the pouch onto the mother’s back, clinging to her fur, going back into the pouch to nurse. They do this until they reach independence at about 5 months.
Because of how opossums are raised, it is not possible to reunite a pouch young or one that is not independent with its mother.
- Has been in a dog or cat’s mouth.
- Covered with parasites – fleas, ticks, ants or fly strike/eggs (looks like tine grains of rice.)
- Dehydrated.
- Drowsy and cold.
- Falls over when it tries to stand or move. Has a head tilt or is walking in circles.
- Has a broken limb, bleeding, abrasions or bruising.
- There are puncture wounds, patches of missing fur, pus or abscess present and/or foul smell.
- Gasping or gurgling when it breathes.
- Signs of frostbite on the feet, tail or ears (red, white bluish-white or grayish/black skin and hard or waxy skin.
Photo courtesy of MO Dept. of Conservation
Many people think opossum have rabies because they drool when scared. In fact it is extremely rare, or even impossible, for opossums to get rabies. An opossum’s body temperature is too low for rabies to survive and replicate well.
Photo courtesy of MO Dept. of Conservation
The nipples extend all the way into the baby’s belly and often must be surgically removed. If forcibly removed, the nipple could completely detach, and the baby may swallow it.
Photo courtesy of Susie Harris
The wrong foods can quickly cause diarrhea and death. It is more important to keep the opossum warm than to feed it.
If opossum has made itself at home in your house, check during the day to find where the opossum is gaining access. This will look like a gap between the soil and the wall or concrete, with perhaps a dirty smudged area around the entrance.
Opossums will vacate if they find the space irritating. Encourage their exit with bright lights, loud music or a talk radio station. Since babies travel with the mother, once she has moved out, it’s safe to assume the babies went with her (unless one has been left behind. A quick inspection will verify).
See our Co-exist with Wildlife page for more information on evicting the animals safely.
Opossums tend to be nomadic creatures. They spend time foraging within a territory of several square blocks. This is generally true unless there is a plentiful and close food source or a particularly safe and warm home that has little people/pet traffic.
Loud noises and bright lights will make the area intolerable for this animal, who seeks peace and safety during the daylight hours. One way to discover if the opossum has exited is to sprinkle a six-inch band of flour around the deck/shed/front porch during the day. When you check this after dark, you will see what appears to be little white handprints leading away from the area (and you can often detect the trace of the tail).
Once they have gone, place ammonia-soaked rags in a plastic bag with holes to release the pungent odor. You can also secure the entry with landscape timbers, cinder blocks or large rocks, or chicken wire/hardware cloth wire fencing. They can’t chew through wire fencing, dig under or pull away the cinder blocks or big rocks, and they certainly will not like the smell of ammonia.
If you can reach the opossum, put on leather gardening gloves or winter gloves and lift the opossum out by the tail. See below for How to Capture and Transport an Opossum.
If it cannot be reached, give the opossum something to climb on to get out. You can angle a board, tree branch, step ladder, or rope into the dumpster/window well.
If the animal has been stuck for longer than a day in extreme heat, it may have heat exhaustion or be starving and dehydrated. Lowering a small bucket, butter tub, or dish of water or Gatorade into the dumpster/window well will help it hydrate. Since opossums are primarily nocturnal, it won’t vacate until dark. Check the following day to see if it has been able to crawl out. If it has, close the lid of the dumpster so another animal does not become trapped.
For the window well, purchase and install a cover to ensure it doesn’t happen again. If, in 24 hours, the opossum is still there and appears weak, wobbly or thin, capture and call OWL.
See below for How to Capture and Transport an Opossum.
Many gardeners have learned to welcome opossum into their yard or garden. Farmers appreciate them since their diet includes slugs, potato bugs, June bugs, grubs, cabbage worms, squash worms, etc. They also will eat the fruit from apple, plum, crab apple and mulberry trees, to name a few, that falls to the ground and lies rotting in the yard. They clean up (eat) dead animals that show up from time to time in the yard and drowned worms after heavy rains. Gardeners often discover that opossum are not menacing, troublesome creatures, but rather are helpful amiable neighbors. They do not attack dogs or cats and they do not chase children.
Collecting baby opossums on a dead mother.
Do NOT attempt to take the babies off the mother’s nipple. The nipples extend all the way into the baby’s belly and often must be surgically removed. If forcibly removed, the nipple could completely detach, and the baby could swallow it. It may seem difficult or distasteful, but when bringing to the Nature Center’s rehab facility, it is critical to transport the babies (injured or not) still attached to the dead mother’s body. Lay her in the trunk on a towel or trash bag in a box with the lid on or box closed. We will remove the babies from her nipples and check for injuries.
Collecting a young opossum (off the nipple).
Wearing leather gardening or winter gloves, pick up the opossum, found off the mother’s nipple, securely by the tail – about midway on the tail. Place the opossum in a box with air holes and a secure lid or in a pet carrier. Place a small non-terrycloth towel, fleece cloth, or t-shirt in the bottom. Place a warming source (see below) in the box or carrier under the towel. Place the animal on or near it, but not directly in contact with the warming source.
Collecting an adult opossum.
Place a towel or small blanket in the bottom of a pet carrier or kennel. Wearing leather gardening or winter gloves, corner the opossum and throw a towel or small blanket over its body. With one hand, secure the opossum by the tail – about midway on the tail. To have control of the opossum, place your other hand under its body. Place the opossum in the pet carrier or kennel.
Keep them warm and quiet.
If you must bring a opossum into Lakeside Nature Center, it will be very stressed. The most important thing is to keep them warm and quiet. Keep the container away from people, pets and noise.
Warming sources.
Warming items might include a heated water bottle, heated rice bag or hand warmer. To create a heated rice bag, fill a sock with uncooked dry rice. Microwave the rice-filled sock for 30 to 60 seconds. The rice bag will stay warm for about 20 to 30 minutes. Or you can use a Ziploc bag with warm (not hot) water, put it inside another Ziploc bag. The double bag guards against leaks and prevents the animal from getting wet and chilled.
Do not give food or water to a baby or young opossum.
Because all wildlife have specialized milk and nursing specific to their species, it is not advised to give a baby opossum milk or food. Sometimes even offering water can cause unintended side effects such as aspiration.