Virginia Opossum. Photo © Susie Harris

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

Photo courtesy of Susie Harris

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.

Opossums in Need.
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