Oppossum with possible internal injuries?

[SquirrellyMom]

The oppossums that I got last Thursday have started to act funny. I had 2 I called the twin runts and one passed last night. I have been up every hour since I got them because they looked pathetic. I am feeding them the fox valley as I always have and doing everything right. They are getting teeth and I am giving them foods they can't choke on and a shallow bowl of water, and formula/cat food mush. They are eating close to 7% of their weight if not more most times at 3 hour intervals on top of that. Is it possible that rough handling of the babies before I got them could have caused an issue? The guy told me there were 9 but he only had 5 to give me as the others died. He will not tell me the technique he used to kill the mother and I assumed that he has them only over night but it has been hinted by friends of his son that he had them for a couple of days. They are looking healthier and healthier every day. Does anyone who is familiar with oppossums know of anything I can do to make sure that this does not happen again? My vet gave me antibiotics for them when they first came in and told me to give them throughout the day to equal a full dose. He has seen alot of my wild fur babies through the years and he has never given me bad instructions before and yesterday morning he gave them all a check and said they looked really good. Is there anything that can cause a sudden death? I am a little freaked out and scared as I have never lost any of my fur babies and he appeared to be doing so good. I am worried maybe I gave them something wrong to eat but I have never given anything not on the list of good foods.:confused: :shakehead

[djarenspace9]

I'm so sorry for your loss. :grouphug
It's always hard when you try and still have them slip away.

Bear in mind it may not have been "sudden", sometimes these little
wild things are struggling and going downhill and we don't even know it.
Especially stoic possums who don't show affect as much as other critters.

They may have had internal injury,
and if they ingest the dead mothers milk that contributes to a slow decline too.

More details would help...photos, age, symptoms.
With possies I keep a close eye on matters of feeding and digestion.

Monitoring weight (sudden loss or gain is a sign of concern), loose bowels, bloat...
Depending on their age, self-feeding may be a problem if they over or under consume.

[SquirrellyMom]

They are about 10 weeks and have perfect eliminations. When I feed next they are going to be weighed. They were only 28 grams when I got them and they are close to 40 grams as of about noon. They have steadily increased by about 1.5 grams a day.

[SquirrellyMom]

There were no symptoms before hand. I watched them closely and until the runt died there was always improvement and spunk.

[Chickenlegs]

So you've had them a week and they were with the guy's son maybe as much as 4 days more? Did the guy trap and kill the mother? Kill her with a car? Poison her? Were the babies removed immediately? Were they checked before they were fed? Hydrated? How were they fed? What were they initially fed by guy's son? Possums are amazing complex critters and often won't show distress. Sissy is good with possums. wonder what she'd say.

[djarenspace9]

Yes, possums are tricky little critters and it doesn't help
that the limited info available on rehabbing them is conflicting in many
ways.

You can't be responsible for what happened to them before they
came into your care. If you are confident in your skills then it's
probably something beyond your control.
You can either have a vet examine them (if you can find one
willing that has any experience)
or keep doing what you are doing and hope for the best.

The only factor in your care that I can't speak of is the formula.
I have enjoyed switching to FV recently for squirrels,
but decided not to for my opossums. Esbilac has always worked
for them and if it ain't broke I don't fix it. :D

Also you referred to them as the runts so I imagine they may
have been at a disadvantage from the start.

I have occassionally had litters where they even start the same size but grow
at hugely disproportionate rates, to the point I have to separate
them for fear the bigger ones will harm the little ones.
They eventually grow to release size but some have taken extra months to do so.
It's like their growth is stunted, and some won't even eat the solid
food until they pass that stage and start to grow again.
It's baffling sometimes.

Definitely weigh them daily until you feel they are "out of the woods".
That way you will notice if there is a stop in growth or a loss of weight.

[SquirrellyMom]

I have limited info about them before they were brought to me. The kids that have told me things about the dad say he poisons. Also he had them for a few days but one of them still had a chunk of mothers nipple in his mouth. The kids told me that he had been bottle feeding them. At the time I thought he was smart enough not to give them a nurser bottle and to use a syringe but now I think not. When I got them my vet saw them as he does any time I get an orphan wild or domestic and hydrated them via sub Q. He also gave me antibiotics for them to give them until they were weaned as a precaution. I gave them rehydration solution as they were dehydrated when I received them then over 24 hours I switched them to FV. I have switched back to esbilac as I had always used it with no problems in the past. I am wondering if maybe FV is for squirrels and just not the best for oppossums. The others are still increasing steadily and have gotten very active. I have had to change cages as they were trying to escape constantly. They were checked again by my vet yesterday and he says that they are looking good gaining well and maturing very nicely. They are getting more fur by the day and more spunky. I am confident I am doing everything right as I have raised oppossums atleast one litter a season for 3 years without any loss or health issues.

[djarenspace9]

I'm going to email you some info I use for basic care reference.
It mentions how common Septicemia is in infant opossums.
I think since you got them on antibiotics intially you did all you could have.
Just wanted to share this with you in case there is any other
useful information there for you.

Glad to have met another possie lover :thumbsup
we are few and far between!