Opossum Very Weak

[peyton_hatchett]

The two opossums have been doing wonderfully up until yesterday, I went to check on them in their box and one of them was just laying there. I picked up him, and he didn't move much, just opened his eyes. A few minutes later, he started moving around more and was acting semi-normal. I gave them some fresh water, mixed some fresh food, and thought maybe that would help. Today all he's been doing is laying around and he's extremely weak.. If I don't figure out what's wrong, I'm afraid he's going to die. :( I know it's not a calcium problem because I've been putting liquid calcium into their water. They're still on the goat's milk formula since we were never able to contact Fox Valley, and they've been steadily gaining weight. Does anyone know what could be wrong? What should I do?

[ALittleNutty]

I really have no experience with them but are there any changes in breathing, stool, discharge from nose or eyes?

[peyton_hatchett]

I really have no experience with them but are there any changes in breathing, stool, discharge from nose or eyes?

They've not been using the potty as much as usual, so I've been letting them walk in water every three hours to help them go a little easier, but other than that, everything else is normal. Besides the weakness and it laying around all the time.

[ALittleNutty]

Might be constipation. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come in soon. They will also want to know the age and weight of these babies.

[peyton_hatchett]

Might be constipation. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come in soon. They will also want to know the age and weight of these babies.

That's what I thought at first, but since I've been letting them go in the water, I'm not sure if that would be the problem.. & ah, I forgot to add their age & weight. :\ They're approx. 10-12 weeks old and they're 2.3 ounces.

[Shewhosweptforest]

I pm'd someone who should be able to help:Love_Icon Good luck:Love_Icon:grouphug

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

What is their diet like? It can be a calcium issue depending on diet and putting supplement in the water is not the best way to give it to them because you don't know how much each is drinking, how much is spilling, etc.

Opossums are very prone to develop metabolic bone disease. I'm fighting it right now in 4 that I got when they were only 9-13 grams. They were on fox valley mixed with homemade formula and were getting a fairly balanced diet, although not the greatest and they developed MBD. I wasn't aware of the Peter's diet at the time, but when I took them in to a wildlife center, they showed it to me and I've asked some other rehabbers about it and they all use it.

Do you have pictures or video of your opossums? How long have you had them? What regular foods have they been getting and how much?

[ALittleNutty]

That's what I thought at first, but since I've been letting them go in the water, I'm not sure if that would be the problem.. & ah, I forgot to add their age & weight. :\ They're approx. 10-12 weeks old and they're 2.3 ounces.

2.3 Ounces or pounds? My 5-6 week squirrels weigh more than that.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Definitely ounces. Opossums are marsupials. They are born the size of a bumble bee and don't open their eyes until they are a little over 2 months old. They only weigh about 20-30 grams at that point.

[Rhapsody]

Goats Milk is not good for possums to be on long term..... you really need to order some Fox Valley and transition them over to it ASAP!!
http://www.henryspets.com/fox-valley-day-one-formula-32-40/
In the mean times you can try feeding them some stage one baby food: chicken, green beans, peas, butternut squash, apple berry fruit.

When they weigh around 200 grams you can start them on Peters Food - 1/3 cup per each possum x3 a day.

For Opossums 200 grams & bigger

PETERS FOOD: (basic recipe)
1 cup dry Cat Chow
1 cup blended Mix Vegetables
4 TBSP Vanilla Yogurt

*add --1 Apple Berry (baby food jar) when recipe doubled

........ feed morning & night - 1/3 cup per each
........ add a little water if thick, before feeding
........ feed with assorted vegetables and mim. fruit
........ feed extra protein 1x wk (chicken, boiled egg or salmon)

*cooked chicken bones or neck can be given for calcium

[crazy4squirrels]

If the eyes just opened it should not have a water dish, you should be feeding it a fox valley mix formula. Foxvalley and calcium, nutrical and other ingredients. Opossums develop problems fast from the wrong diet

[Chickenlegs]

Please check out this website http://www.opossum.org/mbd.html. A lot of our possum issues are nutritional and while it sounds like your guy has a good diet, if his calcium is primarily from a supplement or other foods are out of balance, I'd suspect MBD. I'm so sorry I didn't see this earlier. I've been out all week.

[peyton_hatchett]

Both of them are doing fine now! (: I've been letting them have "water time" for them to use the potty every two hours and its helped a lot. Pretty sure they were just feeling bad from being constipated. I'm going to order FV tomorrow from the henryspets website- I thought I could only get FV from the FV website /: thank you so much for the replies! Hopefully we'll get these tummy problems fixed really soon.

[farrelli]

Yes, you can get it from both places, and at least one more. If you need nipples, the following place has a revolutionary one which has everyone all atwitter. It's the "miracle nipple".

http://www.squirrelsandmore.com/

Just compare prices and shipping for the sites and you'll be good.

[kastillo]

How little were they when you got them? Did you put them on antibiotics and antifungal meds at first? I've always put mine on an amoxicillin antibiotic and nystatin for the first two weeks, whether they were nursing on a dead mother or not. From what I've read, they can develop problems later on because their immune system is so compromised because they are born underdeveloped and get all their immunities from their mother's milk, they get infections and sickness easily without the prophylactic antibiotics. Just going on what I've studied. I hope all that it was, was constipation.
I agree with all the other advice here too, about improving diet.

[ALittleNutty]

Definitely ounces. Opossums are marsupials. They are born the size of a bumble bee and don't open their eyes until they are a little over 2 months old. They only weigh about 20-30 grams at that point.
:thankyou I have never dealt with them before so I had no clue. I think I will study up on them just in case I ever get a call but at least I know where I can get help. :)

Glad to hear they are feeling better. :thumbsup

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

That is great that they are all feeling better, but I wouldn't dismiss this as just constipation. Diet is crucial to these little tykes so it'd be good to know how long you've had them and what regular food you've been feeding so we can figure out if they'll need a calcium supplement for a little while or not. A picture or video would be very helpful as well to get an approximate age (I don't really age opossums, just look at them and tell what stage they are since it's hard to tell when they open their eyes and they all grow at different rates after that).

[peyton_hatchett]

That is great that they are all feeling better, but I wouldn't dismiss this as just constipation. Diet is crucial to these little tykes so it'd be good to know how long you've had them and what regular food you've been feeding so we can figure out if they'll need a calcium supplement for a little while or not. A picture or video would be very helpful as well to get an approximate age (I don't really age opossums, just look at them and tell what stage they are since it's hard to tell when they open their eyes and they all grow at different rates after that).

I've had them for three weeks and four days now. They were first eating baby food, but I was told to put them on the Goat's Milk formula until I was able to get FV. Since we had problems getting in touch with Fox Valley they've been on the Goat's Milk, occasionally some baby food- sweet potato, chicken and peas, and banana-, they get small pieces of fresh fruit and veggies daily, and they also get a 1/3 teaspoon of liquid calcium daily. I'll add a video on here in about a hour or so.

Also, I ordered FV from henryspets this morning and it should be here in two-three days- YAY! :grin2

[Shewhosweptforest]

If it's nutritional they can go back and forth....bad one day ...good the next...then all of the sudden they crash :shakehead I speak from experience :shakehead soo be very careful ..I was giving a calcium supplement also :dono from what I've learned :bowdown Squirrelsrule&bunniestoo & Chickenlegs ...it not so much what they're eating but the ratios of that food. Good luck:Love_Icon

[peyton_hatchett]

Here's a video of them (sorry it's not very good quality & its so short, my phone only records 15secs. if you want me to take another, i can);

http://tinypic.com/r/14t7ig2/5

Also, he's a couple of recent pictures of them;
http://i40.tinypic.com/33nugye.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/16kxoav.jpg

[Rhapsody]

The look fairly healthy and full of energy to me to in the video you provided.
We you said they were weak and not responding was it during the day? --as
possums will sleep and be lazy during the day hours and be more active during
the night hours........ they go crazy when we sleep.

[peyton_hatchett]

The look fairly healthy and full of energy to me to in the video you provided.
We you said they were weak and not responding was it during the day? --as
possums will sleep and be lazy during the day hours and be more active during
the night hours........ they go crazy when we sleep.

It was in the late afternoon. They're still acting fine now, but I'm still letting them walk around in water to get them to defecate. They're having a hard time going, so I'm hoping transitioning them over to FV will help.

I think they're about 10-11 weeks old, but I'm not quite sure.. Can anyone tell their age? I'd like to know.. :)

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

They look good, but they are young so they could have the beginnings of MBD. Here is Peter's formula which is complete nutrition for opossums:

3.5 parts veggies
3.5 parts cat food (you can soak it if they aren't crunching the hard food yet. I'm using Purina cat chow)
2 Parts Fruit
1 Part Yogurt
Small amount of protein (egg or cheese) can make up to 2% of the diet

You can blend some or all of it in a blender. What I do is give them half of the fruit and half of the soaked cat food in one dish and then I blend up the rest and put it into another dish. My guys refuse to eat greens and they had moderate to severe MBD so I blended all the veggies and they'll eat blended veggies and yogurt so I did that plus the other half of the cat food and fruit.

It's important to choose healthy vegetables. Look at the calcium to phosphorus chart. You want things with high calcium and lower phosphorus. I've been using mostly kale and spinach for my guys, but you do wanna be careful not to overdo it on the vitamin A. Opossum society warns against too much vitamin A, but I'm not sure why so not 100% sure that's an issue with opossums. Greens are high in vitamin A as is sweet potato. Greens have an excellent calcium to phosphorus so I'd recommend giving them for at least part of the diet despite the high vitamin A. Sweet potatoes on the other hand have not such a good calcium to phosphorus ratio, so I would only give a very small amount if any of sweet potato.

[Rhapsody]

I think they're about 10-11 weeks old, but I'm not quite sure.. Can anyone tell their age? I'd like to know.. :)I would place them to be around 10 weeks old.

[peyton_hatchett]

Are there any types of vegetables that aren't safe for opossums to eat?

[Rhapsody]

Are there any types of vegetables that aren't safe for opossums to eat?I wouldnt give lima beans or onions...... these two foods tend to produce a lot of gas in animals.
Stick with high calcium vegetables..... broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens, --and blue berries, apples.
All my babies love sweet potatoes and boiled chicken bones with a little chicken left on the bone.