Baby Opossum....what to do?

[Mel1959]

My neighbor found a baby opossum under an outside shelf unit next to his house. He was in the corner up against the house. There was a little debris, dead grass, etc. in the corner where he was found.

He looks to be in good shape so must not have been away from mom for long. I have a couple of questions.

1) will mom come back at night and retrieve him? If so, do I place him in a low box and watch for her?

2) what type formula do they eat, aside from Fox Valley opossum formula? On hand I have FV 20/50, Fox valley raccoon formula and Royal Canin baby dog.

Advise greatly appreciated. Edit: 98gr.weight

[stepnstone]

2019 > https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?63770-How-old-is-this-possie-and-what-to-do&highlight=opossum

Post #3 was yours. Breathe, you got this.:grin2
Rhapsody or even Farm Mom would be good resources to reach out to...
(https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/member.php?2240-Rhapsody)

[Mel1959]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. :hug Reached out to Farm mom and Chickenlegs and got some helpful advice. This is a whole new learning curve from raccoons and squirrels. :dono:dono

I will continue to try to get her to take formula.

[stepnstone]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. :hug Reached out to Farm mom and Chickenlegs and got some helpful advice.
This is a whole new learning curve from raccoons and squirrels. :dono:dono I will continue to try to get her to take formula.
I bet it is!
Well, at least at this stage she's cute... :grin3
And at least old enough you don't have to tube feed her.
That would scare the begeezies out of me! http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/nervous/very-nervous.gif

[JPlagg]

What a sweetheart!!! Possum moms will not retrieve there young. We've had it twice now the first time we had 3 babies the second time was about 8 or 9!!! The first batch we took to Lowell Farm and Wildlife Center. The next batch almost a year ago we took to Soulshine Wildlife Center in Sparta. I immediately liked the gal at Soulshine much better. She has a real passion for wildlife. Not saying the other gal doesn't but with this gal it really shows.

[Mel1959]

I got her to take almost 6 cc’s of diluted formula and about 2 cc’s of rehydration fluid. I had to watch a video a rehabber shared with me showing how aggressively you have to put the nipple end of the syringe in their mouth! Who knew?!

Yes, she’s definitely cute....even when she opens her mouth when I reach in to pick her up..trying to be all scary and intimidating. :rotfl

According to the WMB book she’s about 12 weeks old and should be weaning, but I’m not gonna let that happen yet. If she needed tube feeding she’d be with someone else right now! I’ve never done it and certainly don’t want to try without some hands on help for the first time. :eek:shakehead

[stepnstone]

I got her to take almost 6 cc’s of diluted formula and about 2 cc’s of rehydration fluid. I had to watch a video a rehabber shared with me showing how aggressively you have to put the nipple end of the syringe in their mouth! Who knew?!

Yes, she’s definitely cute....even when she opens her mouth when I reach in to pick her up..trying to be all scary and intimidating. :rotfl

According to the WMB book she’s about 12 weeks old and should be weaning, but I’m not gonna let that happen yet. If she needed tube feeding she’d be with someone else right now! I’ve never done it and certainly don’t want to try without some hands on help for the first time. :eek:shakehead

I hear you!
My hands would probably be shaking so much I'd stick her in the ear... :rolf

[Buddy]

Soo cute!! :blowkiss

[Mel1959]

We have named this sweet baby Polly. She’s eating well and is up to 111 gr.....so she’s gained 13gr in two days. :dance She likes to cuddle and be carried around in the bonding pouch although she spends most of her time sleeping in a pouch in her bin. She isn’t real active yet and seems to feel safest inside her pouch. I assume as she gets older and more comfortable with me being her new mom she’ll venture out more.

Here’s today’s picture. :Love_Icon