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Thread: HELP! Orphaned opossum!!

  1. #1
    aaalleexxiiss Guest

    Exclamation HELP! Orphaned opossum!!

    Hi all, i’m not sure if I’m posting this in the right spot or even how to work this forum but I’m in some desperate need when it comes to an orphaned baby possum that I’ve had for the past four days. She was almost dead when I got her and is thriving much better. She is strong, active, and hydrated and poops and pees when stimulated. My only concern is feeding her. She will not accept Esbilac formula! She did at first but the absolute only thing she wants is banana baby food. We got her veggie kinds and I was hoping to mix the formula powder in for her to get her supplements such as calcium but she won’t take any but the banana. I know they need fruit in moderation so I’m not sure if this is OK. She scarfs the banana which tells me she’s hungry, so I feel horrible but I don’t want to give her too much fruit. I am also unsure on how I should be hydrating her, as she also stopped taking well to a syringe.

    I’m not sure of how old she is but her eyes are open and she weighs 45 grams. Please feel free to point me in the right direction if I need to post this somewhere else. Thanks for taking the time to read.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Default Re: HELP! Orphaned opossum!!

    Go to this link, post #3
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...hlight=opossum

    I know nothing about raising them, but I will pm a member whose raised them before.

  3. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Nancy in New York from:

    stepnstone (04-24-2019)

  4. #3
    aaalleexxiiss Guest

    Default Re: HELP! Orphaned opossum!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Nancy in New York View Post
    Go to this link, post #3
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...hlight=opossum

    I know nothing about raising them, but I will pm a member whose raised them before.
    Thank you so much. I would be extremely grateful to find some people who have done this and can help me. Based on the photo in the link I think she’s for sure 9 or 10 weeks but can not eliminate waste on her own yet.

  5. #4
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    Default Re: HELP! Orphaned opossum!!

    This little one needs to be given Esbilac via tube feeding or a 1 cc syringe now in order to prevent MBD in its bones within the next few months. If you cannot take care of it please let me know and I can look for a rehabber to take it for you.

  6. 3 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Rhapsody:

    Mel1959 (04-25-2019), Milo's Mom (04-25-2019), Nancy in New York (04-25-2019)

  7. #5
    aaalleexxiiss Guest

    Default Re: HELP! Orphaned opossum!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Rhapsody View Post
    This little one needs to be given Esbilac via tube feeding or a 1 cc syringe now in order to prevent MBD in its bones within the next few months. If you cannot take care of it please let me know and I can look for a rehabber to take it for you.
    I would feel great about how things are going if it wasn’t just for the fact that she’s not taking in a big enough amount of formula. I just found that if I mix Gerber baby oatmeal, esiblac formula powder, and flavor it with a little bit of banana baby food, she eats it. Which is more substance than she was taking. What do you think about this mixture? She still doesn’t eat how much I’ve been being told (about 2 mL every few hours). But she acts great with so much energy!

  8. #6
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    Default Re: HELP! Orphaned opossum!!

    Opossums need protein, must take the esbilac! I found that they will lick the formula off of my hands, so I put a little in the cup of my hands and let them lick on their time. That is how they feed off of mama, they lick her in the pouch. Good luck, love the possies!

  9. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
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    Default Re: HELP! Orphaned opossum!!

    Hello fellow squirrel rescuers!!We have rescued two newborn squirrels, one did not survive and one is now 3 years old and the smartest cutest loving squirrel ever created. A week ago this little tiny creature walked up to us in our alley when we were moving our trash cans out for garbage collection the next day. It was rainy and a cool 60 degrees (for Texas) I thought it was a mouse but it was a tiny Possum! I had never seen one close up. We looked around for a Mama or signs of other babies.... We live in a relatively new development with patio homes. We took her in to the house ( based on what squirrels look like anatomy wise I think she is a girl) We still had all the equipment for baby squirrels so we warmed her up and assessed her. She has hair and her eyes are open. She weighed 1.6 ounces and was slightly less than 4 inches long. We started pedialyte and then Fox valley milk for squirrels and Opossums.... We have been feeding her every 3 hours around the clock....after a week she now weighs 2.6 ounces and is 6 inches long!!! I have no idea what we are doing!! There are no rehabbers in this Texas town or anywhere close. Terrified on how to feed her here on out. There are lots of videos on youtube on how to feed them and it is very conflicting... I can't figure out how old she is based on what I have watched and read. The squirrel board was a life saver when we were novice squirrel rescuers.... I googled to see if there was a Possum board like the Squirrel board and I was directed to the squirrel board. What a surprise. So if anyone out there has any information to help it would be so very much appreciated. She wants to live!!!!

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