A calcium/phosphate supplement powder should be sprinkled into food to prevent calcium deficiencies common to opossum babies in rehab.
If the babies are larger than seven or eight inches, they should not require any care and will be able to take care of themselves. An immediate flea bath is not recommended because it can cause an already compromised opossum to go into shock and die.CAUTION: Orphan care can not be learned over the Internet. OSUS has a list of veterinarians willing to assist or advise wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians.You can contact your local veterinarian, animal control or your state’s department of wildlife for a referral to a rehabilitator near you. We needed help.We ran back to the house, and I scanned the phone book for wildlife rescue listings.
Virginia Opossums, on the other hand, are naturally omnivorous. This may last from 40 minutes to 4 hours. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.Interesting and helpful article. In place of commercial food, you can successfully feed your pet using cat, ferret or even hedgehog food. I have to keep telling my self it's survival of the fittest and even my own medicine is hard to take some days.Hi, Sarra.
You drew me in to read how you saved the little possums while teaching us lessons in animal compassion and tube feeding. Baby possums have very specialised needs and need a specifically developed milk formula to give them the best chance of survival. Powdered ESBILAC is diluted as 1 part powder with 2 parts water. These tiny pink orphans were only about 3-4 inches long, hairless and blind. They will be left to wander around, destined to die unless they find shelter and care.
Most of the animals roam freely from their pens, and the zoo is extremely clean and well-kept. Later that afternoon, a volunteer from Keeper of the Wild stopped by to pick them up. It is funny, because around here, the possum does not have such a great reputation - ugly, trash-digging pest to some! Feed with a dropper or syringe. For a 4 week old baby the tube is modified to a 1cc syringe. KEEP YOUNG OPOSSUMS WARM. Various sources have advised to feed what is known as the Modified Jurgelski Diet (90% kitten chow and 10% raw beef liver) to juvenile opossums. The dead mother's body was to be cremated, so it was good to know that they didn't just toss it in the dumpster.I called a volunteer with Keeper of the Wild a week later to check on the status and to find out what they do with abandoned baby possums. Seek immediate assistance. My daughter, who is vet tech, told me to relocate him to a safe place and that he sounded old enough to take care of himself. To have some idea of what is possible, as far as helping nature's creatures, is very valuable.I recently came across a baby possum while walking my dogs. When it is warm and you feel it's time to eat, feed it a little Gatorade first, this will replace the electrolytes (essential body salts) that were lost. If a mother possum loses her life, baby possums are likely to survive because they are protected by her pouch. After about 24 hours, he'll realize that's all there is and will start to drink.Remember, these are only guidelines and each baby has a mind of its own; so a lot of what we try to do is by trial and error until the baby tells us it's right.Esbilac recommends usage for: dogs, squirrels, chipmunks, opossum, rabbit, ferret, groundhogs. This animal milk formula is easily available in local stores. If you have a baby that is just starting to get hair and the tube doesn’t go down, switch to the smaller size; 2.8. There can be up to 13 babies in a female’s pouch. The newborn possum requires a specific diet and the volunteers are able to meet the need using ingredients such as yogurt.The volunteer at Keeper of the Wild was nice enough to keep us updated on the progress of the six rescued baby possums.
The petting zoo is nothing like you see at the fair or carnival.
Don't possums carry rabies? It really is a delightful place!
I honestly had no idea what to do.
Long-term use will result in dietary deficiencies. Always look around to try to find the baby’s mother. When the opossum is about to recover, the ears move very slightly.Rehabilitation is possible, please do your part to help.If you see an obviously dead female opossum and detect movement in the pouch area, have the body and infants transported to the nearest wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian.Please speak with your veterinarian about medical issues. Peacocks were preening on the wall; chickens were curious and wandering; baby ducks were splashing in the pool, and the two possums were asleep in a hollow log.The kind zookeeper brought out one of the possums for us to see and pet. Most often, mother possums will try to feed on another road-kill opossum, risking becoming a road-kill herself. We arrived at the hospital and noticed the third possum had climbed out of the pouch. I had two choices on how to retrieve the babies. Warm it up in a box lined with towels placed on top of a heating pad.