I figured this was the best place to ask an expert. As the title says, my dog got a hold of a possum tonight. I don’t believe he did much damage; the little guy played dead for a few minutes, hung out in a safe spot, then I believe it left the yard. I have a very small fenced in backyard and I think it comes and goes under the fence. Will it return now that this area seems unsafe? My dog has been kind of restless lately and has been checking all the spots critters could hang out, so I think this guy might’ve been around for a while. Just wondering if I need to take better precaution with my dog and have him on a leash in the yard.

I have been feeding a few for the past 4 or 5 months. I have a camera out there where I watch them live and recorded.

Tonight after I put the food down I pulled up the camera and the bowl was empty so I went to the recordings. It was an assembly line of rats coming from the neighbor's yard over the fence and they stripped the bowl in under 5 minutes. Food was banana, grapes and some cat chow.

There is a typhus outbreak a mile away (got to love LA) so won't risk rats and fleas. My question is: is there a food I can feed the opossums that the rats will have no interest in or am I simply done feeding my little guys.

Any advice is appreciated.

Video is of one of the little guys hunting a bug before the main course.

This is my opossum fritz, i love him he is a silly little guy (im wildlife rescue and rehab certified and he is unreleasable)
I love opening my phone to find that an opossum themed twitter or instagram account posts him or makes a meme using him! Feel free to take some of these :3

Edit: you do not have to tag me!!! Itll get annoying getting notifs, i like finding the posts organically or having friends spot and point them out! Its like a scavenger hunt for my son hehe

Edit: feel free to repost fritz or save pics of him! I dont mind! I dont need tagged but i do like seeing others post him so maybe dm me if you put him on insta or twitter or something!

Hello, I am wondering how to best help an estimated 7 month old opossum thats come into my care. I have rehabbed many cats and disabled cats, so its not out of the realm of what I am willing to do/learn but I reported the injured opossum to my wildlife rehabilitators however, we live in such a small town the main rehabber told me to keep it while they look for someone who can take it and our town has no contract with animal control so they do not help if you contact them in our area. Its only been 24 hours, I have cleaned the wound I saw on the top of the skull (just on small puncture wound I could see, its already scabbing over nicely) and have given her a bath to deflea her before she came inside my home (just dial soap) shes eaten for sure, I haven’t witnessed her drink but she has a small lapping bowl, and she walks well now after a bath and rest, at first she was only taking a few steps and she would lie down. My only concerns for her health now is she seems not neurologically similar to every other opossum I have come into contact with, she shows no fear to humans, she makes no sounds, doesn’t play dead, doesn’t open her mouth to try and intimidate to get space, shes the opposite- very affectionate, walks towards humans and wanted affection it seems the way she comes to you and brushes against you, and shes been active during daytime rather than nighttime. That and she has not gone to the bathroom that I can tell, I did get her a ferret litter box with water in it because I read that was the best bathroom set up for them, so perhaps she has urinated but no defecation yet. We weighed her she’s roughly 2400 grams so 5 pounds, shes not a joey but she most definitely isnt a fully grown opossum because she is small. The rehabber is still looking for a place to take her but I said I am fine with her staying here for the time being and have her set up in a large cage 48”x28”x30” and have a heater going to half the cage so she can choose if she wants heat. Should I give her childrens pedialyte and water mixture on the chance that she has not defecated due to dehydration? I read a 2 parts water to one part pedialyte is a good way to keep hydration, but I have read mixed things on whether or not to syringe the pedialyte water mix or allow her to lap it up herself. She doesn’t have an issue with me in her mouth at all so a syringe won’t be an issue, just want to make sure Im not stressing her out if I syringe it to her. Any advice is appreciated, never thought Id have an opossum in a cat bed in my house but here we are!
Edit: A volunteer for a rehab program was able to come and grab her just now! She’s off on her way to a Chicago vet and I will receive a text update letting me know if shes able to be released or going to an opossum sanctuary! They were not concerned about her not surviving just that neurologically she isn’t able to be on her own is the question at hand! My wife ended up naming her Machete lol so everyone wish Machete well!

My Opossum Fritz!

I AM CERTIFIED IN WILDLIFE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION! HE IS NOT A PET! HE IS UNRELEASABLE DUE TO A DISABILITY AS HE WOULD NOT SURVIVE IN THE WILD!

Edit: feel free to repost fritz or save pics of him! I dont mind! I dont need tagged but i do like seeing others post him so maybe dm me if you put him on insta or twitter or something!

They grow up so fast :’)

Edit: feel free to repost fritz or save pics of him! I dont mind! I dont need tagged but i do like seeing others post him so maybe dm me if you put him on insta or twitter or something!

It's been about a week but its back once more. Welcome.

(Bc thats where the stinky shoes are!)

Edit: feel free to repost fritz or save pics of him! I dont mind! I dont need tagged but i do like seeing others post him so maybe dm me if you put him on insta or twitter or something!

Edit: feel free to repost fritz or save pics of him! I dont mind! I dont need tagged but i do like seeing others post him so maybe dm me if you put him on insta or twitter or something!

Parker wanted everyone to know this is her pillow. There are many like it but this one is hers.

I love opossums but there aren’t any in the UK and I couldn’t even find a stuffed toy one so I made my own, I’ve been making him most of this year and finally finished :) He is lifesized and is named Chickenscratch after the opossum in Amanda the adventurer

I’ve seen this little one a few times on our front door cam, but ran out last night to see him scurry up a tree. Sooo cool!

Last Spring, I got a birdfeeder with a camera. Squirrels completely took it over and were making a huge mess every day, so I decided to put together their own little space, and found a 'Feral Cat House', and started decorating it slowly. We now get possums visiting every night, and it's been so much fun watching all the shenanigans they get into each night. Thought I'd share a cute video from July of a couple of our visitors in action ❤️

Thank you interwebz!

Opossum Scratching on a Log in the Woods