Little baby possom--need help.UPDATE

[Moniece Dickerson]

This little baby possom I just caught fits in a cuped hand.Have not tried picking it up by hand yet but it's that small.I know NOTHING about them.Does this little baby need to be bottle fed?What would I get to bottle fed it?It's curled up in it's clear plastic container taking a nap right now.I know it doesn't seem to get around fast yet.I have NO clue how young it might be but it was all alone on the side of our dirt road.Pictures when photobucket comes back up.Surely it would not bite me being this young would it?Your friend,Moniecehttp://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j165/6240/MVC-033F.jpg

[pnalley]

For safety's sake I would wear thick leather gloves.

If has has teeth, I would think he could eat cat food. It's probebly not nutritionally balanced, but the wild possums around here love it.

Are you sure he's sleeping & not playing possum?

[Blameitonbrio]

Moniece, I would call a wildlife rehabilitator in your area. Just call a local vet and ask for names. I have done this with squirrels and rabbits. Wildlife rehabilitators are a great resource.

I'll bet he is cute. Did you see Ice Age 2 which just came out? There were two possums in it named Crash and Eddy. They were hilarious.

[pasoman]

They are a host... horses eating their feces can get EPM


Opossums


This disease may be preventable by some simple measures. Anything that may attract opossums into barns should be tightly covered, or put away, especially at night. This includes cat food, garbage and grain. Opossums are particularly fond of cat and dog food. Feed should not be left out at night for the morning, or even during the day to attract birds. The opossum population should be kept under control on farms and stables, where possible. Mesh wire or chain link fencing with "hot wire" around the outside may keep opossums out, since they can climb, but they do not dig. The processes of steam-crimping and pelleting grain kills off the sporocysts, so using processed grains can also decrease the exposure to EPM.

[Moniece Dickerson]

A better one.http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j165/6240/MVC-034F.jpg

[Dianne]

It looks old enough to me to be eating solid food.....but if it doesnt then a kitten bottle from the pet store with maybe cats milk in it? I fed that to some baby squirrells we raised and they did great.

[motorgypsy]

I'll check with the website where I got help with the four babies I found. They were really tiny. You have to be sure they get plenty of water. That one is sooo cute. They are very benficial and amazing animals. EPM may be carried by skunks also. No we don't leave catfood out at night because it attracts all sorts of interseting wildlife like coons, possums, stray cats etc. but possums are extremely common and if EPM were that contagious all horses would have it. He does look old enough to eat catfood but if he doesn't drink you need to get some water down him/her.

http://www.possumrescue.com/

http://www.possumnetwork.com/

http://www.opossum.org/

http://kaweahoaks.com/html/opossum.htm

[appyday]

yep get him to a rehab...give him water...canned cat food and dry cat food..

[CarolU]

We fed baby Magpies a mixture of canned dog food and water. Water it down enough to fit in an eye dropper and then squirt it in. Once they taste it, they figure it out pretty quickly.

[SQUEAKS]

Moniece

You can do what you want to but if you want dead horses keep that overgrown rat. They carry diseases that can kill horses. Take it to a wiildlife rehabber or shoot it but don't let it anywhere near your barn and horses.

We dispose of all possums on the property and a black family comes and picks them up. I try to catch them live and they bring a cage to put them in. They asked us to keep them and call them when we get one in the livetrap. Perhaps there is a family near you that would like to have it. Just a suggestion.

Bob

[Moniece Dickerson]

Well... it's a boy and he loves attention.He is licking milk replacer I got from a neighbor down the road.It seems he should still be in the pouch so he now has his own oven mitt wich stays right with me LOL.He eats very little and has eaten three times and I made him urinate once.He is mostlikely going to have a home with the people that have the little zoo in town.They have nursed many other animals so i'm hoping they will be happy to take this little guy in.Gotta get him through the night though.Thank goodness Randy had to go on a run tonight though.Before he left he said Honey you are not Ellie May and I am not Jed just turn the thing loose.He would not make it if I just turned him loose,he's a baby baby.Once I started to handle him I could REALLY tell.I'll be glad for him to get a new home but i'm glad I saved him too :D ,he's so loving and sweet.Your friend,Moniece

[Jasfino]

He is so cute Moniece. I would take it to a wildlife rehab person to give it a good chance at a new life.

I am like you and have a soft heart when it comes to little critters. Once I stopped and rescued a whole possum family from the middle of the road. I think there were at least nine babies and the mother was in the road ditch. I think she was playing possum because I saw her walk there and then fall down. I didnt want to approach her because I was afraid she might bite me.. and didnt want to steal her babies in case she was just playing possum, so I got out and took each one and put them in the field next to the road. It was late at nite on a rural road without much traffic so I guess that was the best I could do for them.

I had another that lived near my house that would come up every nite and eat the cat food that was left. I named him Jarvis. He was a cute little guy. ;-)

[DebbieS]

I'll bet he is cute. Did you see Ice Age 2 which just came out? There were two possums in it named Crash and Eddy. They were hilarious.

I thought they stole the show! The sling shot scene was hilarious!

We must not have them here, I've never seen one....

Moniece, I can't blame you for wanting to save him. He's adorable! My daughter and I have saved so many baby bunnies from our Golden Retriever's mouth. Not sure how he does it, but he basically just slobbers them up, and they're never hurt.

Maybe you can go visit him at his new home.

[Abejita]

I second what Bob said about disease.Yes they have their place as they eat anything..other dead animals for one ..but ones I trap in the live trap here (trying to get groundhogs) -they die and feed the vultures.

[Tracey]

I am sure you must have them up there is SD Debbie, we have tons of the here in IA! Big overgrown, gross rats. I did raise a few while volunteering at the hs years ago. Kitten milk replacer, they are not very nice and will hiss at you when you start to feed them, and that gross tail wrapping on your hands, yuck.
My dogs also do the bunny thing, I can always tell cause their mouth is not quite closed, I tell them to leave it and they spit them out, unharmed. I have to watch them this time of year to see where they are and what they are doing, there is a bunch under one of the apple trees that have gone for a few rides and seem none the worse for it, I am sure as adults they will have a huge fear of dogs!

[CarolU]

You need a water source for possums, we have them here by the lake bogs and marshes, but not anywhere else.

I can't say anything to Moniece one way or the other about keeping him. I grew up in a family that rescued everything, nusance or not, and made pets of them. Perhaps when he gets large enough you can test him to see if carries EPM. If he doesn't, he poses no risk to your horses. If you keep him in a cage away from them, they should be fine. I know many people with rats for pets and have even had Kangaroo rats as pets myself.

I have a dog that chomps birds, but delivers me live grasshoppers (thanks KD) unharmed. The first time I opened her mouth and the #$%@ jumped out on me, it scared me half to death. Now I know better! LOL

[Moniece Dickerson]

Nah i'm not gonna keep him,i'm gonna give him up but I did want to give the little guy a chance.I don't have the heart to turn a blind eye to any animal or person that needs help when I can give it.He doesn't hiss at me or wrap his tail around me when I feed him but he does hold on to me with his little fingers.He must be a good natured one :D ...makes me feel all the better about saving him.Your friend,Moniece

[JennLM]

aww how cute. Giving them to wildlife rehabbers is usually best I agree. ANd not becuase it's a pest but they have the experience.

We had a Falcon baby last year and had it a day until we could get it to a wildlife place. Someone dumped him off in our store on a shelf and our managers were going to just let it die. Nope. Not with me around. It was a Kestrel one of the smallest Falcons.

I have a soft spot for baby animals in need. My poor mom said I would end up liek the chick in Short Circuit when I was growing up always bringing home every animal I found, guess I mostly turned out that way.

I am sure the people taking it will give you updates on its progress.

[Jane Hurl]

Jenn...am I understanding you? Someone walked into a store and dropped a baby falcon off on the shelf? And walked out?

Unreal. First off, where would they get a baby falcon? And, if they raised them, why would they just abandon one? And if they were going to abandon one, why wouldn't they do so somewhere that is used to rescuing those kinds of critters?

I really don't get it.[/i]

[Fino1]

I'm with you gal, I couldn't turn a blind eye either. Mattera fact as a kid I used to take the mice away from my cat to save them and one was my buddy for months, kept it in a BIG jar. Really torqued my cat off too since she could see it but couldn't get to it. That little charactor must of known it too since it used to tease my cat thru the glass. Hours of fun watching.

I even took a BIG garter snake away from one of my cats and had it for a pet and when we moved out into the country it came with and I turned it loose. Lottsa crickets were purchased and it was one FAT snake upon release.
Much fun..........

Good for you!

Judy

[JennLM]

Jane,

Yup they certainly did. I can't tell you how many animals (of all species) have been left in the store, tapped in boxes in our trash, in the parking lot etc.

The lil Kestrel was driven to Arizona by my husband to a nice place called Keepers of the Wild. While i disagree with their wolfdog habitat/terminology etc, they do keep good care of the animals.

Great to see so many animals lovers here.

[PASOFAN]

Moniece
You can do what you want to but if you want dead horses keep that overgrown rat. They carry diseases that can kill horses. Take it to a wiildlife rehabber or shoot it but don't let it anywhere near your barn and horses.
Bob

I am with Bob.. No good on a horse farm.. I cant stand possums, even the baby's... I have had bad interations with them...