Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey y'all. Not sure how active this forum is (I typically look at snake forums), but I need some help.

Last night, August 6th, there was a mother and four joeys at my uncle's and aunt's house. The family dog went after it, and the mother "played possum". The babies scattered, three finding the mother again, while one was left. The next day, it was found trying to ride one of their cats. I went over there (they live right next to me) and found the baby in the yard, hissing at the people around him. I took him home of course, and fed him some cheese, bread, and soggy cat food. He ate a while, drank two bottle caps full of water, and cleaned himself and took a nap. I later put him in a small aquarium with a towel and two old tee shirts, a little dish of water,and some crushed cat food. Tomorrow, I am going to go to town to buy some baby food for it.

He obviously has his eyes open, has teeth, and can eat/drink on his own. He is probably 4-6 inches from nose to the base of the tail. What do I need to do with him? Do I need to call a wildlife rehaber? I have always loved opossums, and would like a pet. What do you guys recommend?

Thanks. Any help is appreciated!

I am still new at raising possums too, but i have had 3 for nearly 2 months now, I give them baby formula I leave it out all the time for them to get as they want it, cat food is also good for them, the one you have is probably too old to keep as a pet, When i got these only 1 of them had their eyes open and they don't hiss at people anymore, you could try to keep it but it would probably be best to let it go when it gets big enough, possums are ready to leave when they are 6 inches long NOT COUNTING their tail. You also REALLY NEED to give them cream, which is around the sour cream in the fridges at wal-mart or wherever. I have read all I can find on them and this was very important so they do not get the muscle disease many get when humans keep them, because they do not feed them properly.

Well sadly, it died of unknown causes two days ago. The night before, it seemed a little unresponsive so I took it inside and fed it some apples and grapes. He seemed revived and was walking around his cage normally, deficating,drinking, and everything else that was normal. I came home from school the day after to find him dead. I think there was something wrong to begin with. That might explain why he couldn't hold on to his mother. He didn't have too much protein (to much cat food is very bad for them by the way), and I didn't have him long enough to be something wrong with his diet. He was fully weaned, so he didn't need formula. Overheating came into my head, but he had plenty of water in his cage and was in the shade in a well ventilated aquarium.

I feel terrible...

oh man, that sucks, i hope you was helping it urinate, i forgot to mention that however it would have been to late, they will not urinate without help, you must take a wet cloth and wipe them down there until they pee. It's bladder probably exploded
sorry

He was actually old enough to not have to be stimulated. I actually observed him urinate several times. Like I said earlier, he was fine the night before.