Happy November! 5 months until baby season starts again! I still have a lot of animals, it feels like. I've been trying to carve out time to get the last 7 to south Georgia where the winters are milder and food sources last longer and appear sooner than in northeast Georgia. That will leave me with 8 to be released in the spring and 3 whose future is not as well known yet.
Fundraisers!
Our friend Debbie is donating 25% of sales of some of her newly listed items to Primarily ‘Possums, check it out!
We are having an ice cream social! The featured flavor will be “Forest Friends Favorite”, Brambleberry Crisp and Vanilla in a waffle bowl…yum!
Two groups of students from Serve UGA have come out recently and were so energetic and helpful! They cleaned out and re-packed the carport, raked leaves, moved giant piles of who-knows-what, and cleaned enclosures. I’m so happy to work with these enthusiastic humans and enjoy meeting them and sharing what I do here.
Sweet little old lady Pearl
Pearl continues to improve. She has gained much needed weight and her fur is growing back. Her patches of dry and dead skin have flaked off and her coat is coming in a lovely dark shade.
She has quite the appetite and tells me she would like four meals a day, please! She has regained enough strength to take slow walks around outside on the grass or in the carport. She is a dear opossum that deserves a gentle retirement after what is always a hard life.
Being a female opossum is hard!
Raising at least one litter of up to 13 joeys, tends to drain them of health a lot earlier than the males. The males have more battle scars but the older females seem to shrivel up. I’m so happy to help her get healthy.
Tee Too and his Talented Tail
When the group of Serve UGA students were here, they were able to witness something few see outside videos- an opossum using their tail to gather nesting materials!
As the group wrapped up, we were standing by Tee Too and Too Tee’s enclosure when I noticed Tee Too had a bundle of pine straw grasped in his tail. He went on to show off exactly how he does it! Opossums grab leaves and pine straw in their mouth, then transfer it to their back feet. From their back feet they kick it into their tightly curled tail. Then they toddle off into their nest and deposit their load of warmth and security.
Laundry Room Linda
Named because the only space I had for her was the room I use for quarantine, Linda spent the spring and summer here raising babies. She arrived with head trauma and a pouch full of babies! As her babies grew, although I was able to keep her well nourished, they began to outpace what Linda could naturally provide. Plus they also started exploring a bit!
What to do with all the babies
With the good counsel of other experienced opossum rehabilitators, I removed her original 8 and swapped in 8 tiny joeys that had just arrived. Those new 8 were too small for me to raise but I knew would do great with Linda. She raised them and ended up raising FOUR litters. She deserves a cushy life!
Linda, born to be an ambassador
Linda has multiple aspects which suit her perfectly for a role as exhibit opossum. She is a light sleeper so when visitors look in on her, she will wake up. An opossum sitting up and looking you in the eye is a lot more interesting than a ball of sleepy marsupial.
She also is not necessarily tame, so won’t need a lot of cuddles and attention, but she is comfortable enough with people that she can be handled for exams or when needed. She likes to be told she is pretty, and to be brushed. That, her special diet, her big bed and some exercise time is all she will need to stay genuinely content for the remainder of her life.
Gratitude for Chattahoochee Nature Center wildlife department and Kathryn Dudeck
The relationship I have with Chattahoochee Nature Center, one of mutual respect and trust, is a special one. I have placed many educational ambassador opossums with them over the last 10 years, both males and females. They trust I am giving them healthy animals that fit their particular need, and I trust they will give them the best care possible, and, even better, are willing to follow my specific nutritional guidelines based on years of research.
Thank you Kathryn Dudeck and all the wildlife clinic employees and volunteers, for being spectacular humans to “do business” with.
Wish lists
love the surprise packages from Chewy and Amazon filled with items off the wish lists! I update them both as needs change and appreciate the extra support. You can find links to both at the top of the page.
Thank you donors!
I am so very grateful for everyone who donates, but especially for Rick and Shannon Waters, who find new ways to raise money for Primarily ‘Possums. They are definitely one of our angels.
If you look at the bar on the right of this post you can see I have written a blog post at least once a month for the last 4 years.
Happy Anniversary to this blog!
Sometimes there is too much to write about, sometimes it’s pretty quiet and unremarkable. Thank you for reading and following along with the happy happenings.
