Baby Opossums
I specialize in baby opossum rescue and rehabilitation. My whole year is spent with opossums, from newborns in baby season to injured adults all year long. Their diet, their habits, their needs, are all studies of interest to me. Any question you have about opossums, I can answer! If you have one, send me a message and I’ll address it on this page. For an educational overview on opossums, here’s a thorough article.
Baby opossums are born after only 13 days gestation, and are about the size of a honeybee and weigh just a couple of grams.
They are born with only stubby little arms for climbing up into Mom’s pouch, where they will spend the next two months growing.
Instead of an umbilical cord supplying all the nutrients needed to create organs and limbs and fur, opossums receive that through Mom’s milk. She’s amazing!
Mom is so amazing, she can feed 13 babies at once! The babies crawl into the pouch and find a teat, then swallow it, creating a strong seal. They will hang out like that until about 14 grams, when they are able to detach and re-attach and trade teats.
Mom has 12 teats in a circle with one right in the middle.
How on earth does she hold so many babies?! Her pouch is like a stretchy purse and can snap shut so tight she can swim and the babies stay dry. It expands as the babies grow. The babies stay warm and protected in there and often survive deadly encounters with cars and dogs.
The dead opossum you see by the side of the road may make you sad, however she may have babies in her pouch. If you can do so safely, please check.
Your small act of kindness may save up to 13 lives.
If you do find living babies in a deceased Mama’s pouch, don’t try to remove them. There is a special way to remove the teat from their stomach and they can be unintentionally injured if not done properly. Here is a video on how to remove them without hurting them.
If you don’t feel comfortable “pouch picking” you can take the Mom and her babies from wherever she is and bring her to me, altogether.
