October 21, 2024 – October 27, 2024

By Suzie Degrasse

Everyone is growing, but the opossums are still quite petite. The lack of proper nutrition has stunted their growth in most of their bodies, but not their ears! Some of the residents would prefer their photo not be taken (Cooter and Petunia) so you will have to imagine teenage opossums who are scared but getting good meals. Glue-trap Carolina wren may be transferred to Wild Nest Bird Rehab for continued care, and Tina and Berry have been hired!

Tina

Tina arrived August 6 with neurological injury of unknown etiology (we don’t know what happened). She slowly recovered enough to be able to eat on her own, walk, and even climb. But she still has many deficits and is not suited for release back into the wild. She can’t run fast enough to escape a predator and she’s not wily enough to find her own food.

Berry

Berry arrived July 31 as a very tiny joey. As others her size came in, she joined them and I treated her like their sibling. It became evident that something was not right with her when she was very slow to gain weight. All her foster siblings grew to release weight and were released October 5.

The girls get jobs

Berry will always be small and she and Tina are bonded. I knew Tina was non-releasable and Kathryn Dudek of Chattahoochee Nature Center met them and agreed with my assessment.

They were hired as a pair because they are best friends and neither would succeed in life without the other. The Department of Natural Resources approved their transfer and all that’s left is some official paperwork from my end.

They will be educational ambassadors and meet all the visitors to the nature center. Berry is very curious and Tina is amenable to handling. They will live together but have different “jobs”.

Opossum behavior

In the photo, if you look closely, Berry’s lower lip is drooping just a tiny bit. This is the first sign in the series that signal “go away”. People think opossums attack without warning but there are so many stages. It’s hard for me to believe people miss the signs- lips drooping, then mouth slightly opening, then displaying their 50 teeth, then open mouth hissing…and then, if you haven’t gotten the point, then and only then do they lunge.

This Eastern Box turtle was hit while crossing the road. The finder saw him, turned around, and moved him to the side he was headed. She saw he was terribly injured, and unsure what to do, she located me on the internet. We met up halfway and I took him almost immediately to the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital. On intake assessment I realized the severity and extent of his injuries. You cannot see them in the photo. I am grateful to the vet school for providing release from suffering for mortally wounded wildlife. I wish people would watch the road (what ARE they watching?) and avoid wildlife. You can see an old injury that healed at the front of his shell. Animals are no match for cars. It's our duty to make space for them to live.

Cooter and Petunia are the two other juvenile opossums in my care. Cooter was seen being beat up by an adult opossum and ran for cover on my friend's porch. She was able to capture him and bring him to me for care. He has old, healed injuries on his head and is very skinny. He is of release size, so once he puts his weight back on, will be sent back out in a safer location. Petunia was also found by a friend but is much smaller and sustained lacerations to her side. I'm treating her with antibiotics, but I'm unsure if she will be released or will overwinter here. The Carolina wren caught on the glue trap is still here, but I have learned they are territorial and so must be released back at his home location once his tail feathers have grown back in. A very sick raccoon and a Wood Thrush, victim of a window collision, were short term guests. Neither survived. So, it's generally happy here. I didn't expect to have late term babies but they will keep the winter interesting!