Possum Rescue! VIDEO: Loving Family Can’t Resist Saving Lost Baby Possum

As we were leaving a family restaurant just off the highway, we were all full of happy chatter and good food. It was Mother’s Day, 2022, and I’d taken my wife and three children out for dinner. There was continuous light banter, laughter and an occasional loud outburst from the backseat, as happens with three young kids. Turning off the service road onto Veterans Ave, I hadn’t noticed anything abnormal or out of the ordinary. However, after driving a few yards, I looked in my side view mirror and could have sworn I saw some sort of tiny, furry animal skitter across the road and dash into the tall grass.

I’ve always had a kind heart for animals. The wilder, the better for me. As a child, I would examine every animal, reptile or insect I could get close to and treated them with kindness and respect. Double that for my wife. If anyone loves animals more than I do, it’s her. So I knew she wouldn’t mind me acting on my curiosity.

At the first safe space I could find, I turned the car around. No one in the car saw it coming, and it led to some confusion, but I didn’t have time to explain. All I could say was, I saw something cross the road. Now my wife’s curiosity was piqued. As we pulled to a stop where I’d seen the animal run, my wife immediately got out of the car to see what had caught my attention. And somehow, she found it.

Scurrying through the weeds, was a tiny, lost opossum. Lost? Was mama nearby? Nowhere to be seen. Under normal circumstances, we let nature take care of itself. We never would take something out of nature, unless it was in trouble, and wouldn’t recommend it. We had no idea where the mother was, but we were sure this baby didn’t stand a chance out there without her. We decided, reluctantly, to take the palm sized possum with us and seek a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center. Wrapped in a baby blanket my wife took from the trunk of the car, the little guy came home with us that evening.

Rescue! The very first picture taken of a lost baby possum wrapped in a swaddling blanket.

That night, after the kids were in bed, my wife and I dug out an aquarium we had in the basement that would serve fine for the possum to sleep in until we could figure out where he would go. At the time, we didn’t plan on our home being his permanent home, and, he was so tiny, we knew the aquarium would make a decent habitat for a couple of days. We fixed it up with bedding and a bowl of water and a little food to eat. Once completed, we transferred our new houseguest from the little box we’d had him in to his new temporary home so he could eat and rest securely.

This little dude, by the way, was not shy about eating. In fact, he wasn’t shy at all. He made himself right at home. He seemed to have zero fear of any of us, as if he knew he was safe and sound. He could spend the night. In the morning, we’d find a rescue facility to take him and give him the proper care. At least we thought we would.

Believe it or not, depending on where you live, it can be very difficult to find care for a lost possum. We lived several hundred miles away from a wildlife refuge that would take him, and pretty much everyone we spoke to seemed to be of the mind that it may be just as good to care for him ourselves. With a little research, we learned that these often dismissed, unique creatures have a lifespan of only 1 - 2 years. Sadly, in the wild, only 10% - 20% of opossums live to see their first birthday because of the many disadvantages they face in the elements. They are heavily preyed upon, prone to respiratory disease and many reside in populated areas with a high amount vehiclular traffic.

Torn between being discouraged about not finding a reasonable rehab center solution and excited about having a new member in our family, by the third or fourth day, we had picked out a name. Poopies, a name I didn’t like at first, was given to him for reasons I’m sure you imagined as soon as you read the word. Yes, possums poop. Interestingly enough, they are easily trained to use a litter box. Which is what we trained Poopies to do. It made cleanup so much easier, to say the least.

The very first morning, we found Poopies in his new temporary habitat, seeming to love every second of it.

I would be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous, at first, to allow Poopies around my children. The oldest, at the time, was around 7, and I just didn’t know enough about possums to feel totally comfortable with it. Those large, pointy teeth looked sharp. They looked like they would definitely hurt. As time went by, however, Poopies really impressed me with his gentleness and friendliness toward the kids and our two cats. He didn’t like our dog much, but Boo is a pretty large and intimidating dog. For the most part, Poopies befriended the entire family with no hesitation. I was amazed by how tame and loving a possum could be. This was definitely a learning experience for all of us.

Everyone loved Poopies and he was so docile and gentle. The kids couldn’t get enough.

We absolutely spoiled Poopies. We made sure he ate a special diet for the most part and that he wasn’t eating things he shouldn’t. In the wild, he’d have eaten plenty of nasty trash and who knows what else? We provided the little orphan with special food we’d ordered for him along with plenty of fruits, nuts, vegetables and meats. He ate lots of eggs. From the very beginning, scrambled eggs and berries seemed to be what he loved the most. We made sure the leftovers we served him after dinner didn’t contain things his digestive system didn’t like. It wasn’t much different than caring for a cat or a dog. I’d have expected some sort of wild trait to make it a little hard for domestication, but there were none. He used a litter box, ate from a dish, was totally non aggressive and even accepted being bathed.

While I wouldn’t recommend someone seeking out a wild possum for the sake of owning one for a pet, I do have to say, Poopies wasn’t a terrible one. Although, he never was supposed to be a pet. He was a rescue. Depending on where you live, the laws in place for wildlife preservation vary. We encourage you to follow these laws and obtain proper permits if you ever find yourself in the position of having to care for a possum or any wild animal. It is best to leave it to professionals if it’s plausible. Taking animals from the wild for any reason isn’t really advisable. In the case of Poopies, he really didn’t stand much of a chance without our help.

Days went by, then weeks, then months. We watched Poopies grow and grow. He got plenty of exercise, but he didn’t much care to be outside. From the time he was tiny till he was fully grown, he stuck pretty close by one of us when we were outdoors with him. He’d just enjoy the grass, the sunshine and the delicious crickets and worms he could find. He never seemed to want to return to the wild or leave us. He definitely had plenty of opportunity to. For us, it was just nice to know that he was being taken very good care of and enjoying it all. We knew in the back of our minds that possums didn’t live long, and one day, not too far off, we would have to say goodbye.

Sadly, one day, Poopies fell sick with a respiratory disease, which is common in possums. We noticed his breathing became more rapid as he got older. Eventually, it became obvious that his breathing wasn’t just heavy or rapid, but labored. Neither me, nor my wife wanted to face it, but we already knew from previous research that it wouldn’t be long. One day, as I was talking softly to him, Poopies wrapped his tail around my fingers as he liked to do and peacefully fell asleep for one last time. He died there next to me, wrapped in his blanket, holding my hand. Poopies never made it to his first birthday.

Poopies, tired and worn out, seemed to take comfort in holding my hand.

Overall, Poopies lived a much better life with us, than he would have in the wild. We treated him just like a household pet and family member. He received lots of love and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again. This experience not only educated me on a whole new world concerning opossums specifically, but also changed my mind and attitude entirely toward them in general. I was glad to be a part of it and so was the rest of my family.