Baby brushtail possums can become separated from their mothers if the mothers get killed by a predator or hit by a car.

The best thing to do for this animal is to get it to a rehabilitation center, if there are no rehabilitation centers available in your area, or if you cannot access them at the moment, you may need to take the animal into your care until you can get it to a center.

But how do you take care of this animal? This article explores how to give a baby brushtail possum care

Baby brushtail possums need a lot of care and attention for them to thrive. This involves feeding them small amounts of food frequently, keeping them warm, giving them a good amount of attention, and allowing them to go outside

Baby brushtail possum care, what to do

Food:

When you initially get the baby possum it will likely be cold, warm the baby by putting it against your body and sharing warmth, alternatively, a warm hot water bottle can be used on the animal to get it warm.

If these animals are too cold they will not be able to digest food, baby possums can be fed either kitten or puppy formula, or they can be fed specialized possum formula.

They need to be fed quite often but be sure not to feed them their next meal before the previous meal has absorbed into their bodies.

Feeding them involves mixing a very thin consistency formula and serving it through an eyedropper, or a syringe, drop the liquid into the baby’s mouth to feed them.

Baby possums need to be fed 15 to 18% of their body weight in milk. As the animal gets older, you can start offering them natural foliage and ween them off of milk. Wash the foliage before you serve it to the possum

Attention:

Giving baby possums attention is very necessary, they need a lot of love and attention. A lot of love and attention will enable them to grow well and thrive.

All this attention can create a very strong bond between you and the animal but eventually, you will have to cut down on the attention and get the animal used to being alone so it can be self-sufficient in the wild

Environment: 

These animals need to be outside as often as possible. Giving the possum an outside aviary will allow the animal to explore its environment and experiment with being outside.

The animal will learn critical skills like leaping, climbing, and hanging which will all be helpful when it finally gets released into the wild.

Keeping these animals in a cage will not be good for them, you should also avoid keeping these animals in the house as they cannot be housetrained.

Note:  Raising baby possums should be more of a foster care activity than raising it as a pet to have in your house for an extended period of time.

After you raise the wild animal you’d need to return it into the wild where it belongs, this is why you need to stop giving the possum so much attention and get it used to having to fend for itself. This will give it more of a fighting chance when you finally release it into the wild

Can a baby possum survive without its mother?

Baby possums will not be able to survive too long without their mothers, they need their mothers for food, as a source of warmth and to be “toileted”.

These young animals are generally attached to their mother’s teat, if separated they will have nothing else to eat so they will die. In fact, if you separate the baby from the teat, by pulling it off, then you can create irreparable damage to the animal’s pallet which can cause it to die.

In addition, if the animal does not get warmth from the mother, it can also die. This can happen within 2 to 3 days of being separated, a baby possum will die sooner of hypothermia than starvation 

Do baby possums bite?

Adult possums don’t generally bite and baby possums don’t generally bite either. These animals are docile and timid creatures that will try to avoid confrontations.

If these adult possums feel threatened by you they will growl, hiss and show their 50 sharp and pointy teeth, but this is all a way to try to threaten and intimidate you. These animals will more than likely not use their teeth to actually bite you.

If adult possums feel threatened they may even play dead, this involves not moving, breathing shallowly and infrequently, foaming at the mouth, and releasing a noxious smell that smells like death. 

Baby possums will only learn to do the above as they get older.

However, even though these animals will likely not bite you, it is best to air on the side of caution. Do not wave your hand in front of the animal thinking it won’t bite, it may bite if it feels cornered or provoked

If the baby or adult possum does bite you, you need to tend to the wound by washing it with warm water and soap, applying antiseptic to the wound after it dries, and waiting for it to heal properly.

If you detect that the wound is infected, seek medical attention

Do baby possums carry diseases? 

Baby possums can carry a variety of diseases just as adult possums can. These animals can carry spotted fever, tuberculosis, and toxoplasmosis.

In addition, baby possums can also carry ticks and fleas. It is unlikely that these animals will catch rabies and pass it onto you but this can happen as well

Conclusion 

In conclusion, if you cannot get the baby brushtail possum to a rehabilitation center, you may have to temporarily take care of the animal yourself.

Taking care of the animal involves feeding it the right foods in the right quantity, giving it attention, as well as letting it out on occasion.

These animals will likely not bite you but if an adult or baby possum does bite you, you’d need to clean the wound and watch out for an infection.

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