Possums are small docile animals, just as with any other animal, they come onto your property looking for a meal. Possums roaming around properties in North America, looking for food, is a fairly common sight

If you’re growing carrots in your garden you may be worried about possums coming in and eating your carrots. If you are raising a possum, you may be wondering if you can feed these animals carrots. So. ‘do possums eat carrots?’ this article looks into it. 

Possums do eat carrots, this food is packed with a variety of vitamins and minerals that will boost the animal’s health. Nutrients in carrots include vitamin A, potassium, fiber, antioxidants, and carbohydrates to name a few.

Do possums eat carrots? 

Possums are opportunistic feeders, they will eat just about anything that they can get their paws on. They are able to eat both plants and animals because they are omnivores. 

They can become very creative when looking for food in urban areas. Don’t be surprised if you find these animals rummaging through your garbage looking for a meal. 

If they can rummage through your trash, they can certainly eat carrots. 

Health benefits of possums eating carrots: 

Possums need a mix of the right nutrients in order to maintain good health. Carrots offer a variety of nutrients, the main nutrients in carrots include fiber, vitamin A, and biotin. 

Vitamin A:

All animals need vitamin A in their diet, possums included.

This vitamin is beneficial as it helps build immunity against illnesses, helps with the maintenance of tissue, is essential for bone growth and development, and is needed to maintain good vision. 

Fiber: 

Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate, it is important as it helps to keep the possum’s digestive system healthy. It does this by increasing the water content of the small intestine as well as the bulk present in the small intestine.

It also maintains healthy levels of good bacteria in the gut and promotes gut health. 

Biotin: 

Biotin is an important nutrient that both humans and animals need. This nutrient is needed to maintain the connective tissue of animals. The connective tissue is what holds the animal’s body together.

Another benefit that possums get from eating biotin-rich foods like carrots, is fat and carbohydrate metabolism 

Other nutrients  

This food is also a source of a variety of other vitamins and minerals including vitamin B6, vitamin K1, potassium, antioxidants, protein, and carbohydrates. 

Why do possums like carrots: 

Carrots are sweet:

Possums enjoy carrots because they are relatively sweet. Carrots may not seem too sweet to humans but they are sweet to opossums who usually have a very bland diet.

Carrots contain more sugars than many other crunchy vegetables. This is a lot of sugar to possums, this makes them enjoy carrots very much 

Carrots are crunchy: 

Carrots are known to be crunchy. This vegetable’s cell structure, which is honeycomb-shaped, is the reason behind this vegetable having a crunchy texture. Humans enjoy this texture and so do possums 

Carrots are easy to find:

Another reason why possums like carrots is because carrots are an easy food to get a hold of. Animals prefer foods that don’t require much effort to catch or find. Predators do this because catching weaker prey requires less energy to catch.

Possums prefer vegetables, like carrots, because carrots don’t have to be chased and caught. If a possum has to, it will hunt prey like frogs, snakes, or birds but if carrots and other plants are available then possums won’t hunt 

Everything in moderation: 

As much as carrots are healthy for possums, this food should not be eaten in excess. Possums need to eat a wider variety of foods in order to maintain a balanced and healthy diet.

Only eating carrots will make the animal malnourished. Malnourishment happens when a person or animal has too low amounts of the nutrients that they need in their bodies, this can happen even if the animal eats until they are full. 

What about carrot cakes? 

Although possums will rummage through your trash looking for food, this doesn’t mean that it’s the healthiest for them.

Human foods, especially processed human foods, are not healthy for possums. In fact, these foods can make them sick, carrot cake is one food that can make possums sick.

Too much sugar in this animals diet can lead to the animal developing metabolic bone disease 

Can baby possums eat carrots? 

No, baby possums cannot eat carrots 

Baby possums are possums that are less than 6 inches long, can’t walk on their own, and are still attached to their mothers in the pouch. The only occasion where they would exit the pouch early is if they have fallen out  

The baby possum will not leave its mothers pouch until It’s 80 days old. If the baby is still pink and less than 80 days old then it can be considered a baby.

These animals cannot eat carrots, they can only be fed a formula like Pedialyte 

After the formula stage, you can feed the baby a mix of formula and soft high-quality puppy feed.

After the mixed food stage, the animal can have mashed fruits and vegetables.

After the mashed food stage, the animal is able to eat solid foods, carrots included. 

What do possums eat in the garden? 

Yes, possums will eat carrots in the garden but that is not all.

Because of rapid urbanization, these animals have had to move into cities and urban areas where humans live. They have also had to find food in these areas as well.

Many possums may choose to dig in your garbage looking for a meal but some will enter your back gardens and your home vegetable gardens looking for a meal as well.

If there are carrots growing in your vegetable garden then the animals will happily eat them. Foods that possums will eat in your vegetable garden include 

• Tomatoes 

• Carrots 

• Strawberries 

• Lettuce 

• Cucumber 

These animals will eat a variety of other plants in your garden as well, this article explores more on the topic 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, possums can definitely eat carrots. Carrots are a delicious food for possums and are packed with a variety of nutrients that will benefit the animal

Baby possums are not developed enough to be able to eat carrots. 

Other garden vegetables that possums can eat include tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, and strawberries.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other possum related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: What Do Possums Eat In The Garden? 11 Plants Possums Eat, Do Possums Eat Mice, Benefits, And Why They Prefer Not To,