Feeding any baby child is difficult and even worse when you don’t have any idea that what to do and how to do it. However, to feed any baby child needs proper knowledge about their food. A minor negligence in this work can cause serious harm. And the same thing goes for the animals and bird babies. However, in this article, we will look through how to feed baby possums?
As, baby possums are too little when they are born, that’s why feeding them needs more attention, care, and knowledge. So if you want to know about it, then navigate this article as this article will through it.
However, feeding a baby possum needs more care and knowledge because their food depends upon their age and size. As they have to drink mother’s milk until they are 80 to 90 days old. And after that, their mothers start introducing them to other foods.
Moreover, the food for an abandoned or orphaned baby possum will be different because, in this case, they don’t have their mother’s milk to feed. And in this case, you have to pour food into their mouths, and for that, you can use a syringe. However, let’s explore more ways with which we can feed a baby possum.
How To Feed a Baby Possum?
Possums or opossums are members of the Didelphimorphia that are native to Australia. They are famous due to their eating habits as their food consist of a variety of things. However, they are nocturnal, but they have bad eyesight.
And because of it, they get their food on the basis of their keen sense of smell. Moreover, they are on the list of those animals that can keep their babies in a pouch. As mother possums have a pouch on their mid to lower abdomen to carry their bodies.
And when they grow up a little more than the mother possum starts carrying them on their backs. However, when a baby is a possum born, they are tiny in size as their size is comparable to the size of jelly beans.
That’s why feeding and caring about such little young ones needs more attention and care. However, the food of the possum’s baby is different from that of the orphan possum’s baby, however, let’s discuss both cases.
Firstly, let’s have a look at the food that a mother possum feeds their babies and how she does this. However, a mother possum used to give birth to almost twenty young ones at a time. But the number of survivors depends upon the availability of mother’s milk.
As, mother’s milk is the fundamental need for possum babies. And they are used to drinking mother’s milk until they are 80 to 90 days old. However, they have to live in their mother’s pouch for almost 60 days during this period.
And when they come out from their mother’s pouch, they are used to drinking mother’s milk along with other foods. As possum, mothers start introducing other foods to their babies. However, after leaving the mother’s pouch, the survival of a possum baby depends upon the ability to cling to the mom’s back.
And a possum mother scavenges food for herself and her babies while carrying her babies. However, a possum’s baby can decide not to get on the mother’s back and start scavenging food independently.
Secondly, what to do if you find a possum’s baby without a mother possum, however, in this case, it is might possible that the baby abandoned by the mother or its mother died in an accident. Then the food and the feeding way will be different for a baby possum.
However, to start the argue I want to give a tip that doesn’t start feeding a baby possum if you don’t have any knowledge for it. As baby possums are too small when they are born, that slight negligence can cause their death.
But, if you know how to feed, then you have to follow the following instruction for it.
- Before feeding a baby possum, make sure that you warm them up by wrapping them in a towel, sheet, or any other fabric.
- Then feed them formula, which you can make via mixing goat’s milk, calcium glubionate syrup, boiled egg yolk, brewer’s yeast, unsweetened apple juice, nutrical, lactaid, with bottled spring water.
To feed young possum babies, you can use a syringe or a dropper, as they are unable to do this on their own.
Furthermore, a possum baby who is not too young will have different food compared to the young possums. However, to them, you can give insects, slugs, worms, fruits, etc. as well.
Should I Feed a Baby Possum?
However, the answer to this question might be tricky because it depends upon the fact that how much you are an expert in feeding possums. And how much you have the knowledge to look after a baby possum.
As, a possum baby is too small in size that minor negligence in their food as well as in their care can be fatal for them. That’s why the common instruction is that you don’t have to feed a baby possum if you find them.
Rather than that, seek help from the veterinarian, local rescue, etc. So that they can take care of the baby possum as it should be.
Read also: Do Possums Kill Cats?
A Final Thought:
As possum’s babies are too small when they are born, you might wonder what and how to feed a baby possum. However, possums mother used to feed her milk for two months. And after that, the mother possums start introducing other foods to them.
However, if you have to feed a possum’s baby, make sure that you use a syringe or a dropper to feed them. And after two months, you can also offer other foods to them. In which you can use different fruits, insects, worms, slugs, snails, etc.
But if you have no idea how to feed a possum’s baby, then don’t try to feed them, instead of it, try to seek help from the veterinarian and local animals rescue.