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Short Tailed Possum
Since the arrival of the original STOs, Brazil has closed their
borders to exportation, thus most of the short tails in the U.S. are
descendants from the original group. The short-tails are often
referred to as a "House Opossum". They are more than happy to kill
unwelcome insects and rodents in your house (one of mine has even
killed and eaten a little garter snake!).
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Short tailed Opossum
The Short-Tail Opossum (Monodelphis domestica) was imported from
Brazil in 1978, by the National Zoo. Make sure the little Short-Tail
Opossums (STOs) stay warm after their arrival in your home. A
heating pad under part of their cage or a heat rock should do the
trick. I prefer to give them a pouch to snuggle in as well. Young
opossums may not have enough strength to use a water bottle. I make
fruit available to use as a source of water so that they do not
dehydrate. I find that STOs do better on soft fruits in small
pieces. A quick and easy fruit option is the small Mott’s
Applesauce, Mixed Berry, Strawberry, or Tropical Blend fruit cups or
baby food.
Cage and Equipment Requirements
I use wire cages or modified plastic tubs for my adult Short-Tails.
I cut the center out of a plastic tub lid and rivet hardware cloth
to the underside of the lid. I also use the two part kitty litter
pan and rivet the hardware cloth to the top portion of the scratch
guard. I have also successfully used a variety of wire cages with
solid bottom trays. A ten gallon aquarium with a tight fitting lid
is also acceptable.
Young Short-tails can slip through ½" x ½" wire, so keep an eye on
the little escape artists. Make sure all lids are tightly secured.
An easy way to catch an escaped STO is to put their favorite food in
the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. Put the bucket next to something
they can climb on and they will jump in to get their food and then
not be able to get out.
Accessories can include clay flowerpots, PVC tubes, and other
objects to hide in.
Most short tail opossums love to run in a wheel.
I keep a small wooden nesting box in their cage. A Kleenex torn in
strips makes a great nesting material. The opossums will carry
bedding in their prehensile tail which is very entertaining to
watch.
Since opossums are not rodents, it is unlikely that they will try to
gnaw on the plastic or wood in their cages.
Bedding
I have tried many types of bedding including: Swheat Scoop kitty
litter, pine shavings, aspen pellets, corn cob bedding, recycled
newspaper pellets, Cell-Sorb and more. Out of everything I have
tried I like Care Fresh recycled newspaper the best.
Never use cedar shavings because the oils and dust from cedar can be
harmful to small mammals.
Diet
I feed my opossums Spike’s Delite - Premium made by Pet-Pro
Products. They only require about a tablespoon of this dry food a
day, so it is very economical as well as nutritious. I feel this is
an excellent, balanced diet, and I have had much success breeding my
opossums using this food. You order it directly from the company at
1-877-977-8310. By using me as a referral (Gail Dick or my #G2119D)
and you will save 10% on every order.
Some people feed their opossums cat food as their main possum diet,
but I feel they do much better on the Spike’s Delite. One drawback
from using a food with a lot of filler is that the odor of the feces
depends on the quality of food. The more filler in the food, the
more the odor.
Fresh water is a must. I use a water bottle mounted on the outside
of their cage.
Small amounts of fresh fruits are recommended on a daily basis. Most
ST’s love apples, ripe bananas, pears, and grapes. The fruit should
be cut up in small pieces so they can pick it up easily.
Treats can include meal worms, super worms (only one or two per
day), crickets, hard boiled egg, scrambled egg, tuna, canned cat
food, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Young opossums can be picky eaters the same way young children can
be picky eaters. You may have to try several types of fruits and
various sources of protein.
Care
Keep your short tail opossum out of drafts. A comfortable
temperature is 70° F to 80° F. I often put a heating pad under ½ the
cage if I worry about the temperature.
Short tail opossums are solitary animals and should be housed
individually. Cage mates will eventually become aggressive toward
one another and will often fight to the death.
- By Millermeade Farms
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