The Possum SUPER mix!
In 2008, I experimented with what might be the nearly perfect food!
First off, I noticed they seemed to enjoy this from early-on..... and it's simple to make, and they love the stuff, and it's GOOD for them! I take a bowl, and start off by putting in canned cat or dog food. They're not really picky concerning which kind I use, but it seems like the "mushy" kinds are better than the ones with actual lumps of meat, with gravy, since they sometimes lick out the gravy, and refuse the lumps! Anyways once this is in the bowl, add to it a small amount of "green" pellets (rabbit or Guinea pig), then over top that, sprinkle some dry kitten food, then add the Linatone liquid, and the powdered calcium, then mash it together, well-mixed, then serve! They seem to eagerly devour this mix, and grow happily on it :-). I feed enough to last them through the night, and any left in the bowl the following afternoon is discarded, and replaced with new. After a week or so it'll be easy to tell how much they'll be going through, and mix/feed accordingly, and I also keep an apple or two among them, and even in the daytime they'll awaken for a nibble or two, and a drink..... before returning to sleep until nightfall.
Here's a list of other foods your captives will eat, and please keep in mind that what one possum relishes as a DELIGHT, may be refused by another, but here's a list of foods that my adults have liked over the years.
Besides apples and kitten food (with the vitamins mixed in - as shown on the previous page), the following foods can be tried and experimented with - in no particular order - on a weekly basis:
Melons (cut away from the rind)
Fruit Cocktail (vitamins can be added here as well!)
Crawdads (or crayfish)
Cherries, Plums, and Peaches (don't worry, as they'll spit out the pits!)
Grapes (seedless preferred)
Strawberries
Fresh greens (Possums don't like them much, but are a MUST for the adult diet! See "Yogurt" below!).
Yogurt (A GREAT tool to use for feeding your possums fresh greens! Simply mince them in your food processor, and mix into the yogurt! This "yogurt & greens" mixture should be given several times a week if possible). UPDATE! In 2008 I substituted the "yogurt & greens" for the "Possum SUPER mix" described above, since the pellets listed seem to have the greens they need in their diet. However the yogurt mix listed here can still be given as a much-needed treat! One thing I have not tried yet is mixing the "green" pellets into yogurt, and letting it sit overnight to soften the pellets, then offering it to them, or even placing some pellets into a container with some water, then several hours later draining the water out, then mashing the pellets, and putting the mixture into the yogurt, then stirring it all together before offering it to them. This might be a great idea, and the more greens they get into their diet, the better!
Bananas
Paw Paws
Tomatoes
Possums (That's right..... they are cannibals! Please read on!)
Canned Dog/Cat Food (vitamins can be added here also!)
Home Leftovers (used sparingly! Pizza, and high starch items, like bread or noodles, are seldom encountered by them in the wild!)
CANNIBALISM
During my first year of keeping possums I was in Michigan working in a large year 'round camp, and was the proud owner of 6 beautiful subadult possums, until one morning I looked to see there was only five! At first I suspected theft or escape, but they were in a steel mesh, locked cage! This was a cause for mystery....... that was until I noticed a 1½ - inch section of jaw bone (with a few teeth still attached) laying just outside their cage. Mystery solved! I realized it's a "possum eat possum WORLD" out there, and over the years I have "lost" several others as well!
In THIS section, I'll share a few things I have found to hopefully help your animals from "inviting each other to dinner"!
AVOID LIVE FOODS
Possums will ATTACK "movement" by their very nature, and even your sweet-tempered hand-raised adults (and younger possums as well!) will know exactly what to do if a frog is put in with them for example! Live fish are a favorite of theirs, but the "flippity flippity" of a live fish will cause them to go into sudden, aggressive behavior - even toward each other! So feed them fresh DEAD fish instead, and whole SMALL fish are much better than a LARGE one. They wll eat the entire fish, bones and ALL! Crawdads of course should also be offered dead, as well as any insects you want to give them.
MAKE SURE THERE'S ENOUGH FOOD TO FEED THE WHOLE GROUP!
It's sheer folly to toss in just one, small fish for example, since the first one to grab it will have all the rest trying desperately to get the food away from it, so when feeding them, make sure there's enough that all may share in the delight!
KEEP FOOD BEFORE THEM AT ALL TIMES
Make sure their "staples" are always full (Their staple - or main - diet consists of apples, and the dry kitten food with the vitamins added, as mentioned earlier, and of course drinking water). They should have enough to last them until morning.
AVOID MIXING GROUPS TOGETHER, OR ADDING ANOTHER TO YOUR "COLLECTION"!
Why did the chicken cross the road?? To show the possum it can be done!
In all reality there's a similarity between chickens and possums, in the simple fact that "strangers" are not welcome in the flock!
Your possums that you have raised together will all be the "best of buddies" as adults, but NEVER add others to your collection! A vicious, bloody fight will soon break out, and somebody will be eaten as a result! Possums that have never met each other are ENEMIES of each other, even male/female, and only the BABIES should ever be mingled together.
MAKE SURE THE BABIES YOU RAISE ARE ALL ABOUT THE SAME SIZE
When small they're all COOL being together, but as they grow, and smaller ones are prone to get eaten! Also if you are blessed with a really UNUSUAL one, like mostly black (except for the face of course), or extra-white, or another really special one, it's best to keep it by itself for safety!
AVOID BREEDING THEM
Even though the females make great mothers, and both sexes stay super-tame even after mating, it's dangerous to them to keep a separate male by itself, to be used as a "breeder" when the time comes. More than likely no breeding will take place, and instead they will see each other as FOOD!
In all my keeping of possums, I have never had a female in any of my groups produce babies, even though both sexes were kept together! I even kept the males from one litter, and the females from another in case a mating occurred, but I have never had an "production" from them, plus it's fairly EASY to find "wild" babies out there, as we drive the highways of America, which is the whole purpose of this Web page!
Possums are more fun when shared with close friends!
I'll be adding more bits of information to this page from time to time, as well as photos, so please stay tuned!
Below are some links to some of my other pages, and throughout you will come across a few more "O'possum O'pictures"!
"My Beauties" - A look at some beautiful Eastern Box Turtles!
Check out my Home Page!
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SUCCESS!!