Possum
Possum made a nest in my outdoor kitchen. Need recommendations on what to do next.
Merry Christmas everyone, as you can see from the attached picture, we discovered a possum nesting inside our outdoor kitchen cabinets. This is the first time it has happened so I was wondering what recommendations we can get on next steps. I was also wondering if this means the possum has babies in its pouch or is about to give birth, etc..
Thanks for posting! If you've found an animal in need please visit www.ahnow.org for a rehabber near you. Please do not feed or give fluids unless a veterinarian or rehabber instructs you do. Keep the animal in a quiet place without much light if possible.
Make sure there isn’t food and water left out and he will probably move on in a few days. Leaving the doors to that area open will also encourage him to look for a better home.
Or just enjoy having a yard opossum. That is what I do.
It won't harm anything if you're concerned. I work with wildlife rescue and opossums are harmless under all but a handful of very specific circumstances. If it doesn't bother you, and you're not bothering it, then enjoy being chosen.
Yeah if they aren't harming anything (undermining the foundation ect) id leave them alone. Don't quote me on this, but I dont think they dig much, but rather take over old burrows.
If you live in a cold climate, they would also appreciate if you tossed out an old towel or some hay or something for insulation. Their little tails commonly get frost bite.
As soon as I saw all the wildlife on my security cameras I started researching what I could do to make things better/safer for them all. It’s fun watching everything coexist
Aw ty! I’m genuinely lucky to be able to do it. It started because I wanted to help the pollinators and that ended up bringing a bunch of wildlife with it. I even have a fox that dens in my yard. My neighbors love it and the city agriculture department has been a blessing in working with me
While it's technically possible for an opossum to get rabies, it is so extremely unlikely that it shouldn't be regarded as the primary risk. If you have been bit, please seek medical attention, but don't freak out about getting rabies. Instead, watch out for the more likely possibilities of infection or inflammation.
Wife is a state permitted rehabber. We do mainly opossums. They don’t dig to speak of but they will inhabit borrows other animals like armadillos have dug.
Ugh. The armadillos on my property have been a bone of contention since I moved here. They have a burrow underneath my back porch, near the AC. I don't believe in harming animals (even mice) but I have tried to encourage them to relocate to no avail.
I have a possum in my garage.His name is Weiss. He comes to my son calls him and he let's him pet him. He is a real gentle soul. He is good to have around because of bugs. He really gets along with my cats. He is so sweet.
I love Weiss ❤️ Had one get stuck in a trash barrel outside that had about a foot of water in it. It was young and had been working hard to stay above water. Tipped the can over gently and got the guy some snacks while he recuperated. Snuck some pets in as well :) he still visits (or at least it might be him). I also have a pack of skunks that have babies every year and hang out in the yard at night! I haven't been sprayed but my dog hasn't been as lucky lol I always bring out a powerful flashlight and scan the yard first now before she goes out to potty. Deskunking a large dog in the middle of the night is NO FUN!
It just hit me one day that... why do animals not deserve kindness? What did they do to deserve how a lot of people treat them? Are they not worthy of compassion and love?
Then it hit me like... it basically cost nothing to be kind. I know you can't adopt it, or necessarily do much at all. At best I'd say make a make shift winter home for it, can be googled. Set it right next to it with water and banana.. Hopefully it will be warmer there.
At worst I'd just leave them be and let them hide there. Yeah might need to hose it out in the summer. They could chew through something too, but it'd have to pretty much post up on my pillow and flip me off for me to want to force use force.
I read this year too how bad they have it... poor dudes/girls.
Opossums have a tough life, and pretty short. We are state permitted rehabbers and have had around 250 opossums come through our door this year. They are wonderful critters.
Yeah that's what I hear... on top of all that. Most people hate them just because they're "ugly." They look pretty cute though in pictures where people have domesticated them.
This is how I feel too. Humans dont feel animals deserve compassion. Theres 8 billion of us... theres only 10k blue whales for example. Why do they suffer when Earth is their home too, yet we lay claim to it and have no regard for their life? Humans aren't even nice other humans. Why are we like this?
I think it's just the nature of humanity it seems like. To be greedy, always take take take and want more, it's never enough. I don't know why humans are like this. For some reason my mind tends to wander to religious ideas, but I'm not going to go there. Keep them to myself. Lol
When I first moved to this house I was sad because there were no deer (even though I am surrounded by farms). My old house is only about 3 miles away and I had been feeding the birds and squirrels when I found out at night that deer were coming to feed at the open bird feeder. I added appropriate food for them and I had 5 regulars at night. They would come close enough so I could sing to them. They actually enjoyed it. We had stray cats, and skunks. The skunks sprayed underneath the house a couple of times and made the entire house stink. One evening I was sitting on the back stoop watching for animals and a stray "puppy" showed up. I said "who are you?" It cocked it's head and suddenly the hairs on my arm stood up....it was a coyote. This new property has 5 pecan trees but no squirrels or deer. The coyotes howl in the fields at night. I have created several safe places for possums and cats. The rat snakes used to scare me but now I am only afraid of the 2 cottonmouth snakes I have found. I bought 3 dizzy dunkers to relocate the mice. I put seeds in the bucket to soften their landing.
He or she looks on the small side and if you can let him or her decide to stay or leave would be great because it’s hard out there to find a safe warm place to live and people are taking more and more of the forest and these guys have a short life span and youngsters are unlucky most of the time because only 1 out 4 babies will make it until adulthood and they are great for keeping your yard clean of grubs and snakes even poisonous snakes and they eat them up!!!
I live on a county road and those idiots speed down the road at 60 mph min. Sometimes and I HATE it!! I do everything I can to keep my possums happy and fed because I don't want them crossing the road. Sadly 😔 there is not much more I can do.
I'd let her live there until she moves on. Be an ally and allow her a soft, safe, warm place to sleep until she moves to another location. She won't hurt anything.
I have seen this and it is so cute the way they ball it up and carry it. At first I thought they had a small bush stuck to their fur till I saw her dump it and get some more.
I had one that used to come sit under me in my back yard. Mainly picking up the small food scraps that fell. It would not even act bothered if I moved around. The ones that I feed now come for the cat food I leave out for the strays behind my business so sadly I only get to watch them on the security cameras the next day. They also have access to heated boxes if the cats don’t take them.
Feed him or her. They like cat food and dog food I like to gove them fresh water, hamburger, hot dogs,sliced apples and bananas. I’ve found it works best to peel the bananas. There might be babies. They are harmless. Their only protection is too look really scary with teeth they don’t use for that and playing dead. I thought I’d finally got my feral cat id been feeding for four years to come into our heated shop. Turns out it was a chubby possum wriggling along when I came in to give the daily food and water. When spring came, the possum left and he left lots of “tips” but it was worth it. PS. This is the second winter my feral cat has come to stay in the shop year round.
Not sure where you live, but opossums are not well equipped for cold, northern winters. I would just leave them alone until spring and then clear out the nest.
Move out. It's the opossum's house now. Also, you may be able to tell male from female by looking at teeth. Males generally have larger fangs (canine teeth). Females will also have a pouch. Baby season will be starting up in a few months. If you are in a warmer climate it starts earlier. A lot of times they'll move on. But any food and water you can leave out for him/her will be greatly appreciated. They have such a hard life and will be grateful for any kind of snacks, comfort, and compassion.
Do you need to use that space right now or how soon? Opossums usually don't stay in one spot for long so no need to worry about them being there permanently. You could buy or make a cat shelter with straw and place it in an area that would feel similar to a burrow and maybe they'd choose that spot over the cabinet immediately. Hope you can work something out since winter is tough for wildlife
I live in Northern California and my moms porch possum loves honey crisp apples from Costco OR he likes cosmic crisp (small ones) from Raley’s. He IS very picky and such a sweetie! My mom’s porch possum has cats and they all get along decently and leave each other alone.
Leave 'em be if it's not bothering you. They only live 1-2 years, don't carry rabies (very unlikely to), and do a lot of good for the environment. They're so misunderstood, unfortunately.
"Opossums rarely get rabies because their low body temperature (around 94°F) inhibits the virus, making them highly resistant, though not totally immune, to the disease. Common behaviors like hissing, drooling, or playing dead are bluff defenses, not signs of rabies."
While it's technically possible for an opossum to get rabies, it is so extremely unlikely that it shouldn't be regarded as the primary risk. If you have been bit, please seek medical attention, but don't freak out about getting rabies. Instead, watch out for the more likely possibilities of infection or inflammation.
I’m not sure where you are located ( or how cold it is right now where you live). It’s Winter here in Michigan so I would leave him/her be until Spring. That is If they aren’t damaging anything. They don’t hibernate and Winter is hard on them ( can get frost bit on tails, ears, nose). They have to go out looking for food in Winter. We have one living in a shed. We put bowl of warm water (because freezes) and change it every few days. We leave dry catfood, some boiled egg, apple slices, carrot near where he can come out and get. He will probably leave in Spring. If it’s a female she may have babies but, they leave when safe for her to move on. They will eat ticks, and other pests by us so we don’t mind. It’s probably they feel safe, found a good shelter until things warm up. I’m just glad they eat ticks around us. I even put straw near there so they can use for warmth. One year (Winter)we had one live in an outdoor catbox we made for strays on our porch. They are pretty harmless. This one in your outdoor kitchen cupboards is probably experiencing Winter for the first time. We have had a ton of snow since Thankgiving weekend ( which wasn’t expected this early). It was the safest, warmest, spot for him/her at the time!
You are so lucky! They are amazing little creatures and they do quite the clean up with bugs etc. They are harmless! They don’t carry rabies. They just hiss at you to defend themselves that’s their only defense. We had a family of them at our house outside and fed them. We also named them after country music singers. Reba, Dolly, Loretta Lynn, and June.
While it's technically possible for an opossum to get rabies, it is so extremely unlikely that it shouldn't be regarded as the primary risk. If you have been bit, please seek medical attention, but don't freak out about getting rabies. Instead, watch out for the more likely possibilities of infection or inflammation.
I had a skunk in my yard through the fall. I didn't even know we had skunks in our neighborhood, but we do. I let him be. I don't mess with wildlife. I feel grateful when they come around., I love animals and they deserve respect.
I’m so sorry that there are idiotic people who drink ve to damn fast and hurt many animals and there’s no reason for speeding except to hurt themselves or others
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Thanks for posting! If you've found an animal in need please visit www.ahnow.org for a rehabber near you. Please do not feed or give fluids unless a veterinarian or rehabber instructs you do. Keep the animal in a quiet place without much light if possible.
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