Day one

Ollie came to us as an orphan, the exact reason he was orphaned is unknown. He had been surrendered into RSPCA care, the RSPCA then passed him on to Fauna Rescue immediately. Fauna rescue works closely with local vets, the RSPCA and Animal Welfare League. Most of these organisations have little experience with native animals and prefer to hand them on to experienced carers in the best interest of the animal’s welfare.

Ollie was about 325 gms, a grey bundle of cuteness. From the first day Ollie showed a willingness to explore and spend time with his surrogate mums.

I’m not sure if you’re aware but possums have sharp claws… needle sharp claws.. very sharp needle sharp claws! Let’s just say, we were naive and thought how much damage can a 325gm possum do..? The answer is a lot… imagine being a pin cushion, with a hormonal, recently dumped seamstress using you as a voodoo doll.. that much damage! (The resultant blood red "track marks" drew more than a few concerned looks on the train the next day I can tell you.)

Now to extract Ollie from our arms and into the cage;

Problem #1 – The cage has access through the top, the top sits about 6” higher than my armpit, therefore I cannot reach right in.

Problem #2 – Possum pouch/box needs to be near the bottom of the cage. [see later post on how to set up a cage]

Problem #3 – Ollie doesn’t want to let go.

Problem #4 - Arms are still unprotected !!!

½ hr later one possum has been successfully transferred into the cage.

Problem #5 We'll need to get Ollie out again soon to have a feed. (Baby Possums will need feeding every 3-6hrs dependent on their age/size.)

We grab a quick feed ourselves and prep the feeding table.

Hot water? [check]

Tissues? [check]

Possum Formula? [check] Wombaroo

Feeding bottles? [check]

Possum? Nope… the little bu@@a is wedged in his pouch and quite happy where I am thank you very much!

½ hr later…..

and we’re off….

Or not!

1st things 1st

One of the less glamorous things about being a surrogate possum mum is the toileting. In the wild mum possums ‘stimulate’ toileting by licking the baby, so we need to replicate that (with a warm wet tissue, not by licking – ewww!) In the wild possum mum’s are protected by thick layers of fur and the baby is quiet and calm…. Not us & definitely not Ollie…. Legs and claws windmill, his little body twisting pretzel like and finally… relief as he realises he does need to go, lots! Quick!!!! We need another tissue!!

That done, we now need Ollie to accept the teat on the syringe and drink the formula… our inexperience shows… Ollie wears 6-7 out of the 10mls in the syringe. Another batch is made and again he wears most of it. Batch #3 and we’re fairly sure he’s taken about 10mls…in total, not a bad attempt - 33% successful :)

Cleaning up the spilled milk is about as much fun as toileting (not a whole lot) especially when the possum doesn’t want to be cleaned the claws come out again… the formula is sticky and can cause all sort of skin infections if left on the possum’s fur, so whoopedee doo our fingers & arms suffer more scratches.

Guess what..? Possum now needs to be put back in the cage!

½ hr later....... you get the gist.

I know what I’m going to be doing the following day… buying a new, easy access cage.. that’s what!

Ollie soon settled and we sat down, exhausted, just in time to catch the end of our fav TV show. Steeling ourselves for the next feed.. when's that? midnight!Your turn sweetheart :)