What Possum ?

By now you might be asking, "How do I tell the difference between Brush and Ring tail possums?"

The first difference is the most obvious... it's their tails !

Ginger, Female Juvenile Brush-tail 

In South Australia the Brush tail Possum's tail is all fluffy & bushy and usually dark gray to black, where as the Ring tail has a white or light creamy tip, somewhat like it's been dipped in a paint pot. (There are regional differences and variations)

Both have a bare patch on the underside of the tail to help with grip. 

Cooper and Mini, Juvanile Ring Tails 

Other less obvious differences are the size of an adult Ring-tail is about 1/2 that of an adult Brushy which can get into the 4kg size range (or as a comparison, small dog/large cat size)

The ears of a Ring-tail are more rounded and their faces more mouse like than the Brushy. The eye colour of a Ring-tail is usually lighter brown than the Brushy, which can be almost black and Ring-tails generally have a dark nose, whereas the Brushy has a pink tip. Both have fur that ranges from mid to dark gray over cream to white base, but again (as these photo's show, there are many variations)

Mini, Female Ringtail showing colouration and facial features.

Star & Luna, Brush-tails showing different colouration & facial features.

Then again... as a baby, Pinkies (fur less) or slightly furred possums look a lot like a baby macropod (Kangaroo, Wallaby etc)

Baby Brush-tail.

Setting up a cage for Possums

As with any wild animal where there’s a intent to keep it in captivity the common consensus is that the accommodation needs to be practical, but also approximate the natural environ where the animal is normally found.

 

Ok, cages or aviaries are not at all natural places for possums, but that’s part of the practical side… the idea is to provide a ‘jungle gym’ of branches etc so the possums can learn to balance, jump, and explore the strengths of branches etc without harm, in a way that allows us to get in and extract them for treatment, to clean up and provide food & water.

Recreating this environment:

Morialta National Park, South Australia

In this cage:

Larger cage can be split into 2x small ones.

 After several attempts we feel that we’ve achieved a fair approximation in both our indoor cages and the aviaries outside.

Converted shed/Aviary mk1 showing branches and ropes. water bottles for branches of leaves.

In the wild possums utilize drays [nests built from leaves and twigs] in the top layers of a tree, or inhabit hollows in the tree itself [often created when branches have dropped off during storms or drought]

Tree hollows: ideal possum homes

Home made Dray [home for 2x happy Ring Tail possums] with a small standard box on shelf to the right

As a baby, our possums have to learn how to transition from branch to nest for themselves, normally they would learn from the safety of their mum’s back. We have found a few days with their possum box on or just off the floor prevents injury from the inevitable ‘spill’ as they scrabble in and out. A few days later the box is securely fitted to the side of the cage approximately 20cm off the ground with access to a branch directly outside the entrance. After a couple of weeks the box is lifted to near the top of the cage.

1st level

 

The cage base is normally the same material as the sides so a little ‘debris’ loose leaves and twigs make it more natural.

An old blue or green sheet draped around the back & sides of the cage can give the possum some sense of security, but also keeps direct sun off the cage, stops possum wee and poo from splashing onto walls etc.

At first a container for their formula is positioned near a branch, this is removed as they are weaned off milk. In care, possums will rarely take a drink of water unless it’s extremely hot, in the wild we believe it’s even rarer instead they get their moisture from the leaves [and fruit] they eat, however it is a lawful requirement for water to be available for any captive animal so be prepared to change the water daily as the container is an ideal place to wee and poo!!

Several bottles of water are hung and wired in place around the cage to allow ‘live’ branches of leaves to be presented to the possums in an almost natural way. This helps them develop their stretching as well as searching instincts. These branches will last overnight if put in water or only a few hours if not.

2x Ring tail possums enjoy fresh leaves.

There are a couple of trains of thought regarding supplementing a possum’s diet. Most agree that because of the limited capacity of a carer to source leaves and the restrictive size of a cage compared to a possum’s normal ‘range’ we cannot completely fulfill a possum's dietary needs unless we supplement the natural leaves with ‘human prepared’ foods like pieces of apple, melon, sweet potato, kiwi fruit, spinach, silver beet, almonds etc.

Some carers will place all the fruit into a bowl in the cage or aviary, we prefer to make the possums exercise their senses and work for the food. By using the branches, twigs or bird feeder spikes, we hang and place the fruit in different places around the cage/aviary making a 'treasure hunt' for the possums each night..

Our possums are also hand fed a few mealworms every few days as an added ‘treat’ once they’re old enough to be relocated outside in an aviary. We feel that hand feeding should be kept to a minimum to prevent imprinting or overly domesticating the animal, however I've found the mealworms hard to present any other way.

The basics of setting up an aviary is no different except everything is larger or there’s more of it. As the possum box will also be bigger generally a shelf is used instead of damaging the aviary by fixing the box to the walls.

The biggest difference is cost… in Australia you can get a decent size cage for upwards of $150 but a custom made aviary big enough to house possums will cost in excess of Australian $700-800. We found a standard shed will cost $300-400 so a handyman [or handy-lady] could easily convert the shed for $100-150. (which is what I did… twice!)

converted shed/aviary mk2.

* Please note this blog conveys the author's ideas and opinions only, another carer may have found contrary things work well for them. We cannot say who would be most correct, however our possums have all been fit and healthy when passed onto carers with larger aviaries for longer term care, so what we're doing cannot be too wrong. We are constantly open to new ideas and ways of improving the orphaned possum's chances of survival.

Learning the hard way…

In the wildlife section of book stores there’s no 1st time parent's baby manual called “The Baby Possum’s first days” or “Bringing Baby Possum Home” so at home the learning curve is, by necessity, very steep and fraught with danger.

We learned most of these lessons through trial and error... mainly error and we were lucky that no 'major' mistakes were made as Ollie turned out fine (at least we think he did....)



Lesson #1 - never leave possum in his pouch, on the feeding table and turn your back, or your baby possum will get scared and take a flying leap towards his ‘mum’ al la sugar glider style... splat onto the carpet! Because, as Ollie found out; 1/ a baby possum's perception of distance is not yet developed, 2/ there needs to be a certain amount of grip to provide a decent jumping platform and 3/ brush-tails definitely cannot fly!

Lesson #2 – Don’t wear ½ decent clothes whilst giving a baby Possum attention… as they have no etiquette and will wee whenever startled or scared... copious amounts... normally down your arm, over your shoulder or in your lap.

Lesson #3 – when transitioning from feeding by syringe to lapping from a bowl, be prepared to clean possum’s face regularly as they’ll invariably dive face first into the milk. Again their depth perception is not yet developed.

Lesson #4 – always remember to close both doors on the cage, otherwise an adventurous possum will end up on top of the cage or climbing up your curtains, or worse still wee-ing from the top of the cage onto your curtains when he gets scared of you climbing up to capture him again!

Lesson #5 – wear your beanie when handling a possum… especially one called Ollie, as they’ll always try to find the highest place when frightened … ie: the top of your head! It also pays to keep your mouth shut if possum does get on top of your head… [see Lesson #2]


 
Lesson #6 - If you have hyper sensitive hearing... wear ear plugs. 1/ if you want a good night sleep as a possum jumping from branch to branch in a cage or aviary can be quite noisy. (You might also consider where your aviary is situated so your neighbours are not disturbed) and 2/ a possum eating a piece of apple or sweet potato an few cm from your ear is very loud.

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 :)

Getting started

My wife & I first joined Fauna Rescue late in 2009, we attended a new members workshop and then signed up for basic training in Possum care to be followed by Reptile care. These whole day training sessions give you basic skills and knowledge for the role of wildlife carer. 

Possum training at Fauna Rescue

It's not until we met and talked to our local Possum Coordinator (L) that we got a real sense of what we were signing up for… L didn’t pull any punches! she greeted us with ”be ready for long hours, a 7day/week commitment, lots of hard work, 3 hourly feeds, collecting food every 2-4 days and plenty of heart ache when the possum doesn’t make it!” 

A year on I understand why L was so harsh from the get go, she needed to be sure we were serious and prepared. I’m glad she was so honest and forthright, as we’ve had sick and injured possum that have died in our arms, or we’ve taken to be euthanased, my wife in particular has often done 3 hourly feeding sessions and every 2-3 days I go out looking for leaves to feed the possums… pouring rain, wind & hail or +40°C [+104°F] they need feeding,  so out I go! Without this pre-knowledge and the chance to make the informed decision to give it a go we may well have dropped out quite early on.

L has many years experience and therefore provided us with more specifics on methods of handling and capturing the possums, on feeding, setting up our cage/aviary and on identifying & dealing with sickness. Her ongoing support has given us the confidence to continue and overcome the many new [for us] problems associated with caring for wildlife.

A selection of hand made possum pouches

Following the meetings with L, we decided that Possums would be enough work for us and canceled our booking for Reptile training, a decision I’ve not regretted as we’ve been flat out learning about possums this first year.

As new carers we needed to work out where we were going to home the possums, a small cage was loaned to us to get started & plans were made to convert a back bedroom into a possum nursery and the spare shed into an aviary… out came the tools and a few weekends later we were ready…ish ! 

We must have passed the tests and been deemed capable enough by L, because on the 03 May we were told to pick up our first bundle of fur from another carer who only checked and stabilized the babies, then handed them on for full time care.

Into our lives came a baby Brush-tail, a little boy named Ollie. 
So began the start of something wonderful…

Ollie and I become acquainted... I think the grape helped!

What is Possum Ark?

I guess I should start by explaining what Possum Ark is and who we are....

Possum Ark is just a blog, established to teach not preach about caring for our native fauna, particularly the Brush Tail Possum in South Australia. My wife and I are part of a group of like minded volunteers seeking to raise awareness of the decline in Brush-tail and Ring-tail possums in our state, taking in sick, injured and orphaned possums and providing treatment and care in an environment as similar to nature as we can provide.

We are all members of Fauna Rescue of South Australia Inc. an established organisation providing regular training for members in best practices for caring and successful rehabilitation of many kinds of wildlife. It has approval from the DEH to take in and care for most species of native fauna in South Australia including Birds, Raptors, Marsupials, Reptiles etc.

Fauna Rescue is South Australia's largest non-profit wildlife organisation, it's members are all volunteers and care for sick injured and orphaned wildlife in their own homes and bear most of the the cost of care from their own pockets. Each year Fauna Rescue members take into care approximately two to three thousand animals/birds & reptiles. (South Australia covers approx One Million square Kilometers [390,000square miles] and has a human population of approx 1.8 million)

The Dept of Environment & Heritage [DEH] regulations govern where and when possums can be released [which at this time is very limited], who can care for them and licenses pest controllers to capture and re-locate troublesome possum in urban environs.

Whilst Fauna Rescue's policy is to "Rescue, Rehabilitate and Release" (See note below) it also provides education services to schools and social groups highlighting South Australia's wildlife and the impact of the urban sprawl on those creatures.

The Common Brush-Tail Possum is classified as endangered in South Australia by the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species yet often seen as a pest, especially when nesting in or near urban properties. Through this Blog I hope to dispel some of those misconceptions, raise awareness of the good work that Fauna Rescue and other wildlife rescue organisations in South Australia do and hopefully encourage some of you to become involved in caring for your local wildlife where ever you live .

NB: At the time of posting Possums in South Australia should only be released (must be within 50mts of where they were found where practical) if this can be done within 48hrs

1st Post

To follow... many tails tales of 'giving back' and caring for our little furry friends.

Tiny Jake & Blink Our baby Brush Tail Possums