Exploring the Fascinating Life of Baby Opossums Through Facts and FAQs
Baby opossums are one of only two families of marsupials found in the Americas, and the only family found in North America. Not only that, but only one species of that family – the Common (Virginia) Opossum lives any further north than Mexico. In contrast, there are about 120 species within these families that live in South or Central America.
Baby opossums start out their lives as tiny little creatures, no bigger than a honey bee or a thumbnail. From their very first second in the world they are in a battle for survival, and many will not make passed the first few days. But those that do, over the next few months transform into amazing little animals.
This post explores a series of baby opossum facts, and looks to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about these amazing little marsupials.
7 Fascinating Baby Opossum Facts
Baby Opossums Are Called Joeys
Like other marsupials like baby kangaroos and baby koalas, the name for a baby opossum is a ‘joey‘. They are usually born in a large ‘litter‘ with many siblings. They immediately make their way to their mothers ‘pouch‘, where they will remain until they are developed enough to emerge.
As they grow up, female opossums are known as a ‘jill‘ and male opossums are known as a ‘jack‘. There is no collective noun specifically for a group of joeys, but a group of opossums in general are called a ‘passel‘ of opossums.
Baby Opossums Are Not To Be Confused With Baby Possums
Despite having similar names and the fact that they are both from the order of marsupials, the opossum and the possum are entirely different animals. Possums are of the scientific order ‘Diprotodontia‘ and opossums are of the order ‘Didelphimorphia‘.
This is made confusing by the fact that the O in ‘opossum’ is silent. It is spelled but not pronounced, just like the H in the English word ‘hour’, or the T is ‘tsunami’. So it is not always clear which animal someone is talking about.
Thankfully there are many differences that set the two apart, so any confusion is usually short lived. Some of the most distinctive differences between opossums and possums include:
- Location – Opossums live in North and South America, while possums live in Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi.
- Size – American opossums are larger than the possums of Oceania.
- Tail – Opossums have a bare, furless tail, whereas the possum has a furry tail
- Body – Opossums have pointier faces, with black eyes and around 50 sharp teeth. The possum on the other hand has a rounder body and head.
Baby Opossums Are Born Very Underdeveloped
Like all marsupial babies, little opossum joeys are born live, but very under-developed. They are naked, blind and deaf at first. They are also unable to regulate their body temperature. Because of this, as soon as they are born they move quickly into their mothers pouch and latch quickly onto a teat. This is where they will stay, attached to a teat, not letting go until they are more developed.
Unfortunately for baby opossums, their are usually many more joeys than there are teats. This is a cruel display of survival of the fittest and in this case, the ‘quickest’. Those not quick enough to find and latch onto a teat will normally die.
For those that do find a teat, after their first week of feeding they can gain about ten times their birth weight and about three times the size.
Baby Opossums Can Appear Dead When Scared
Baby opossums are a prey specie to many predators. Their small size and limited physical defences make them an easy target for predators, particularly when they are young. To improve their chances, they have evolved with some physiological triggers that can help them get out of threatening situations, by appearing to be dead.
It’s not so much a case of ‘playing dead’ as it is being in a kind of comatose state. They don’t really choose when to do this, it happens as an instinctive defence mechanism.
When an opossum is threatened, its body goes limp and its breathing appears to stop. It may also empty its bowels and discharge drool, with its tongue sticking out. If you poke it, the possum will usually not respond. This defence mechanism is intended to confuse predators or attackers and allow the possum time to escape unharmed.
If they feel threatened but not overwhelmed, they may just hiss and show their teeth to ward off competitors, mild threats or annoyances.
Baby Opossums Have Immunity To Venom
While it is not uncommon for a snake to attack a baby opossum, they would have a tough time paralysing it with venom. That’s because even at a young age, opossums develop a form of immunity to venom, including snake venom. They also have immunity to bee stings, scorpions and other critters like venomous spiders.
In fact, opossums have been known to fight back and defeat smaller venomous snakes. Only larger, non venomous snakes are regularly successful at killing opossums.
The antivenom effect is a result of peptides in their blood which block the effects of venom. This has been the study of many scientists since the 1940’s, particularly around the properties of the Virginia opossum. The efficacy of these peptides has been trailed in serums on test animals to protect against diamondback rattlesnake bites in particular. This remains an area of much study in the effort to create better effective antivenoms.
Baby Opossums Are The Only Marsupials In North America
The common opossum, otherwise known as the Virginia opossum, is the only marsupial to live in North America. It can be found as far south as Costa Rica, but as far north as Southern Canada, around Ontario and the Rocky Mountains. Cold climate prevents it from living any further north than that.
While there are dozens of species of opossum that live in the South of America, no other is present anywhere in the wilds of the USA or Canada. So baby opossums born there are truly one of a kind.
Baby Opossums Are Very Agile
Once they emerge from their mothers pouch and become familiar with the outside world, opossums develop into very nimble and agile creatures. They are nocturnal by nature, and may often be found at night hanging by their prehensiletail upside down from branches or beams.
They develop very sharp claws, and opposable thumbs on their hind feet which also make them exceptional climbers. These traits help young opossums find safety in the trees once they are no longer welcome in the safety of their mothers pouch or on her back.
Baby Opossum FAQs
What Is The Lifecycle Of A Baby Opossum?
The gestation period for opossums, once conceived, is one of the shortest of any animal – between 12 -15 days on average across the species. The bare tailed woolly opossum is the exception here with a slightly longer time of 24 days.
Usually, between 18-25 babies are born, however, the mother can only suckle 13 at a time as this is how many teats she has. Competition for food is a problem and the weaker babies usually die.
Once born, these under developed babies make their way straight into their mothers pouch where they attach to its mother’s nipples and will stay attached for up to 60 to 70 days. After this time their eyes will start to open and they will gain some control over their own body temperature.
They will start venturing outside of the pouch a few days after their eyes open, and will start hitching a ride around on their mothers back instead of in the pouch. They are usually independant between 90-120 days.
Opossums become sexually mature at around 6 months for females and around 8 months for males. Their life span is around 3 years on average.
How Big Do Baby Opossums Grow?
All opossums regardless of the species, start out life very under-developed. As newborns, they measure no longer than 2 centimeters and weigh around 0.2 grams!
Most adults across all species grow to around 24 to 26 inches in length from nose to tail, and weigh 6 to 12 pounds. As they grow however, some species develop larger than others.
For example, theCommon or Virginia Opossumgrows to an adult size of between 33 – 50 cm (13 – 20 in) in length and weighs around 2 – 5.5 kg (4.5 – 12 lbs).
Water Opossums (Yapoks)on the other hand, reach between 27 – 40 cm (10.5 – 16 in) in length and a weight between 600 – 800 grams (1.25 – 1.75 lbs).
What Do Baby Opossums Eat?
Baby opossums start out life similarly to baby possums and baby wallabies, in the pouch drinking their mother’s milk, which is packed full of all the nutrients they need to grow and thrive.
They grow into opportunistic omnivores, and are not fussy eaters at all. They will feed on almost anything they can, including small rodents like rats and mice, insects like beetles, ants, grasshoppers or crickets. They are even known to eat some frogs, possibly even the horned frog, and in urban environments scavenge food from garbage.
Where Do Baby Opossums Live?
For the first few weeks and months of their life, baby opossums live inside their mothers pouch. Their parents do build nests, which can be quite complex. They never stay in them for too long though, only ever for a few days before moving on to a new site.
They tend to live in forested, scrub or brushy habitats, where they can climb and seek safety or shelter. They have also been known to enter into the burrows of some other animals, though are not classed as a burrowing animal themselves. They have even been known to adapt well to suburban and urban areas around cities.
Different species are located in different regions across the Americas, particularly South America. Only one species can be found in North America, and is the only marsupial to be found there.
What Are The Predators Of Baby Opossums?
Baby opossums might be small and cute but they are also preyed upon by many predators. Some of these predators include large birds of prey including hawks, owls (particularly the great horned owl), dogs, coyotes, cats, snakes and foxes.
