How to Feed a Pet Opossum

Opossums have very specific dietary requirements, and they can be somewhat challenging to feed. Most pet opossum health issues are directly linked to their diet, so plan your pet's diet carefully to keep him healthy and happy.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• High-protein, low-fat dry pet food
• Food bowl
• Insects
• Fruits and vegetables
• Water bottle or bowl
• Poultry, fish or insects
• Zoo-quality omnivore food
• Garlic juice
• Virgin olive oil
• Food dish

For Short-tailed Opossums

1. Feed your pet opossum a high-protein, low-fat dry food. You can use cat, kitten, hedgehog or ferret food for your opossum. A dry food with at least 30 percent protein, 9 to 15 percent fat and 5 percent fiber is ideal.

2. Leave the food out at all times. Opossums won't overeat, and keeping your pet's bowl full will make sure she doesn't get hungry.

3. Supplement your opossum's dry food with a few insects or small pieces of cooked meat daily. If using live insects, purchase live mealworms, waxworms or crickets from a pet store to ensure that they are disease-free. You can feed your pet freeze-dried or frozen insects if you prefer.

4. Add a variety of fruits and vegetables to your pet opossum's diet. Use fresh, frozen or pureed fruits and vegetables. Experiment with a wide range of fruits and vegetables to see what your opossum likes best. You might start with apples, melons, berries, corn and cucumbers. Remove uneaten produce daily.

5. Supply your opossum with fresh water at all times. Short-tailed opossums are prone to dehydration, so even a short time without water can have severe effects.

6. Supplement your opossum's diet with small amounts of cooked, boneless poultry or fish, or insects such as crickets and mealworms. These are good sources of low-fat protein.

For Virginia, or North American Opossums

1. Feed your Virginia opossum a varied and omnivorous diet. Because Virginia opossums don't do well on commercial pet food, a zoo-quality omnivore food is recommended. You can find this food through Mazuri, a company specializing in products for exotic animals (see Resources section).

2. Provide your pet with a variety of fresh or thawed frozen vegetables. Your opossum might like almost any type of vegetable, so try out an assortment to see what he likes best.

3. Include small amounts of dairy foods for calcium, whole grain foods for fiber, almonds for essential fats and a few drops of apple cider vinegar daily to help your pet's digestion.

4. Treat your opossum with fruits a couple of times each week. Try out a variety of fruits to see which she prefers to eat.

5. Add garlic juice to your opossum's diet to help keep her flea and parasite-free, and add virgin olive oil to keep her fur healthy.

6. Provide fresh water at all times.

Tips & Warnings

• If your short tailed opossum gains too much weight, offer only a limited amount of dry food and decrease high-calorie treats. If this makes your pet hungry, increase the amount of fruit you feed her.

• Virginia opossums do not like asparagus!

• Do not feed your Virginia opossum dog or cat food or beef. Your pet's health will suffer if you do.

• If you do not feed your Virginia opossum an adequate diet, your pet will quickly get sick and may die. Take great care in feeding your opossum to ensure her health and survival.

• Some Virginia opossums are allergic to nuts, so watch for any adverse effects.