How to Care for a Brazilian Opossum
Brazilian opossums are small insectivorous mammals that may be kept as pets. While they are slightly delicate, they can live up to four years if they are given good care and good housing. These are solitary animals that should be kept in single cages by themselves, but they can be friendly and personable, if they are socialized to humans at a young age.
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Things You'll Need
- 20-gallon tank with mesh lid
- Temperature gauge
- Humidity gauge
- Paper bedding
- Branches
- Water bowl
- Food bowl
- Exercise wheel
- Kitten or ferret dry food
- Fresh fruit or vegetables
- Cottage cheese
Instructions
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House your Brazilian opossum in a 20-gallon tank with a mesh lid. This gives your opossum enough room to run and exercise.
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Place the tank in an area that is warm with no drafts, adding a temperature gauge and a humidity gauge to the side of the tank. Brazilian opossums should be kept at temperatures between 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and at a humidity that is between 40 and 50 percent.
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Furnish the tank with a layer of paper bedding, branches for the opossum to climb on, an 8-inch exercise wheel, and food and water dishes. Each tank should house only one Brazilian opossum, as these animals are solitary by nature and will attack each other if house together. The only time to house two Brazilian opossums together is when you are planning to breed them.
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Feed your opossum 1 teaspoon of dry, high-protein kitten or ferret food per day along with 1 teaspoon of fresh fruits of vegetables. Give the opossum a very small amount of cottage cheese or some other fatty dairy product two to three times a week. Unlike other rodents, Brazilian opossums do not tend to overeat.
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Keep the water bowl full and clean at all times.
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Spot-clean the Brazilian opossum's cage whenever you notice a mess, and clean it thoroughly every week by removing all the litter, wiping down all the things in the cage and placing them back inside.
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Handle your Brazilian opossum regularly. First, allow it to sniff your fingers while it is in its cage and then allow it to crawl into your cupped hands. As the animal learns to trust you more, carry it around in a bathrobe pocket or wrap it in a towel and allow it to sit in your lap.
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Tips & Warnings
Give the opossum paper towels so it can tear them up and nest.
Locate a local exotic animal vet who is familiar with Brazilian opossums. This allows you to consult with a specialist if your pet starts having health problems.
Wash your hands before handling your opossum, as the opossum might bite you if you smell like food.
As Brazilian opossums are nocturnal animals, be prepared for plenty of rustling and noise from the cage late at night.
References
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Comments
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I offer several corrections and clarifications for this article. Brazilian opossums are not insectivores. They are on the carnivorous end of omnivorous ("Predators with pouches: the biology of carnivorous marsupials", Jones, 2003 and "Mammals of the Neotropics", Eisenberg, 1999). Rodents in particular are a significant prey source, and they will also eat bird eggs, carrion, frogs, small lizards, scorpions, small snakes, spiders and worms. They were initially thought to be insectivores many years ago when they entered the pet market, but more research has been done on South American marsupials since then. While some STO only eat a teaspoon or so of dry food -- particularly if they are also offered wet food regularly -- they may eat up to 1 tablespoon of food per day. They will also consume more than 1 teaspoon of fruit at a time. So tablespoons of food should be offered, not just a teaspoon at a time. In fact, for dry food a lot can be offered and they will eat it at their leisure. While they CAN be offered dairy, it is risky because of the danger of diarrhea. It should be not be a commandment that "thou shalt offer dairy". It is much more important that they be offered high PROTEIN sources 2-3 times per week, such as meat, insects, egg or avocado. It is also more important to offer soft fruits, such as applesauce or banana. Dairy is the least important diet component, and the one most likely to cause diarrhea. It's not like milk or yogurt is just sitting around the Brazilian rainforest. I really doubt whoever wrote this article has kept a short-tailed opossum pet, and perhaps has never even seen one. I think this article was written by someone just casually combining and paraphrasing bullet points from other websites. Molly Kalafut
