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Description
Short
tailed opossums are very clean. After each feeding they
clean and groom themselves thoroghly from head to toe.
In their cage, they will choose one place to potty.
You can easily train your opossum to use a litter box.
Just place a small container in the area, and fill it
with clay litter or shavings and clean it often.
Short
tailed opossums make wonderful pets. They like to cuddle
in your neck and stay in your pocket. They will wrap
their tails around your fingers and sit and wash their
faces. They are so cute!
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Housing
The
short tailed opossum will gnaw much like a rodent. You
can provide them wood cages, plastic cages and even
a Rubbermaid storage box. I have found a 10 gal aquarium
works best. Opossums are escape artists therefore you
should have a lid securely locked. Other items you can
include in housing are next box for sleeping; you can
also use a plastic flowerpot place on its side for a
nest box. Fresh water is very important. Short tailed
opossums can die from dehydration in a short amount
of time.
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Health
& Other Issues
Short
tailed opossums are solitary animals and should be kept
separately. Babies can be kept together for 7 or 10
weeks of age.
Short
tailed opossums have few health problems. As with any
exotic is it recommended you find a good exotic vet
before an emergency should occur.
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We
don't suggest short tailed opossums for a pet for
children under the age of 8 years of age. They are
clean, easy to feed and entertaining, but like all
animals that have sharp teeth, children should be
supervised while handling them.
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Breeding
/Feeding
Breeding
short tailed opossums is fairly easy. You put the female
with the male, not visa versa for 10 to 14 days. After
which you take the male out. Otherwise the female may
kill the male. After about 10 days you will notice worm
like embryos immerge. From the time they immerge to
8 weeks they can be weaned we suggest a diet (listed
below) I've created for my sugar gliders; kitten's milk
and fresh fruits, mealworms and crickets. When they
can catch a cricket on their own, they are ready to
be weaned.
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The recipe I use is as follows:
½ cup baby cereal
¼ cup wheat germ
1 boiled egg with shell off
½ cup honey
½ cup apple juice
small amounts of fruit cut up
tuna
IMS cat food as supplement
occassionally pinkie mice
mealworms and crickets are very important. They provide
protein, and a water source.
I
usually make a big batch (10 times the amount) and freeze
the rest in ice cube trays.
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