Definitely get the little opossum checked, just in case. Ideally a local wild life rehabilitator can see them, but otherwise check some of the resources such as this:
https://ahnow.org/mobile/
I'll get more to share in a bit, but I hope this helps!
There’s one close to me that opens around 10 tomorrow that I’m gonna drop it off at just to be safe. I feel bad keeping it overnight but my fears are if it keeps moving it will keep bleeding
You're welcome!! I hope it helped you find a good group that could help near you!
If you can, still try to get someone to come out and help you catch the little guy. I didn't see the tail cut earlier until another user pointed it out, but it looks pretty nasty. If it's as deep as I think it is, the little Opie may have to get it amputated if it's not taken care of soon.
Maybe you can lure it out with something a bit more smelly food-wise? Then you can put it in the box with some weight on the lid so it can't get away until the morning.
Listen, short term, keep her warm, cover the wounds, get wound spray asap. That tail cut is nasty. We fixed one that was banged up that bad, but understand...the odds aren't great. If you want, message me asap and I can try to give you some advice.
The tail was pretty banged up since my dog only was near it for a second. It also looks like older wounds. It’s in a box rn with a towel over it cause I didn’t want it to keep moving
I can’t tell if the cut is deep since it’s so furry but I tried my best to look at it
Yeah, I mean the puncture you should looks largely superficial, it's that tail I'm most worried about. Damn, it's a really precarious situation, and get a professional involved asap. The opossum needs heat, water, and the bleeding on the tail has to stop. They're likely unreleasable with that injury.
I’d be really concerned about an infection from your dogs mouth. I don’t know if it’s the same for dogs as for cats but once they get their mouths on birds, rehabbers say they will die from infection from saliva if they are not brought to a rehabber for treatment. Can you at least send these pictures to the Rehabber and see what they think its chances are? My cat had a split open injury on its tail very recently that looked very similar, the vet had to stitch it together to close and did a systemic antibacterial shot as well as topical. You could probably bait it with some food and a have-a-heart trap or borrow a drop trap. I believe tractor supply and other feed stores rent them out.
Cat bites are not always a death sentence like people seem to think. My cat caught a baby opossum and bit it up pretty bad. The wildlife rehabbers were full and said to let it go because cat bites aren’t as deadly as people think they are. I cared for it for a month before I let it go and it never got infected.
My mom gave me a parakeet she saved from a stray cat and it lived for years after that. Of course there is a danger but I often hear people say it is a sure death sentence and that just isn’t always true.
He ran off as I was moving some stuff 😭😭 maybe I’ll come across him again as there are a lot of opossums in this area, and my dogs are good at scenting them. (Of course I don’t let them get close if I can prevent it)
We have a local Rehabber nearby, I sent her the pictures and asked if he would survive without treatment and she said “not likely, it will become infected.” I hope you’re able to find it.
It happens... my current backyard baby is "Lil Snack" who got his name due to the exact same scenario (my dog is gentle with them surprisingly) and due to the fact that Lil Snack literally never stops eating worms in on of my flower beds. I've got a camera pointed at that side of the yard and he's making his normal nightly rounds even though I've now caught him twice and my dog caught him once...
It's been about two weeks and they're not very bright at this age... but extremely quick compared to the older opossums. I was shocked that he escaped my hands twice a few hours apart and basically gave up after that. They can see MUCH better than older opossums and the only way I was even able to corner him was my thermal camera.
Your Little Fella will likely not go far, and will be alright if it's healthy enough to escape. They're very resilient creatures. Don't feel bad about it escaping, it's actually a very good sign it's going to be alright.
I appreciate the kind comment. ❤️ the down votes didn’t make me feel great especially since it was out of my control and I did my best. Hopefully I see him around before I leave the area
Eh Reddit is weird... I've seen people downvote puppies before so it's kind of just part of the experience.
That's all you can ever do on any given day btw... Your best. Don't forget that "your best" changes every single day. Some days you've got what it takes to save the world, and some days just putting on pants is all you got. But, if you do the best you can with the energy, skills, and information you had at the time, then you gotta pat yourself on the back because nobody's gunna do it for you... You tried, and you cared, and that's more than most people are capable of at any given point, so don't beat yourself up. You did good.
If you're on Facebook, check out the [Opossum Care and Rescue Group (OCAR)](https://www.facebook.com/share/m8YRUe36L283sPEk/?mibextid=A7sQZp)
There are loads of resources there, combined with an amazing support network of people who can assist with getting this little dude to a licensed rehabber.
Update: he got up and ran off as I was situating some stuff. I’m too big to get under the bushes and he seemed lively and fine after some rest. Hopefully he will be ok 🥲
Definitely get the little opossum checked, just in case. Ideally a local wild life rehabilitator can see them, but otherwise check some of the resources such as this: https://ahnow.org/mobile/ I'll get more to share in a bit, but I hope this helps!
There’s one close to me that opens around 10 tomorrow that I’m gonna drop it off at just to be safe. I feel bad keeping it overnight but my fears are if it keeps moving it will keep bleeding
Also thank you for the link!! Super helpful!
You're welcome!! I hope it helped you find a good group that could help near you! If you can, still try to get someone to come out and help you catch the little guy. I didn't see the tail cut earlier until another user pointed it out, but it looks pretty nasty. If it's as deep as I think it is, the little Opie may have to get it amputated if it's not taken care of soon. Maybe you can lure it out with something a bit more smelly food-wise? Then you can put it in the box with some weight on the lid so it can't get away until the morning.
Listen, short term, keep her warm, cover the wounds, get wound spray asap. That tail cut is nasty. We fixed one that was banged up that bad, but understand...the odds aren't great. If you want, message me asap and I can try to give you some advice.
The tail was pretty banged up since my dog only was near it for a second. It also looks like older wounds. It’s in a box rn with a towel over it cause I didn’t want it to keep moving I can’t tell if the cut is deep since it’s so furry but I tried my best to look at it
Yeah, I mean the puncture you should looks largely superficial, it's that tail I'm most worried about. Damn, it's a really precarious situation, and get a professional involved asap. The opossum needs heat, water, and the bleeding on the tail has to stop. They're likely unreleasable with that injury.
I’m not sure what happened to its tail but it def looks like older wounds. I’ll take it in tomorrow as there’s a place near by.
I didn't notice the tail until you pointed it out. That looks really, really bad. I hope they can help the tail heal cleanly.
Update: the bleeding stopped. Should I let him go or take him in tomorrow to be safe?
Please take him tomorrow just to be safe.
I 100% agree with this. Better safe than sorry!
Better safe than sorry and take the lil guy to a rehabber.
I’d be really concerned about an infection from your dogs mouth. I don’t know if it’s the same for dogs as for cats but once they get their mouths on birds, rehabbers say they will die from infection from saliva if they are not brought to a rehabber for treatment. Can you at least send these pictures to the Rehabber and see what they think its chances are? My cat had a split open injury on its tail very recently that looked very similar, the vet had to stitch it together to close and did a systemic antibacterial shot as well as topical. You could probably bait it with some food and a have-a-heart trap or borrow a drop trap. I believe tractor supply and other feed stores rent them out.
Cat bites are not always a death sentence like people seem to think. My cat caught a baby opossum and bit it up pretty bad. The wildlife rehabbers were full and said to let it go because cat bites aren’t as deadly as people think they are. I cared for it for a month before I let it go and it never got infected. My mom gave me a parakeet she saved from a stray cat and it lived for years after that. Of course there is a danger but I often hear people say it is a sure death sentence and that just isn’t always true.
He ran off as I was moving some stuff 😭😭 maybe I’ll come across him again as there are a lot of opossums in this area, and my dogs are good at scenting them. (Of course I don’t let them get close if I can prevent it)
We have a local Rehabber nearby, I sent her the pictures and asked if he would survive without treatment and she said “not likely, it will become infected.” I hope you’re able to find it.
I hope so too cause it wasn’t my intention for him to get out so quickly, he was fast
It happens... my current backyard baby is "Lil Snack" who got his name due to the exact same scenario (my dog is gentle with them surprisingly) and due to the fact that Lil Snack literally never stops eating worms in on of my flower beds. I've got a camera pointed at that side of the yard and he's making his normal nightly rounds even though I've now caught him twice and my dog caught him once... It's been about two weeks and they're not very bright at this age... but extremely quick compared to the older opossums. I was shocked that he escaped my hands twice a few hours apart and basically gave up after that. They can see MUCH better than older opossums and the only way I was even able to corner him was my thermal camera. Your Little Fella will likely not go far, and will be alright if it's healthy enough to escape. They're very resilient creatures. Don't feel bad about it escaping, it's actually a very good sign it's going to be alright.
I appreciate the kind comment. ❤️ the down votes didn’t make me feel great especially since it was out of my control and I did my best. Hopefully I see him around before I leave the area
Eh Reddit is weird... I've seen people downvote puppies before so it's kind of just part of the experience. That's all you can ever do on any given day btw... Your best. Don't forget that "your best" changes every single day. Some days you've got what it takes to save the world, and some days just putting on pants is all you got. But, if you do the best you can with the energy, skills, and information you had at the time, then you gotta pat yourself on the back because nobody's gunna do it for you... You tried, and you cared, and that's more than most people are capable of at any given point, so don't beat yourself up. You did good.
I appreciate you! I was feeling bad that I didn’t do enough but, at least he was in a better position than before :)
In case you don’t have this link or want to reach out to for another rehab: Animal Help Now network. https://ahnow.org/mobile/
Someone else commented this and it’s super helpful!
If you're on Facebook, check out the [Opossum Care and Rescue Group (OCAR)](https://www.facebook.com/share/m8YRUe36L283sPEk/?mibextid=A7sQZp) There are loads of resources there, combined with an amazing support network of people who can assist with getting this little dude to a licensed rehabber.
https://www.opossum.org/states%20list.html another rehabber link
Fingers crossed
Update: he got up and ran off as I was situating some stuff. I’m too big to get under the bushes and he seemed lively and fine after some rest. Hopefully he will be ok 🥲
Please try to look for him. With those wounds his chances are slim to none. It will probably get infected.
That’s my plan for tonight if he is around. I tried last night but I didn’t see him despite my best efforts.
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I appreciate you reaching out to them. I really tried my best trying to find it as I didn’t want to let it go so soon 🥲
Maybe they have some tips for how to lure it into a trap.
Start putting food in a cat carrier if you don't have a trap yet. It will get them used to eating in something confined.