sea-aggie's Journal

I finally got my four-eyed opossum pair about a week and a half ago. Both imported animals, the male is already quite tractable, but the female is a hissy little thing. :) I can't handle her without gloves, and the way she grabs the gloves and shakes reminds me of a little tough dog. I kept them in small rubbermaid tubs with hide boxes for the first several days in my bathroom. They have since been relocated into their very own 3' x 2.5' x 6' cage in our insulated garage. Taking a cue from some of the pictures on here, I made them each an individual nestbox out of a styrofoam cooler, stuffed with aspen shavings and shredded newspaper. The female has claimed the one on the upper level, and the male has the one on the floor of the cage. I've also given them a tub full of cypress mulch to play and dig in, and hopefully use as the primary bathroom! :)

So far, they're getting along okay. There has been a little roughhousing, I think, because I found a little blood in the cage. Neither possum seems injured, so I think it may be from little feet getting cut while chasing each other up and down the wire of the cage and on the perching in there. My husband says he's heard them chattering at each other several times in the night. Since the day I found the blood, there has been no new blood in the cage, so I think they might be working things out. I have high hopes of babies on the way soon!

I decided to make the staple of their diet Mazuri Omnivore Chow - which I'm familiar with as we fed it to the bears and other omnivores when I worked at the zoo. They LOVE it! I'm also giving them Jicama, Papaya, Guava and I think I forsee a lot of bananas in my future - since the female stopped hissing at me long enough to eat banana out of my hand!

I'm very encouraged by the whole thing. I took the male to the vet clinic where I work, and he was a big hit...everyone thought he was adorable, and he didn't seem too stressed by the attention (though he did poop a lot!) I'm looking forward to the time when I can write on here my adventures with baby Four-eyeds!!!!!

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sea-aggie
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Member since: Dec 30, 2009
Posts: 2 My Hobbies
Dog training, Mondioring, reading, TV junkie, reptiles, exotic pets My Bio
I've spent the majority of my adult life caring for animals, personally and professionally. Graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in marine biology, spent over 9 years as a zookeeper in a major US zoo. Currently working as a veterinary technician alongside a board-certified exotics vet. Hoping to change careers once again soon - back to my marine bio roots.