Virginia Opossums may only live for 2 years, which means they need to grow up fast! Females are reproductively mature by 6 months, and males by 8 months. Mister H. Lecter is a great example of this. Just take a look at how fast he has grown! He came in about 6 weeks ago just 100g and is now over 600g and will be released soon. Go Lecter! (didn't necessarily want to put in all those half-asleep pictures of ME, but it DOES offer a scale!)
In addition to special formula, though he is now weaned, the opossums at WTS receive quite delectable dishes of fresh fruit, kitten chow soaked in apple juice, dry kitten & ferret food, fresh veggies, eggs (both raw & hard boiled), and mouse. Just take a look at what came by post the other day- 250 frozen weanling (i.e., weaned but young- which have the perfect balance of protein & calcium) mice.
A big thank you to all those who have made donations, as it is almost 75cents/mouse (shipping included) and I go through about 10/day- that adds up fast!! And, btw, cutting up mice for opossum dinners, is maybe one of the worst jobs at WTS. :( But the opossums love them, and so goes the circle of life :)
And just to end on a slightly more palatable note- palatable to humans at any rate... here's a cute picture of the male Downy woodpecker feeding his begging son at my feeder. Poor Pops looked bedraggled, and his son looked so fluffy and chubby. What a good dad!
