Opossum

If you find a dead female opossum with babies either in the pouch or clinging onto mom, babies must be removed  as soon as possible to prevent them from ingesting bad milk from the dead mother.  If the babies are still attached to the mother's nipples, please bring the dead mother WITH BABIES ATTACHED to a rehabilitator as soon as possible.  If you are comfortable removing the attached babies, firmly hold the baby in one hand and the other hand should hold the nipple (closest to the body) and slowly pull the baby off with firm but gentle tension until released.

There are several ways to warm up a baby but be sure you do not overheat the baby or heat it up too quickly.  One option to warm up the baby is to put the baby on a soft piece of cloth or fleece in a container with a heating pad on LOW setting underneath the container and only under HALF of the container.  Leaving HALF of the container bottom surface off the heating pad allows the baby to crawl to the cooler side if it gets too hot.  Another option is to put dry rice or beans in a sock, tie the end, and heat in the microwave for a minute or so. Put the heated sock near but not on the baby.  Be careful with overheating the sock; you just want the sock to be warm.

If you find an INJURED mom with babies, you can put a blanket over her, place one hand under her tummy, and hold her tail with the other, and place her in a box or container.

NEVER hold an opossum by the tail or pick an opossum up by the tail as it can detach and injure the opossum further.  

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT FEED THE BABY OPOSSUMS AS THEY NEED TO BE FED WITH SPECIAL FORMULA AND POSSIBLY WITH A FEEDING TUBE.