Raising the Wild: Inside Opossum Rehab with Jenni Johnson of Opi•Earth

Dixie: 00:00:02

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Today I am thrilled to be joined

by Jenni Johnson of Opie Earth.

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Jenni is a licensed wildlife

rehabilitator, and she does

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the tireless work of rescuing,

rehabbing, and releasing possums.

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Jenni, thank you so much for being

here to talk about Opie Earth today.

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Jenni: Thank you for having me.

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Dixie: I'm interested in learning

how you got started with Opie

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Earth and in wildlife rehab.

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Jenni: This is my third year as a licensed

rehabber, but I signed on as a sub

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permitee way back in 2019, I think it was.

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And I just found a couple of baby

squirrels in my yard and I called and

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called and called, and I could not find.

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One single person in my

area to help me with them.

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I had no idea what to do.

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So I was like, okay, I'm

gonna try to fix that.

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So I made some more phone calls

and I think I pestered the

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director of permits at that time,.

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But she got me in touch or gave me

a list of people to call to try to

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get signed on as a sub-permitee.

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And then I just went from there.

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I got signed on.

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With a licensed rehabber and

did some training with her

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and just went from there.

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Dixie: How was the training?

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What did you learn as a sub permittee?

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Jenni: Oh man, as a sub permittee for

me, everything, because I started,

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I didn't know what anything was.

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Nothing.

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Zero an alack.

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I'm like, what's an alack,

what's a miracle nipple?

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What's, any of this.

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So it was all learning

for me, everything from.

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Like triage to how to feed 'em,

how to hold an animal, how to do

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anything from start to finish.

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It was all new for me.

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So pretty much everything was a learning

experience when, I guess the most

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that I learned right in the beginning

was like proper caging and feeding.

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And then, just little things from there

how to prepare 'em for release their diet

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based on different species and everything.

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. Pretty much everything.

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At the time it was just squirrel.

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It wasn't possums back then.

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I didn't start doing the possums until

maybe two years after I first started,

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and that was a whole nother thing.

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'cause possums are nothing like squirrel.

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So it was like I had to start

learning all over again.

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Their diet and their care and

how, to get them set up for.

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Release into the wild.

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Lots of different things.

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But being a sub permittee, I

learned, just the basics I guess

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until I got set up here at my house.

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And then as I got more comfortable.

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She let me do things, more on my own.

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Dixie: You started with squirrels and

then you got involved in possums, and now

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your organization is called Opie Earth.

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Is that because you

primarily do possums now?

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Jenni: Yeah, that's it.

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I broke it down to just the possums

because they're a lot harder to find

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placement for, especially the Joey's,

the ones that are under 30 grams

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because they have to be tube fed.

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A lot of rehabbers, they work full-time

jobs too, so they don't really have the

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time schedule for the little tiny babies.

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And I'm a stay at home mom, so I.

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Decided, I have the time,

I can, take 'em here.

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And everybody wants to do squirrel.

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Every single person wants to rehab

squirrels or raccoons or those species.

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So it's a lot harder to

find placement for possums.

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So I just decided I would, I'd stick

with that species 'cause they're

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the hardest to find placement for.

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That's how Opie Earth came about.

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I just decided to stick with that.

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Dixie: Did you like possums before

this or did you just come to learn to

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like possums through the rehab work?

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Jenni: I really didn't know

anything about 'em at all.

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Same thing with squirrels.

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I hadn't really thought about any

of it until I found them in my yard.

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And then the Joeys, I just.

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I had a soft spot for 'em because for

one, they were telling us in our class,

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they said that they're not viable at

a certain stage because, they have to

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be tube fed and not to mess with them.

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And I was like wait a second.

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It's not that they're not

viable, it's just difficult.

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So I was like I'm just gonna

focus on that then, to make sure

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that they can have a place to go.

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'Cause they're not as lucky to find

a rehab as some of the other species.

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Dixie: Do you find that people have

misconceptions when it comes to possums?

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Jenni: I do.

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Yeah, I hear that a lot.

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A lot of the time people think they're

nasty or they're mean, or, they dig

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holes, which is a big misconception.

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They don't, they're not

gonna dig up your yard.

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They have rabies, which

is another misconception.

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Dixie: I notice a lot of people

don't like 'em specifically

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'cause they do that smile at you.

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And I've always thought possums were cute.

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I've never had a problem with a possum.

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I know there's a lot of people that

think they're a really ugly animal,

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but I know they can look a little bit

scary when they do that smile thing,

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but it's mainly to just scare you off.

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It's not even anything like they're

gonna come, lunge at you and

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attack at you like a dog would.

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Jenni: Yeah.

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And they have that, when they say play

dead, they don't do that on purpose.

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It's like a form of narcolepsy

where they're in so much fear that

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it literally makes 'em pass out.

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So I feel it bad for 'em, imagine

being so terrified in that moment

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that you literally pass out, it's

called thananosis, so it's not that

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they're playing possum, it's like

they're seriously that terrified

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that it knocks 'em out cold.

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I feel bad for 'em.

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Dixie: I didn't know that.

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I thought that they could

intentionally do that, or that was like

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Jenni: a, a defense mechanism.

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Dixie: No, I didn't realize it

was like a fear induced thing.

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That is sad.

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Jenni: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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It's completely involuntary, so

I do have a soft spot for 'em.

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And then the tiny Joey's too, if you

were to call me and say you had an adult

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that was injured, I'd be like, oh no.

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I have no idea.

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Don't you know I can't help you with that.

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'cause I really can't.

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I don't know anything about

an adult possum or an injured

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one, or a medical case.

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I don't deal with those things

at all on a regular basis.

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In that area.

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I would refer you to somebody else

that would specialize in that.

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I'm more focused on the little tiny

ones, but if it's an adult like

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that, I raise, I know what to do,

but I wouldn't really know what

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to do with, an adult medical case.

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Dixie: Do the Joeys ever play dead?

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Jenni: I haven't really seen 'em before.

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Not the tiny ones.

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I don't think, 'cause I think of when

they're here, they're used to their

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routine before that, that kicks in.

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I haven't when they get older and they're

in the back, and if I come in and spook

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'em, they'll do that open mouth thing

like, oh geez, you gave me a spook.

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And they'll open their mouth

at me when they're little.

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But I've never really had any do the

pass out thing from being scared.

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But they can, I'm sure the little

ones like in the wild, if they're

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running around in the wild and

they're small, I'm sure that they can.

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Dixie: Explain.

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What a Joey is.

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And then when you say that you don't

do any that are past a certain size,

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when they reach that size, at that

point, what do you do with them?

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Jenni: When they can eat on their own.

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So the mom.

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I don't know where exactly to start

with that because she's only pregnant

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for about 12 days and then they

come out the birth canal and they're

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about the size of a jelly bean.

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They're like super tiny, and they

wiggle up the birth canal and they get

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into the mom's pouch and they latch

onto a nipple and they swallow it.

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And then their mouth will start to

fuse around the mom's teet and that's

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where they'll stay essentially.

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And finish developing in her pouch

instead of in the womb, , let's say

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the mom got hit by a car and the little

babies are in the pouch still, they're

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still essentially being tube fed.

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That membrane that fused around

the nipple is still there.

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Their mouth is sealed, it is not a

squirrel where you can just put in

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a nipple in there and nurse 'em.

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They have to be tube fed because

they have that membrane right there.

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It's about two or three months

it takes for them to be able

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to come out on their own.

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Their eyes don't open

until about 70 days or so.

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All their development is essentially

done in the mom's pouch, the Joey is

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just the baby and I specifically just

take them smaller ones, because a lot

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of people just don't want to tube feed.

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It's very time consuming.

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And people just don't

have the time for it.

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Around a certain gram weight,

when they can start eating on

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their own, it's a lot better.

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'cause they just start

lapping out of a little dish,.

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So they're a lot easier to

take and care for other people.

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You can get 'em cleaned up and set

up and they're eating on their own.

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You don't have to make sure that

they're on that feeding schedule

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at a certain time every day.

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Dixie: Once they reach that certain gram

weight where they are actually lapping

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up the food on their own, do you give

them to a different rehabber at that

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point until it'd be time to release

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Jenni: no, I finish it out here.

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Each one, I cycle 'em out.

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They start out on a heating pad and a

little tote and like a little neo center.

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And then once they do start

eating on their own, I move them

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to the back in the rehab room.

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I have a whole separate room where

they go in and then once they age

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out of a tote they go in cages

and then they cycle through, the

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cages to the pre-release outside.

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And then they get released

after a couple weeks.

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So I finish out, from start

to finish here, I don't do any

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kind of transfers or anything.

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Dixie: People sometimes they will

find a possum, and I have heard that

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if the possum is say eight inches,

that's long enough to be on their own.

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At what size do you release them back?

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Jenni: I release at in between one

and a half pounds and two pounds.

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And they have to meet a certain criteria,

if I have a one and a half pound

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possum or a two pound possum, that is.

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Not eating solid food yet, or refuses to

wrap up nesting material with his tail

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or, it's just not checking them boxes off

or being a good candidate in the wild.

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I'll hold it for a little longer, if

I got a possum that's a pound and a

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half and, eating on his own and it's

climbing and showing all the signs where.

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It does have its defense where it is

showing its teeth at me when I come

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in, I'll go ahead and put 'em out in

pre-release or if they're already out

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there, I'll go ahead and release 'em.

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So it just depends , my rule of thumb is

if you call me and you found a baby and.

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It's as big as a Coke can.

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The body with, without the tail.

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You have to have the tail on there too.

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The just the body has to

be bigger than a Coke can.

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And then to put a tail on it, then it

probably fell off mom and was ready to

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try to start on its own in the wild.

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I know it looks small and it is, tiny, but

they fall off when they're pretty little.

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I would say that it would be on its own

adventure or just starting out on its own.

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Dixie: When you take 'em, do they have

fur or do they not have their fur yet?

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Jenni: No, they don't.

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Sometimes like painted, we call it painted

fur, like it's just barely coming in.

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Dixie: Can you walk us through like

a typical day of taking care of 'em?

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Jenni: All it is feeding.

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That's mostly the babies.

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I make the formula and then it's

just feeding babies one after

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another over and over again.

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I wait for the little milk line.

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I go by their belly band.

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You can see the milk in their tummy

when you put it in there, and I

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wait and see when that is dissolved.

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Or gone and feed 'em again.

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And it just depends.

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It's usually in between

two or three hours.

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Sometimes it's every 90 minutes.

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Especially if you get one in that's

critical or that, let's say, been

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without for a while, a day or two.

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I do a every 90 minute rehydrating

before introducing formula.

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And that's pretty much it for

the first part of it until they

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get to where they're eating on

their own or lapping on their own.

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And then it's just cleaning up and making

sure that they have their food or formula.

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Dixie: What kind of tube is it

that you have to use to feed

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them when they're that little?

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Jenni: I use a couple of different kinds.

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I use a Utah Medical

for really tiny babies.

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And then I'll use purple possum

brand tube for maybe 15 grams and up.

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So it just depends on the baby.

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If they still have that mouth,

membrane that I was talking about,

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I'll use the tiny little lumen

tube 'cause it's smaller diameter.

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And it has more of a tapered end on it.

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So it seems to work better

for the super small babies.

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Dixie: Does the tube

actually go into their

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stomach?

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Jenni: It goes all the way down into

the stomach and then I'll push the

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plunger on the syringe and then pinch

the tube off before you pull it out.

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And then that's it.

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It's a easy process.

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, possum moms.

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They never have just one or two babies.

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It's always gotta be like nine.

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When you get a call for 'em.

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It's usually between seven or nine.

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So it's a lot I get, i'll take

probably in between 25 to.

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Maybe 40 at a time.

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I think.

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I try not to take 40 babies at one

time, that's a lot of feeding, it

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goes quick sometimes, but usually

by the time I get done feeding one

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group, I'm starting right back at the

beginning of feeding another group.

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So it's a lot, . When you have several

babies it's very time consuming sometimes.

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Dixie: Yeah, I can imagine.

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I do bottle feeding for kittens

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I know the routine on 'em, when we do the

kittens, it's really, maybe critical for

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the first week and after that first week.

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When the kittens, eyes start opening,

you can start extending those

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feedings out and you can actually

start getting a little bit of sleep.

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But when it comes to, sleep

deprivation with bottle feeding

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kittens, really it's maybe two weeks.

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And then once you reach two and a

half weeks of bottle feeding, then you

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can get some kind of sleep at night.

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So how does that work with possums?

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Like how would that be similar

with you feeding that many of 'em?

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Like how long is it that critical

that they have to get that food

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every 90 minutes, every two hours?

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Jenni: I'll do at least one

overnight feeding up until

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they're eating on their own.

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And that can vary between groups

of babies but for me , during

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baby season, it never really ends.

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Once there's always joey's it seems

that come in that need overnight

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feedings so it's hard to say.

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'Cause usually usually if I get

a group of, we call 'em Lappers

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at that stage, when they finally

start, eating on their own, I'll

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get, let's say two or three groups.

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Lap it on their own.

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I'll get a call and then I'll get nine or

seven more babies that are right back on a

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tube feeding schedule again, where you're

right back at the, every couple hours.

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So it's pretty much the next several

months here, starting any day now.,

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I probably won't sleep a full night.

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Until next February maybe.

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So it's a kinda never ending for us.

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But that's why I do it though,

that's a huge commitment.

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Some people have, their jobs that

they do and it just, it never ends.

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It really doesn't, like the

nighttimes and I'm nuts, cuckoo.

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Come June, I am like, who am I?

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Where am I?

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Is this my house?

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Do I live here?

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'Cause it's just babies.

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Feeding feeding.

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There really isn't an end it seems

and then finally you get a little

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break, and then the second heat.

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Starts again.

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It's like they have two different

heats, so you know, you catch you

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maybe a little bit of a break, but

it's pretty much, all night, at

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least one overnight feeding, usually

two right in the beginning probably

310

: 00:17:22

for the next several months for me.

311

: 00:17:24

Dixie: With kittens, we also have to

stimulate them to go to the bathroom.

312

: 00:17:27

Do you have to stimulate

the possums as well?

313

: 00:17:29

. Jenni: Sure do.

314

: 00:17:30

Dixie: And is that after

every single feeding?

315

: 00:17:34

Jenni: Yeah.

316

: 00:17:35

I do it before too sometimes.

317

: 00:17:37

Just 'cause it's easier, I feel like it's

uncomfortable for them to fill 'em up

318

: 00:17:42

when they have to go to the

bathroom, like I wouldn't wanna eat

319

: 00:17:45

food if I had to pee really bad.

320

: 00:17:47

So I'll try to stimulate

'em before I feed 'em.

321

: 00:17:51

Dixie: Yeah, I tend to do the

same thing with the kittens.

322

: 00:17:53

I like to do it before I feed 'em.

323

: 00:17:54

I find they eat better for me.

324

: 00:17:57

I know you know it's a little bit

different what you're saying with the tube

325

: 00:18:00

feeding because with the tube feeding,

you put the tube in, you basically are

326

: 00:18:05

squirting the food through the syringe.

327

: 00:18:08

Whereas with the kittens, we

actually have to get 'em to

328

: 00:18:10

suckle, which is a pain sometimes.

329

: 00:18:12

'cause sometimes

330

: 00:18:13

Jenni: they just

331

: 00:18:13

Dixie: do not wanna do it.

332

: 00:18:15

Jenni: They don't wanna latch on.

333

: 00:18:16

I know I was just telling somebody

that yesterday, I am like, it's

334

: 00:18:20

so much easier to tube feed.

335

: 00:18:21

'cause I can tube feed 10 possums

in 60 seconds or, it's just bam.

336

: 00:18:26

It's done.

337

: 00:18:27

, If you're feeding, let's say

kittens or puppies, you have to.

338

: 00:18:31

Wait for him to latch on

and then take a break.

339

: 00:18:34

Or if he falls asleep,

you gotta wake him up.

340

: 00:18:37

There's a lot of hands on there.

341

: 00:18:39

It's not just, real quick and done and

then you potty 'em and then they're

342

: 00:18:43

finished for, the next hour or two.

343

: 00:18:45

So my hat goes off to all the

hand feeders that do that.

344

: 00:18:50

It's definitely a different world.

345

: 00:18:52

I wish I could tube feed

everything because it's easier.

346

: 00:18:55

I think

347

: 00:18:57

Dixie: How do you know

when they're weaning?

348

: 00:19:00

Because for kittens and puppies, they

usually will start chewing the nipple.

349

: 00:19:06

And so that's when we know that

it's time to go to a gruel.

350

: 00:19:09

Then you try to start letting them lap

it off of your finger or a shallow dish.

351

: 00:19:13

So with a possum.

352

: 00:19:14

With a joey, how do you know?

353

: 00:19:16

Jenni: It's the same thing.

354

: 00:19:17

They open their eyes and they start.

355

: 00:19:20

I call it the wobble stage.

356

: 00:19:22

Where they find in their feet and

finding their legs and they'll start

357

: 00:19:25

taking little steps and wobbling

around when they hit that wobble stage.

358

: 00:19:30

I know I'm really close.

359

: 00:19:31

I'm like maybe a week you'll be eaten.

360

: 00:19:34

But I don't even try to get

'em to start until they're not.

361

: 00:19:39

Wobbling anymore.

362

: 00:19:40

'cause the aspiration, I don't want

their head to fall in the little lap pad.

363

: 00:19:45

Do y'all use the little

lap lick mat things?

364

: 00:19:48

The like little lapi pad?

365

: 00:19:49

It's got the grooves and stuff in it.

366

: 00:19:51

Dixie: I do not.

367

: 00:19:52

In fact, I've never heard of those.

368

: 00:19:53

I'll have to look it up.

369

: 00:19:54

'cause I always look for

something that's easier.

370

: 00:19:57

For me personally, like what I like to do.

371

: 00:20:01

Is I will always let them start,

like by licking it off of my finger.

372

: 00:20:05

Jenni: Yeah.

373

: 00:20:06

Yep.

374

: 00:20:06

Dixie: And then that's

375

: 00:20:07

Jenni: a good sign.

376

: 00:20:08

Dixie: Yeah.

377

: 00:20:08

Sometimes I have a very

shallow dish that I use.

378

: 00:20:12

Or even I'm gonna say the height

of the top of a baby food jar.

379

: 00:20:16

It's a very shallow dish.

380

: 00:20:18

Yeah, sometimes they'll take to that

right away, but the kittens, , they swim

381

: 00:20:22

in cat food is what we call it basically.

382

: 00:20:25

And sometimes they'll take to

it real easy, but then you get

383

: 00:20:28

these other ones that won't.

384

: 00:20:30

So at that point, what I'll

do is to teach them to like

385

: 00:20:33

actually like lap outta something.

386

: 00:20:35

I'll get a baby spoon.

387

: 00:20:37

And I'll hold up a baby spoon.

388

: 00:20:39

Oh yeah.

389

: 00:20:39

And then they'll be able to, that's

a good idea to lap it out of that.

390

: 00:20:42

'cause I know like with the kittens,

a lot of the times it's the head

391

: 00:20:45

orientation for them because when you're

bottle feeding them, you're bottle

392

: 00:20:49

feeding them when their head is upright.

393

: 00:20:51

So then , when they start eating

food, they have to go from

394

: 00:20:53

upright to down in the dish.

395

: 00:20:55

Yeah.

396

: 00:20:56

And a lot of 'em have difficulty

with that orientation.

397

: 00:21:00

So you'll get some that

take to it right away.

398

: 00:21:03

It's not a problem.

399

: 00:21:04

And then you'll get other ones where

you really have to struggle to show 'em,

400

: 00:21:07

Jenni: Right where they

401

: 00:21:08

Dixie: have to go.

402

: 00:21:09

So

403

: 00:21:10

Jenni: Yeah, it's the same.

404

: 00:21:11

Like I'll use my finger and show 'em.

405

: 00:21:13

'cause lapping isn't a natural

instinct type thing for possums.

406

: 00:21:18

Like mom doesn't, show 'em,

like how to lap either.

407

: 00:21:22

So I'll take the little lapping pad

and I might put like the tiniest

408

: 00:21:27

little smear of yogurt on it because

the yogurt's a little bit more stable.

409

: 00:21:32

It's not, fluid, like the formula

and going all over the place.

410

: 00:21:36

It's, they can touch it and

lick it off of their hand.

411

: 00:21:39

So I'll use, just a little touch

of yogurt on the mat and show 'em

412

: 00:21:43

where it is or on my finger too.

413

: 00:21:46

I never thought about using a spoon.

414

: 00:21:47

Now that's actually a pretty good idea.

415

: 00:21:50

It's mostly just the lapping

pad and when they start being

416

: 00:21:54

curious and walking around.

417

: 00:21:56

Good.

418

: 00:21:57

I'll show 'em, where their little lick

mat is and it doesn't take, it doesn't

419

: 00:22:03

take 'em too long to figure it out.

420

: 00:22:04

They got some pretty good sniffers,

and they're very food motivated.

421

: 00:22:08

And once they get going,

it's good to go from there.

422

: 00:22:11

They don't, they don't

really object to it,

423

: 00:22:15

Dixie: yeah, I know the kittens can be

stubborn sometimes you'll get one of 'em

424

: 00:22:20

that will wean right away or actually

wanna get off the bottle right away.

425

: 00:22:25

And then you get these other ones

and it'll be like five weeks.

426

: 00:22:28

And it's y'all should not

be on a bottle anymore.

427

: 00:22:30

Jenni: I try not to

still be tubing babies.

428

: 00:22:33

If they have teeth in there.

429

: 00:22:35

If they have teeth and they're chewing

on the tube and they're fighting me,

430

: 00:22:38

they're turning their head back, left

and right trying to fight the tube.

431

: 00:22:41

I'm like, Nope you're gonna have

to start finding the lap and pad.

432

: 00:22:45

You can call it tough love.

433

: 00:22:46

I'll have to spend,

extra time making sure.

434

: 00:22:50

Trying to get 'em to self feed.

435

: 00:22:53

'Cause I find I make more mistakes if I'm

trying to tube babies and they're fighting

436

: 00:22:57

the tube and they're moving their head and

they're struggling and they're biting it.

437

: 00:23:01

A lot of mistakes can be made,

you putting a tube in the wrong.

438

: 00:23:05

On the wrong hole, 'cause

they're moving around so much.

439

: 00:23:08

I feel like it's better to

get 'em started earlier.

440

: 00:23:11

So if they got teeth starting and

they're starting to walk around

441

: 00:23:15

real good, they should be lapping

by then and here for me anyway.

442

: 00:23:20

As to not make any mistakes

with them with the tube.

443

: 00:23:23

Dixie: Let's say somebody

finds a small baby possum.

444

: 00:23:26

It's got fur on it.

445

: 00:23:28

It's not the size of a Coke

can, like you had mentioned and

446

: 00:23:32

it's got teeth at that point.

447

: 00:23:35

If you took that one in, would

you be offering it food in a

448

: 00:23:39

dish or would you have to do some

kind of bottle or tube feeding?

449

: 00:23:44

Jenni: They probably would

be eating on their own.

450

: 00:23:47

I'd probably would still be doing formula,

but they're probably ready for solid

451

: 00:23:51

food too, or at least a semi solid diet.

452

: 00:23:55

Some rehabers make like a smoothie mix

where they blend everything up for 'em.

453

: 00:24:00

I do that sometimes, but not so much

anymore 'cause it's very time consuming.

454

: 00:24:05

Now I'll just chop everything up really

fine, or I'll use a cheese grater and

455

: 00:24:10

shred everything for 'em and offer

'em that mixed in their formula.

456

: 00:24:17

So it looks really nasty.

457

: 00:24:18

It's like a bunch of wet vegetables,

and milk to give them that.

458

: 00:24:23

I try to get 'em started

on solids too pretty early.

459

: 00:24:27

I found that using the either

chopped really fine or shredded the

460

: 00:24:32

earlier they start that, the better.

461

: 00:24:34

And then you can just keep increasing

the size of the vegetables as they grow.

462

: 00:24:38

And eventually they should just be

eating, big salad, normal chunks at home.

463

: 00:24:46

But if I that would probably be too

big for me if I saw the picture.

464

: 00:24:51

It's probably gonna be over 30 grams,

so I don't get very many babies that

465

: 00:24:56

already have teeth and stuff that come

in here or, they gotta be pretty tiny

466

: 00:25:02

but if they're that big, they should

probably be eating solid food for sure.

467

: 00:25:07

At that stage.

468

: 00:25:09

Dixie: What kind of solid

food do you feed them?

469

: 00:25:12

Jenni: It's a balance of fresh

vegetables and a little tiny bit of

470

: 00:25:18

fruit and a little tiny bit of protein.

471

: 00:25:20

They get metabolic bone

disease like squirrels do.

472

: 00:25:24

So it's a very balanced diet.

473

: 00:25:26

It's critical.

474

: 00:25:27

The ratios are critical to make

sure that it doesn't pull out all

475

: 00:25:33

the calcium out of their bones.

476

: 00:25:36

So it's mostly vegetables that I do.

477

: 00:25:41

It may be like a couple

little pieces of fruit.

478

: 00:25:44

Not very much fruit at all.

479

: 00:25:46

Dixie: What is this

metabolic bone disease?

480

: 00:25:49

Jenni: It's when the calcium is

just completely depleted and it,

481

: 00:25:53

their bones turn brittle and they

get all bent and bowed and broken

482

: 00:25:59

and even moving, just a small, tiny

little bit can break their bones.

483

: 00:26:03

It's horrible.

484

: 00:26:05

, It's life-threatening.

485

: 00:26:06

It's a slow, miserable, painful

death that a lot of people don't know

486

: 00:26:10

about, especially with squirrels.

487

: 00:26:13

Everybody thinks squirrels eat

nuts and they do, their diet's

488

: 00:26:17

primarily vegetable based.

489

: 00:26:19

So same thing with possums.

490

: 00:26:21

A lot of people think they

eat this and they eat that, or

491

: 00:26:24

they eat trash and all this.

492

: 00:26:26

Which they do.

493

: 00:26:27

But in rehab, we have to make sure

to follow a very specific calcium to

494

: 00:26:33

phosphorus ratio to make sure they

don't get metabolic bone disease.

495

: 00:26:38

'Cause once you get it, it's debilitating.

496

: 00:26:42

I stick to a MVD diet protocol sheet where

it's pretty much the same thing, the same

497

: 00:26:50

vegetables and fruit, little bit of fruit.

498

: 00:26:53

And then they get they get

protein, added with that.

499

: 00:26:56

They get their daily protein and then they

get extra protein a couple days a week.

500

: 00:27:01

When they're adult or when they're older.

501

: 00:27:03

So not tiny babies.

502

: 00:27:07

Dixie: What would you say is

503

: 00:27:08

Jenni: the

504

: 00:27:08

Dixie: biggest mistake that people

make when they find a baby possum?

505

: 00:27:12

Jenni: It would probably be the diet.

506

: 00:27:15

A lot of Google information is wrong,

the formula is wrong and Google's not

507

: 00:27:21

ever been my friend in this rehab thing.

508

: 00:27:24

A lot of Google information diets

have been more harmful, than helpful.

509

: 00:27:32

A lot of the time people wanna

feed kitten formula to possums.

510

: 00:27:37

And it's not what I would feed them.

511

: 00:27:41

As far as a little tiny Joey I've

had people, try to rip their mouth

512

: 00:27:46

open 'cause they weren't aware of

that little membrane and try to shove

513

: 00:27:50

a syringe in their mouth because,

they're trying to help hydrate it.

514

: 00:27:54

It's, they feel bad and know

that it's probably dehydrated.

515

: 00:27:59

So they'll try to offer water with a

syringe and they don't realize the mouth

516

: 00:28:04

membrane is there and it'll be torn.

517

: 00:28:06

That's the most common

mistake for a little one.

518

: 00:28:09

If they did that,

519

: 00:28:10

Dixie: would that cause

them to aspirate as well?

520

: 00:28:13

Jenni: For the baby, yeah.

521

: 00:28:15

It does.

522

: 00:28:16

'Cause a little tiny Joeys don't

nurse like other mammals do.

523

: 00:28:20

Dixie: Right.

524

: 00:28:20

Jenni: It would probably

just get all over their face.

525

: 00:28:25

Dixie: Wow.

526

: 00:28:26

I didn't know that people would

actually try to open their mouths if

527

: 00:28:28

they had a membrane there closing it.

528

: 00:28:30

That's crazy.

529

: 00:28:32

Jenni: Oh, you don't even, oh girl.

530

: 00:28:33

I've had so many, I've had people

use weird objects to try to tube feed

531

: 00:28:39

possums before, and then I've seen like

the back of their throats torn out and

532

: 00:28:47

Dixie: Oh my god.

533

: 00:28:48

Jenni: Like a, yeah, like

milk abscesses pushed.

534

: 00:28:52

The skin from people poking through the

back of their throat and it's, please

535

: 00:28:57

don't feed babies if you find them

536

: 00:29:00

it's heartbreaking.

537

: 00:29:01

I had two litters last season that were

they had the ripped mouth where, you know,

538

: 00:29:07

and they're like we were trying to help.

539

: 00:29:10

And it's I know, but you can't.

540

: 00:29:12

You can't rip the mouth open.

541

: 00:29:13

They have to be tube fed

and , it's not anybody's fault.

542

: 00:29:16

If they don't know, they

just, they don't know.

543

: 00:29:19

A lot of the time people have such great

intentions and they really do wanna help.

544

: 00:29:23

But, the best thing to do is

just keep the baby's warm.

545

: 00:29:27

Get 'em in a box in a quiet place

or the heat source and call somebody

546

: 00:29:32

Dixie: yeah, definitely contact a

wildlife rehabber 'cause there is a

547

: 00:29:36

proper way that it has to be done.

548

: 00:29:38

Because if you don't do it that

proper way, then , you are really

549

: 00:29:41

not helping the baby that much.

550

: 00:29:43

No.

551

: 00:29:45

, When it comes to getting your possums.

552

: 00:29:47

Do you find most of them come from people

who find like the mother's hit on the side

553

: 00:29:53

of the road and they dig in the pouch?

554

: 00:29:56

Jenni: Yep.

555

: 00:29:56

Yep.

556

: 00:29:57

98% of my intakes are hit by a car.

557

: 00:30:00

The other small percent is

cat attack or a dog attack.

558

: 00:30:04

Either the dog shook the mom and the

babies come out 'cause possum moms

559

: 00:30:08

don't come back for their babies either.

560

: 00:30:10

Like a squirrel, you can reunite.

561

: 00:30:13

Squirrels and raccoons and most

other mammals with their moms, if

562

: 00:30:17

they get separated, possum moms

are like, Nope, I'm outta here.

563

: 00:30:21

And she'll take off.

564

: 00:30:22

She won't come back for her baby.

565

: 00:30:24

So if you find a baby

possum, it needs help.

566

: 00:30:27

It's the mom's not gonna come back for it.

567

: 00:30:30

But yeah, most of the

time it's from the Joey's.

568

: 00:30:33

Being on the mom after

she got hit by her car.

569

: 00:30:37

Dixie: Would you recommend to people when

they see a a possum hit on the side of

570

: 00:30:41

the road to check the pouch for babies?

571

: 00:30:44

Jenni: I do.

572

: 00:30:45

Yeah.

573

: 00:30:45

If it's safe to do if you're on an

interstate or something, or in a busy.

574

: 00:30:51

Part of town, don't, 'cause I would hate

for somebody to get into a serious car

575

: 00:30:55

accident or get hit by a car themself

trying to, help babies in the pouch.

576

: 00:31:01

And there's a certain way too that

you have to take 'em off because the

577

: 00:31:05

nipple is probably close to three inches

long when they swallow it, it goes

578

: 00:31:10

all the way down into their stomach.

579

: 00:31:12

So if they're bigger babies.

580

: 00:31:14

You know that nipple's gonna be long.

581

: 00:31:16

So if you just try to pull the baby

off, it could tear the nipple right off

582

: 00:31:21

the mom and the baby could swallow it.

583

: 00:31:23

It takes a long time to break the

suction around the little mouth

584

: 00:31:28

and pull gently back and forth.

585

: 00:31:30

Try to gently slide 'em off.

586

: 00:31:32

, You can bring me the whole possum.

587

: 00:31:33

I'll pull 'em off.

588

: 00:31:35

You can put the whole mom in the box and

everything and just bring all that to me.

589

: 00:31:39

For safety, if it's not safe to be on

the side of the road, pulling 'em off.

590

: 00:31:43

If anybody needed instructions, to better

understand how to get 'em off the mom

591

: 00:31:48

at the time, I can always call too.

592

: 00:31:52

I can walk people through it.

593

: 00:31:54

Dixie: Wow, I didn't know that.

594

: 00:31:55

I knew you would check the pouch, but

I thought it was like as easy as just

595

: 00:31:59

grabbing the babies outta the pouch.

596

: 00:32:01

And that's even with me knowing

that they swallowed that nipple.

597

: 00:32:05

But I didn't realize that the suction

would be so much that you had actually

598

: 00:32:08

pull the nipple off of the mom.

599

: 00:32:10

Wow.

600

: 00:32:10

Jenni: Yeah, it can tear right off.

601

: 00:32:12

And then of course it becomes a

choking hazard yeah it could be a long

602

: 00:32:16

process, so I always, safety first.

603

: 00:32:19

If you can sit there on the side

of the road and do that,, that's

604

: 00:32:23

great, but if not, you can bring

me the whole mom I'll help here.

605

: 00:32:27

I'll pull 'em off here

just so nobody gets hurt.

606

: 00:32:31

Dixie: So for anybody listening,

if they were interested in getting

607

: 00:32:35

involved with this and doing the

possum rehab like you do, what steps

608

: 00:32:41

would they need to take , to do this?

609

: 00:32:44

Jenni: Oh man.

610

: 00:32:46

There's several different ways now.

611

: 00:32:48

There's a lot of different things

going on with wildlife and fisheries.

612

: 00:32:52

I'm not a hundred percent

clear on a lot of them.

613

: 00:32:56

I would say if you're interested

you can check out some of the new

614

: 00:33:00

programs that are listed on the

Wildlife and Fisheries website.

615

: 00:33:05

Like I said, I don't really know the

specifics of these things, but they have

616

: 00:33:09

a rescuers program and they have a new

way now where you can obtain a license.

617

: 00:33:15

But if you're interested in, what I do

specifically is I would, reach out to

618

: 00:33:22

me or to another neo rehabber and just.

619

: 00:33:27

Learn come shadow, come watch, come see.

620

: 00:33:32

Just hands on I think is the

best way to learn anything.

621

: 00:33:36

And if you are coming into this with

zero, like I did, that's how I did it.

622

: 00:33:41

I just had to kind go and.

623

: 00:33:45

Just visualize and see and, be hands on.

624

: 00:33:49

I'm okay with doing that if

someone's really serious about it.

625

: 00:33:54

So if anybody would like to

learn the tube or to take to care

626

: 00:33:58

for Joey's, they can reach out.

627

: 00:34:00

It varies with each rehabber.

628

: 00:34:04

Each rehabber is different

with what they allow and what.

629

: 00:34:07

They want or whatever.

630

: 00:34:09

It depends on what you're doing or what

species you wanna do, that rehabber or,

631

: 00:34:14

you would have to contact a different

rehabber for that specific thing.

632

: 00:34:19

I'm open to helping people

if they wanted to reach out.

633

: 00:34:23

To cover a few things, like I have a

supply list that people would need to

634

: 00:34:28

have , before starting, which is something

I wish I had when I first started.

635

: 00:34:33

' You wanna make sure you have the

supplies for whatever you're getting

636

: 00:34:37

in to be able to care for 'em.

637

: 00:34:40

So if people are interested, I can

help 'em with a supply list or.

638

: 00:34:45

Maybe some different numbers

to call for different species

639

: 00:34:48

or just things like that.

640

: 00:34:51

You can visit the website to see if

there's a program that would fit better.

641

: 00:34:55

I understand that everybody's

able to do tiny babies.

642

: 00:34:59

So there's different things,

that would fit different

643

: 00:35:02

people if they wanted to help.

644

: 00:35:04

There's always something that they can do.

645

: 00:35:07

Dixie: What is the biggest hurdle

that's currently facing opie Earth?

646

: 00:35:13

Jenni: I don't really have, time

is, that's my biggest thing.

647

: 00:35:17

I don't, I wish I had more time.

648

: 00:35:19

But as far as in funding too,

but I know, like when I first got

649

: 00:35:26

licensed, I had to sign a waiver that

I was responsible for everything.

650

: 00:35:31

So I knew, right when I started

that I had to pay for everything.

651

: 00:35:35

I just simply can't take anything if

I can't afford it, or if I don't have

652

: 00:35:39

any funding or donations, then I know

I can't take anything, which is sad.

653

: 00:35:44

But that's how it is.

654

: 00:35:45

. I do get a lot of help

though, which is amazing.

655

: 00:35:48

I'm so grateful for it.

656

: 00:35:49

I have a wonderful community right here

in Ascension . They look out for me in the

657

: 00:35:54

little possums, which is great because,

the possums are the underdogs, I think.

658

: 00:35:59

So it's really amazing to see

how many people do support me

659

: 00:36:03

here and do help me and all over.

660

: 00:36:05

But I have to say no at some point.

661

: 00:36:08

There's just not enough time in the day,

if I have 40 tiny babies here already.

662

: 00:36:15

Saying no is so hard.

663

: 00:36:17

There's just not enough time.

664

: 00:36:18

I'm only one person,

665

: 00:36:19

Dixie: definitely.

666

: 00:36:21

How can people learn

more about opie earth?

667

: 00:36:26

Jenni: I have the Facebook page.

668

: 00:36:28

And that's actually my only platform.

669

: 00:36:30

. But I try to be as transparent as possible

670

: 00:36:33

I have a camera set up in my room and

I'll share, like the room pictures.

671

: 00:36:38

So you can see how the process works.

672

: 00:36:41

When I start getting intakes, I'll

do updates on each group or each

673

: 00:36:45

intake and see where they're housed.

674

: 00:36:48

And people can see where the

babies go and how they grow

675

: 00:36:52

and what stage they reach next.

676

: 00:36:54

Dixie: I'll include a link to that

in the show notes too, so that way

677

: 00:36:58

people will be able to find you there.

678

: 00:37:00

Jenni: I do try to keep on

top of it during baby season.

679

: 00:37:03

'cause people wanna know, if they

find babies, they wanna know like how

680

: 00:37:06

they're doing and see their care and,

see how things progress and everything.

681

: 00:37:12

So I try to be.

682

: 00:37:14

As transparent as that as possible with

that so people can see everything from

683

: 00:37:18

start to finish and it's a long process.

684

: 00:37:20

It's a long process for a

little tiny Joey's in rehab,

685

: 00:37:24

Dixie: Thank you for

speaking with me today.

686

: 00:37:26

I learned a lot about

possums that I didn't know

687

: 00:37:28

Jenni: I appreciate you,

talking with me too.

688

: 00:37:31

I love them.

689

: 00:37:32

I love the little babies.

690

: 00:37:33

I can't wait to get some and everybody

can see 'em and learn about 'em

691

: 00:37:39

Thank you so much for having me.

692

: 00:37:41

It was a pleasure.

693

: 00:37:43

Dixie: That's it for today's episode.

694

: 00:37:44

I wanna thank everybody for

listening and supporting us.

695

: 00:37:48

If you wanna take that an extra

step, consider becoming a member.

696

: 00:37:52

We just added this to our

website, animalposse.com,

697

: 00:37:57

scroll down, look for the support tab.

698

: 00:37:59

Our membership program is going to

help us directly support animals

699

: 00:38:05

in need, whether that be through

vaccinations, food or spay neuter efforts.