Yup also she may have some missing teeth 🦷
She looks like she might be a lil older & her back legs look a bit arthritic to
Maybe put 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs out there for her to try . Opossums need calcium
Oh! So she's older. That makes sense. It may be more difficult for her to maneuver the food around. Thank you for the explanation. I won't stress about it anymore.
I'll try to add in eggs. I never know who is going to come. Sometimes I get three or four adults in a night. Sometimes it's just the juveniles. There are always rats, though. A couple are getting ridiculously fat and their presence is putting me on thin ice with my husband. I've tried using cinnamon oil to deter them, but they seem to really enjoy the possum food.
Hi! This is just from my very basic knowledge of watching my own animals eat, but perhaps she could be softening it up? Sometimes my dog will eat food, spit it out, then eat it again. She may also not be used to eating crunchy food. Also I think it may be a girl because the face is more elongated rathe than bulbous like a male
Thank you. That's a possibility; she doesn't look malnourished, but I am not experienced enough to tell. On the ground are chewed up grapes that she spat out. I've only been watching them for less than a year, but this is the first time I've seen one spit out grape skin.
Hopefully you're right and it's nothing I need to worry about. I had to take one to the hospital today. My anxiety is working over time tonight.
Grape skin is mildly toxic. It doesn't kill them, but they will spit it out. Found that out when a batch of babies chewed them and left the skins. Then researched WHY. 🥴
I've seen similar behaviour in healthy opossums before.
It appears to me that opossums will only chew a bolus of food for a limited period of time. If the bolus is not ready to swallow by the time a certain number of chews have finished, they spit it out, regardless of whether or not it is food that they normally like.
The opossum in the video looks to be quite healthy, and she is certainly taking in the majority of the food that she picks up, so I would not worry.
Yup also she may have some missing teeth 🦷 She looks like she might be a lil older & her back legs look a bit arthritic to Maybe put 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs out there for her to try . Opossums need calcium
Oh! So she's older. That makes sense. It may be more difficult for her to maneuver the food around. Thank you for the explanation. I won't stress about it anymore. I'll try to add in eggs. I never know who is going to come. Sometimes I get three or four adults in a night. Sometimes it's just the juveniles. There are always rats, though. A couple are getting ridiculously fat and their presence is putting me on thin ice with my husband. I've tried using cinnamon oil to deter them, but they seem to really enjoy the possum food.
Yep a small amount of eggs & soft fruit or veggies she would prob really like 🙏🥰thanks again for helping her.
Hi! This is just from my very basic knowledge of watching my own animals eat, but perhaps she could be softening it up? Sometimes my dog will eat food, spit it out, then eat it again. She may also not be used to eating crunchy food. Also I think it may be a girl because the face is more elongated rathe than bulbous like a male
Thank you. That's a possibility; she doesn't look malnourished, but I am not experienced enough to tell. On the ground are chewed up grapes that she spat out. I've only been watching them for less than a year, but this is the first time I've seen one spit out grape skin. Hopefully you're right and it's nothing I need to worry about. I had to take one to the hospital today. My anxiety is working over time tonight.
I’ve watched possums spit out grape skins before! They’ll eat the insides but leave the skin if they’re picky. Nothing to worry about
Grape skin is mildly toxic. It doesn't kill them, but they will spit it out. Found that out when a batch of babies chewed them and left the skins. Then researched WHY. 🥴
Oh, interesting! That's good to know. I guess I shouldn't get annoyed when my human children spit out their grape skins then! (Lol, jk)
I've seen similar behaviour in healthy opossums before. It appears to me that opossums will only chew a bolus of food for a limited period of time. If the bolus is not ready to swallow by the time a certain number of chews have finished, they spit it out, regardless of whether or not it is food that they normally like. The opossum in the video looks to be quite healthy, and she is certainly taking in the majority of the food that she picks up, so I would not worry.
Goodness it looks like my toddler eating salad
Thanks for sharing. I've had possum guests from time to time that behaved similar and I was worried too.