Possum on the Porch

We had a little surprise visitor today....a little baby possum was found by my husband on our porch.  It is so tiny, like palm of my hand tiny!

Where it was laying is directly under the roof line, so it looks as if the poor little critter fell from it's muma's pouch and off the roof.

With no sign of the muma, and baby freezing cold, I ran inside to get something warm to wrap it in and grabbed Jack's pouch sling, ironically with the brand name Mumasupial

Luckily, it only appears to have some cuts on it's face, hopefully no other damage

It took really well to the sling and clung to the bits of the fleecy jumper I had wrapped it in

Aww so soft and it wrapped it's tiny hand around my finger

I called my mum to come help me, as hubby was leaving for work.

Good thing I did, coz Jack was nervous of it, so Nanny took over the cuddle care as Jack watched from a far.

I rang our vet to see what to do, and they gave me a contact for Wildlife Victoria

Our little marsupial, inside the mumasupial pouch.

Mum said it squirming against her hand reminded her of having a baby in her belly!

Extra blankets were needed, he was stone cold.

We began to wonder whether it was hungry/thirsty, and thought of what we could do.

Mum joked I could express some breast milk for it, and we thought about water, and how we would give it the liquid.  The only syringes we had were for Jack's medicine, I didn't want to poison it, in case medicine had tainted the syringe.  Mum tried giving it water droplets off her finger, but it just wriggle and whimpered more.

After the half hour, that the carer told us she would be, had long gone, I rang again to check how much longer as the poor little poss was getting distressed.  Every now and then it had a little cry, a tiny hhhhuuuhhhhhh, a very little version of an adult possums mating call.  Perhaps too, it was calling it's muma.

The carer asked if I had a hot water bottle or heat pack.  I couldn't find mine, so used an empty milk bottle, which she instructed me to fill with hot tap water, which Mum placed between her and the pouch.

Jack became cautiously excited about what was squirming in the pouch, getting closer slowly

He was nervously laughing and calling it "Bunny", very cute ;)

Jack kept going off to play with his cars, then look up and say "Where Bunny?" and run back to Nanny.

When the carer came, she put Bunny down her top for the trip back to her place.

She gave me her details so that I can call or email to hear how Bunny's doing.  Bunny will be hand reared and, all being well, be released into local bushland.

I'm so glad we found him, and at that time as he seemed to be breathing fainter as it was heading for sundown and cooler weather.

I can't help but feel, as a muma myself, there is a poor muma poss out there tonight, pining for her baby....