Ringtail Possums
At Native Rescue Initiative we truly love and value our possums. They are such beautiful little creatures of nature &super curious
We have our very own pet Ringtail who we named Possy. She’s full of character and always up to something interesting through the night!
Did you know that ringtail possums breed at a fairly young age? and they stay with their mum until they are roughly 7 months old! They ride mums back and learn traits from mum. Ringtail possums are also very territorial and love to live as a family!
If you ever see a baby ringtail on the ground near a tree, there is a high chance mum is a young possum and accidentally dropped the baby. It is very common for young mother ringtails to drop the baby, we recommend to leave the baby but please contact a rescue local to you urgently! Baby ringtails have a small chance of survival, while mum may come back for the baby, its severely important to make sure the baby is kept warm and hydrated/fed. If baby has no fur yet and eyes aren’t open, chance of survival dwindles down.
Native Rescue Initiative has saved baby possums, on multiple occasions they have been still very young. Thankfully even if they have very short velvet like fur and eyes open they have better survival rates once in care. There is also lots of studies currently being done, To bring the baby possums back to mum over a few nights studies show mum can sometimes come down to the baby and take it back. Studies haven’t yet had a reliable amount of success to be able to put the idea into work as of yet, but Native Rescue Initiative do hope to progress eventually to returning young to mum of a night (or attempt. In hope to bring the mortality rates for ringtails down.
Ringtail possums diet consists of native flora, most commonly Gum leaves, Eucalyptus leaves, flowers and other native plants. But occasionally they will happily snack on fruits and vegetables, as well as roses. Everyone’s opinion varies on what ringtails can and cannot eat, when we purchased our baby Possy we did a bunch of research and found most contradicted each other and not enough research seems to have been done. We have personally discovered our possum wont eat things she cannot, but on occasion we offer her berries, apples, pears, banana and sweet potato. her favorite is by far the sweet potato! majority of her diet is made up of native flora, but we like to offer her treats because she is a pet at the end of the day. - please be informed that too much fruit and veg can cause stomach problems and built up gas that causes the possums pain and eventual death.
Much like Brushtail Possums, Ringtail possums can carry diseases. Usually Sarcoptic mites & Tularemia. Ringtail possums seem to be much more hygienic then Brushtails. ( Ours is even toilet trained! ) which reduces the diseases they contract. They are also less anxious and grouchy. Most ringtails we have brought into care have been sweet and very easy to manage. They are usually delicate creatures.
Ringtails have this adorable combination of brown and white tail, Cute big brown eyes and mouselike ears. They use their tail as a extra limb, with the skin on the under side of the tail much like a fingertip that’s extra sensitive! The fur on their body is thick and soft.
Ringtail possums are probably one of our favorite native animals here at Native Rescue Initiative.
