Guest Author - Denise Lacazette

Since I didn’t know much about opossum in general and especially not babies having never been associated with them close-up, I decided I’d better hurry up and do some homework after the shower. I found several websites online including the one for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

“Woo hoo!” I shouted. “It’s gotta go. It’s outta here!”

My husband looked at me. “Yeah, I wish I hadn’t picked it up either.”

That’s when I informed him that it’s ILLEGAL in the state of Texas to have an opossum. You can shoot them for predating on your own land, but you cannot possess one or its skin. Since it was a baby and abandoned (possibly orphaned) we could, however, turn it over to the nearest wildlife rehabilitator. With that lovely thought in my mind, I finally got to bed at around 5 am.

At seven a.m. the conures and macaws woke me up for their morning feeding….

Groggy, sweaty, and wishing my birds would give me the morning off for a change, I set about finding a wildlife rehabilitator. I feared I was going to be stuck wiping this little gal’s bum [you have to help them urinate & defecate like their mother does] until after the Easter holiday. Fortunately I found one open and willing to take it around noon. Naturally they expected a donation for dropping it off. I whipped out my wallet and gave them my credit card.

Laws vary state to state on animals that may be taken in by individuals. Most wildlife is protected and you are required to turn them over to wildlife rehabilitators if they are orphaned or injured. While the exchange between my husband and I is somewhat comedic we did the right thing by leaving the animals the first night, checking on them the second night, and turning over the abandoned/orphan to the rehabilitators at the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition as soon as possible. Baby opossum, in particular, require very specialized care that most individuals cannot provide.

Remember – unless it’s in danger, definitely orphaned or abandoned – leave it alone! Many animals are turned in to wildlife rehabilitators unnecessarily. In most cases you cannot possess wild animals for an exotic pet. Check your local laws and be responsible.