While helping mom with some stuff in the garden today I stumbled upon the little guy you see below. His mom was nowhere to be found and he’s so little he can’t even ‘play dead’ properly. So I set him up in Twitters old cage with lots of fluffy grass, a bowl of water, some dry dog food and a few tidbits of ham with a towel covering the top to make him feel more secure and comfortable.
There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him so I have no idea why his mother would drop him and leave him behind. Baby possums have a super grip to their mother’s back so I highly doubt it was an accident. My assumption is that he’s sick but he seems too fat, bright-eyed and just.. too healthy for that. Maybe she just got tired of the constant rider?
He eats and drinks good so odds are in his favour thus far. Now all I gotta do is hide his food in the grass of the cage and have as little contact with him as I can manage so when he’s big enough to scamper off on his own I can set him free and not have to worry about it.
He’s big enough to know most things but still too small to be left entirely on his own. My guess is that he’ll be ready for freedom in three weeks or so.
In either case he’s cute and lord knows he’s entertaining. If you don’t have the towel in place and you look directly at him he ‘dies’.
His idea of dying is to flop over on his side and cease moving. It would be a great act if he would learn to shut his eyes, stop twitching his ears and stick his tongue out of his mouth. He opens his mouth but it’s more a baring of teeth than a death loll (spelling?).
You’d be amazed at how soft these little guys are. I always assumed possums would feel coarse but just like a chinchillas tail it’s actually quite soft.
Though I don’t suggest you touch a wild possum as they do bite. I’m just lucky I guess, very rarely do I ever get bit.. then again I’m not stupid enough to mistake cuteness for safeness and my fingers will never travel near his mouth :P
Note: I named him Jose because 99.9% of the times you hear a possum talk in a cartoon or movie they’re spanish or mexican. Jose is the most common name I know in those areas so it just fell into place. Of course I could call him Emanuel or something I guess but he doesn’t seem to mind being called Jose.
If you can think of a name that suits him better, by all means let me know! 
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It’s so cute! Jose is a good name
Aww, he’s cute! And to think that you just found him in your garden! But honestly, although he looks cute, I think I’ll be scared of him when I see him in person. I’m scared of furry animals that’s larger than a hamster, hahaha! Oh, except dogs.
And “Jose” is so appropriate! I know what you mean about the Spanish-speaking possums, but, I can’t remember which animated movies those are.. Hmm..
How cute!! That is so sweet of you to care for him. Do you intend to keep him or set him free? If you keep him, you probably need to get him vaccinated for rabies
I’m sure you already know this, though 
AWWW! He’s so adorable! I want one now!
Aww, Jose is so adorable! That was so nice of you to take him in and take such great care of him!
He is totally adorable. Possums get a bad rap sometimes, but they are cute. We had one in our yard once that was hurt and just sitting there. He eventually wandered off (he wasn’t hurt too bad), but I put on some gloves and petted him.
Are you going to keep him? Possums can be quite vicious sometimes. Maybe they can be trained to be more sociable with humans though…
Aw cute. Your still alive so he doesn’t have rabies. Haha Maybe you could teach him how to play dead. I would like to touch one as long as they don’t attack me. Their soft? Wow They don’t look soft.
He is cute-looking, but I have a great deal of respect for animals… and cute-looking or not… mind the fact that they’re wild animals. Yup, you’re right… they’ll bite!
Hey ,,, i was just wondering where you found your possum .. and in what country . because i live in Canada and i found an adult possum in my garden yesterday.. and i didnt think that they were even from here .. but i didnt bother touching it seens how they might bite..
thanks .. jen and emma