Hello and welcome back to Animal Wonders!
I’m Jessi and this is Ophelia, the 5 month old opossum.
She’s new around here, but we’re happy that she came to live with us because she’s
a very special little lady.
Ophi really likes to snuggle, but she also likes to go for walks, so let’s go explore
a little outside.
[CHEERY INTRO MUSIC]
You might notice she doesn’t move very fast, and that’s because Ophi only has 3 legs.
When she was a tiny little joey, Ophelia’s mother was hit and killed by a car, leaving
her and her sibling alone in the mother’s pouch.
A wonderful person saw her mother on the side of the road and stopped to check her pouch.
Inside she found Ophelia and her sibling still alive, so she rushed them to a vet.
Ophelia’s sibling was healthy and all they needed was some food and to grow bigger to
go out on their own, but Ophi was a different story.
She had a severely injured back leg that could not be fixed and needed to be amputated immediately.
The surgery was difficult on such a tiny little baby, but it was successful and soon Ophi
was healed up and eating well.
As she grew, her caretakers noticed that she did not have the ability to grasp with her
toes or hold herself up like an opossum needs to do to climb and maneuver in the wild.
So she underwent weeks of physical therapy to strengthen her muscles in the hopes that
she might be able to climb.
She did grow stronger, and she learned how to climb up an easy ramp, but she could not
hold her own body weight.
So, not only was she missing a leg, but she also had neurological damage that prevented
her from being able to survive in the wild.
Ophelia was deemed non-releasable and needed a permanent place to call home where her special
needs wouldn’t hold her back from a full and happy life.
Just look at how curious and adventurous she is! I love it!
Alright little one, let’s head back inside.
It’s getting a little too hot to just be hanging out outside.
This is where Ophi sleeps and eats.
While she does like to get on the move for exploration, she also likes to sleep a lot.
Opossums are nocturnal, and they sleep 18 hours of the day.
While most of their activity happens at night, opossums will adventure out during the mornings
and evenings, looking for food or a safe place to sleep.
She’s been here for about a week, and now that she’s settled into her new home, we’re
going to continue her physical therapy program by finding new ways to challenge her physically.
We’ll install maybe a ramp and make it enriching to climb up it by putting her favorite food
items at the top.
Ophi likes juicy fruits and insects the most.
Would you like some fruit?
We’ll also add some more obstacles like logs and blocks that she has to maneuver around.
I’d also like to introduce more play items like balls and foraging toys so she learns
to stay active.
The reason it’s important for Ophi to be active is because opossums are very prone
to obesity, and since she’s already less active than an average opo, we need to make
sure she stays a healthy weight.
If she becomes even a little overweight, it will put a lot of strain on her spine because
of the way she holds herself to walk.
Being overweight will also put stress on her internal organs, which will shorten her lifespan.
And since opossums generally have short lives, we want to make sure every year is as good
as it can be.
And now, it’s time to a much needed ear cleaning.
Ophelia really likes to stay clean, and she spends a good amount of her awake time meticulously
grooming herself.
But there’s one place she just can’t clean, and that’s her left ear, because… well,
she doesn’t have a left foot to clean it with.
So, I’m going to help her out with a little cotton swab.
[CALMING MUSIC]
There you go little Ophi!
I hope that feels much better.
She liked it so much she actually drooled all over me.
[LAUGHS] Such a happy opossum!
Thank you for letting me introduce you to Ophelia the opossum!
I hope you have a wonderful day.
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Link is in the description.
Thanks and I’ll see you... next week. Oh, look at her!