Meet The Ambassadors

Stuart

Stuart passed away in November 2021 at the ripe old age of three and a half. He was an amazing Ambassador and is still missed everyday. Here is his story:

Stuart and his brother, Mickey, were found in Stafford County in August 2018 when they were about a month old and just 27 grams. As he was the smallest of the two, he was named "Stuart" after Stuart Little.

As they began to grow and develop, it was determined through x-rays that they both had metabolic bone disease, a condition where their bones didn't absorb calcium properly. This condition is often seen in reptiles and, if left untreated, can result in physical deformities and death. Fortunately for Stuart and Mickey, it was caught early and was able to be treated with a diet of high-calcium foods and supplements.

Just when it was thought they were on the road to recovery, they were taken to the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro, VA to have x-rays taken again. At that time it was discovered that Mickey's elbows were severely deformed and, despite the fact that he was only about seven months old, they were full of painful arthritis. It was the veterinarian's recommendation that Mickey be humanely euthanized to keep him from having to endure any more pain.

Stuart turned out to a be a bit of a genetic nightmare as well. Although the vet does not believe he's in pain, as you can see from the x-ray pictures below, his hips are deformed. A normal opossum has hips like we do - complete with a ball and socket. Stuart's hips have no socket; the only thing keeping his hips in place are tendons. The result? He has a little more wiggle in his walk, but is otherwise ok. Will this reduce his life span? It's too soon to tell. But, in the meantime, he's an opossum doing opossum things, and is a fabulous ambassador for his species!

Since April 2019, when Awesome Possumz began, he has helped me to educate THOUSANDS of people, and to correct the misconceptions that many people have about opossums - that they are vicious, aggressive, and dirty animals that carry rabies and are to be feared. He's been on the radio, on TV, in the newspaper and on the cover of our local magazine. For a possum he sure gets around!

To see an amazing YouTube video of Stuart's Story that was created by Wild Things Media, click here.

To see the YouTube video of Stuart's first bath, click here. (Spoiler alert: he didn't like it.)

Bobbi Sue

Bobbi Sue passed away in March 2023. She was my first girl and first nubby butt and she'll be missed forever!

She came to me from another rehabber in November 2019 when she was about four months old. She is non-releasable due to having lost all but an inch of her tail. The details surrounding the tail loss are not known, as it happened prior to the other rehabber acquiring her.

Opossums have prehensile tails, meaning they use them like a fifth limb (like monkeys), and their tails are essential for balance, climbing and gathering/carrying bedding and nesting materials. In the wild little Bobbi Sue wouldn’t have been able to make herself a nice warm bed during the cold Virginia winters.

She is very much her own little opossum, and tasks such as grooming and nail trims often come with attempted nips to my fingers. She is a wonderful ambassador though, and has helped me to educate many people not only about opossums, but also about the power of resiliency and the importance of focusing on what you do have…and not dwelling on what you don’t.

Bruiser

Bruiser passed in March 2023. His big silly face and sweet disposition will be missed forever.

Bruiser was a spring 2020 baby who grew, along with this nine siblings, to be big and strong. But, as happened with so many other things during 2020, things went awry. Two days before he was set to be released with his siblings, I accidentally closed one of his little fingers in the cage door and broke it. Sigh.

So…he was separated from his siblings, brought back into my rehab area and was on pain medication and antibiotics for two weeks. During that time he became quite accustomed to being a “house possum” and decided that Awesome ‘Possumz was where he wanted to stay. He bonded to me and would routinely hold on tight to my hair and “slub” me nearly to death.

He is a big guy but his square head, squishy body, soft eyes and gentle temperament make him a great ambassador. He absolutely adores food; I haven’t found anything he won’t eat yet. A possum after my own heart.

Bruiser doesn't get to do away-from-home programs because he's a 12-lb scaredy possum and a nervous pooper (sigh). But he's the star of several TikTok videos and a great at-home teacher.

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea rounded out the final of the three non-releasables for 2020. Like her mentor, Bobbi Sue, Sweet Pea also lost her tail, though the details of her tail loss are, sadly, burned into my memory forever. Sweet Pea came in with as a litter of fourteen babies! This was amazing in itself as moms only have thirteen nipples! She and her siblings were growing and doing great until one day I noticed that she didn’t come out to eat with the others. When I looked in their box, I noticed her curled up way in the back. I took her out and was immediately horrified to discover that all but about an inch and a half of her tail was GONE!

She was completely pale and lethargic. Although I’d heard stories of opossums cannibalizing siblings, I’d always thought it was in cases where they were over-crowded and stressed, but that certainly wasn’t the case here! The poor little girl, who was all of one pound, didn’t want to move or eat. It took nearly two weeks of antibiotics, pain medication, formula and foods rich in iron to get the color back in her little feet and nose. Once she was stable again, she had to undergo surgery on her poor little nub. Two additional vertebrae had to be removed and the skin was pulled over the end and sutured.

She made a full recovery and is the sweetest little girl. She has bonded to me and will routinely climb on my shoulder, grab my hair in her cute little hands, and "slub" (slobber-rub) all over my head (much to the delight of children during our presentations). She can win over even the coldest of hearts with her adorable face, gentle demeanor and sassy little nubby butt!

Porkchop

Porkchop came to Awesome Possumz in May 2021. She'd been found by a well-meaning young lady who kept her for ten days and fed her an inappropriate diet with no calcium and very little fat. She had a fat little bloated belly (which is how she got her name) and her fur was very thin and patchy. Due to the low calcium diet she'd been fed, I was worried that she had the start of metabolic bone disease but after a trip to Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Boyce, VA, she got a clean bill of health. The only issue the vet saw? She was TOO friendly! She was put in an outdoor cage with two other possums about her same age in an attempt to "wild" her up. Her sweet nature and calm demeanor ended up mellowing out the two boys she was with (that's never happened before!). Possums who do not display "normal" possum behaviors cannot be released back into The Wild, so, when she was only four months old, it was decided that she would be an education possie here. She gives kisses to everyone she meets and takes her job of being absolutely adorable very seriously!

Panda Negra

Panda came to Awesome Possumz in the summer of 2021. She was three months old and had been found by herself in someone’s yard. It was quite a surprise when she arrived as she was jet black (not common in possums) and had a very thin coat. Within a couple of days, a minor head tremor was detected so she went to the Richmond Wildlife Center for a check-up. The wildlife vet determined that she had a mild neurological condition and he was concerned that her thin fur was a result of a thyroid issue. The neurological issue made her non-releasable so Awesome Possumz became her permanent home. The prognosis on her health? Watch and wait. With a good diet her fur slowly began to get thicker and within a couple of months she sprouted the most amazing solid white undercoat, with the long, black fur above it. Her neurological issues began to lessen and it is the hope that she will grow out of it completely. She is a wonderful example of the surprises that nature sometimes gives us. Her small size and friendly, happy demeanor are proof that good things really do come in small packages!

Nugget

Nugget came to Awesome Possumz in April 2022 when he and his eight siblings lost their mom. When they were about three months old, his siblings started to pick on him. The reason for this became apparent about a week or so later, when he started to exhibit small tremors. Young possums will often know when another is "not right" and will sometimes gang up on the other. Sometimes they will even kill the one who is "different". Nugget was immediately separated from his siblings and the decision was made to have him join the growing family of Ambassadors. His sweet face, gentle, calm demeanor and inquisitive nature will make him a great one. Welcome Nugget!

Margeaux

Margeaux came to Awesome Possumz in August 2022 from another rescue center in southern VA. She had been found as a single baby in someone's yard when she was three months old and, after having been at the rescue center for three months, the caregivers there couldn't determine why she wasn't growing, climbing or walking very well. She was transferred to Awesome Possumz and a trip to Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Boyce, VA determined that she had metabolic bone disease. Her little bones had developed properly due to lack of calcium, resulting in her lack of strength and slightly bowed limbs. Over the past several months she has made excellent progress due to calcium supplements, vitamins and possum PT! She is becoming quite the lovely little lady! Welcome Margeaux!

Oliver

Oliver is named after Oliver Twist cause this poor fella has been through some stuff! He was originally taken in by Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk, VA when he was found alone in a yard in the early part of May. There wasn't a scratch on him, but he was sleeping right out in the open and didn't want to move or eat. Evelyn's had him for about a week before we arranged transport from Suffolk to Fredericksburg, VA.During transport he got a piece of string wrapped around one of the thumbs on his back foot. Though it was removed halfway through the transport, the thumb was very red and swollen when he arrived.That evening, when I was tubing fluids into him, he bit down on the tube and swallowed about two inches of it. Sigh. At least by this point he was moving around and had started to eat. A couple of days later he still had not pooped the tube out (his unofficial name at this point was Poop-a-tube). He was also super friendly and didn't display typical possum behaviors (like hiding to sleep).Finally, it was time for the pros. He went to Blue Ridge Wildlife Center and they cleaned up the skin that had become necrotic on his thumb and x-rayed him to learn where that dang tube was. After a few more days it still hadn't passed so he had surgery to get it out of his stomach. He's all healed up now and is as sweet as can be, but certainly not a candidate for the wild as he still sometimes sleeps outside his box and has no fear of humans at all. So he became our 2023 Ambassador. Nugget has some competition now!

Amelia

Amelia (aka Melie) and her brother came to Awesome Possumz on June 19, 2023 from a lady who had kept them as pets for nearly three weeks. Although they seemed healthy from the good diet she'd given them, they were very friendly. Possums have distinct personalities just like all other animals and right from the start I could tell that the boy was more timid and careful. Not Melie. Each new enrichment item in their cage resulted in an immediate explosion of curiosity and adventure. She would instantly climb right to the top of each new branch, whereas her brother would wait down below to see if it was safe. So, she earned the name Amelia, after Ms. Earhart, who also loved adventure and exploration. Little did I know that the name would prove to be a little too accurate. Amelia's brother seemed to be a good candidate for release, so I put him in an outdoor enclosure and sure enough, he "wilded up" just fine. He has since been released. But Melie stayed super friendly. Then, one evening I noticed she wasn't putting any weight on her left arm, which earned her a trip to meet Dr. Jen at Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Boyce, VA the next morning. Radiographs showed that she had a humeral fracture as well as hip disease (very shallow hip sockets). When I told Dr. Jen who Amelia was named after, she said, "Because she thinks she can fly?" I said apparently. Sigh.Because of the severity of the break, Dr. Jen and her team weren't able to operate to put a pin in the arm, so they bandaged it and hoped for the best. After just a few days the arm had already started to heal and after a week the bandage was changed and the bones were starting to become stable. Another week at Blue Ridge and Amelia's progress was amazing! Because of her injury and hip disease, she may have mobility issues in the future, so she earned herself a permanent place at Awesome Possumz.

Swann

That day in December 2023 started like any other for Swann, but it ended in disaster. She was hit by a car! Luckily Sharon, from Maleena’s Wildlife Rescue in Tappahannock, was called. She took Swann to the vet and, with the exception of Swann’s left eye that she ended up losing, she made a full recovery. Swann became an ambassador with Awesome Possumz in March 2024. We named her “Swann” after the character Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean! She is 5.5 pounds of precious and she’s already melting hearts as she learns how to live the good life.