Oliver was originally found in Norfolk, VA and taken by the finder to Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk, VA when he was found alone in a yard in the early part of May 2023. 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).

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 healed up well and is still as sweet as can be, but certainly not a candidate for the wild due to his lack of fear of humans.

So, he became our 2023 Ambassador and has been doing a fantastic job!