This morning there was a dead opossum on the road in front of my house. She had been hit by a car.
Flies were already buzzing all around her. I started to head back up to the house to grab a shovel and bury her, but then I noticed movement around the carcass. I crept closer and found four baby opossums clinging to the outside of their mother's pouch.
When you live out in the middle of nowhere, these things happen sometimes, and you have to make a quick decision. Very young wild animals are difficult to care for, and so even if you really want to help them grow big and strong to be released back into the wild, there's a significant chance they will die, despite your best efforts. You could leave them be, and they will die of starvation, dehydration, or exposure, but I've never been able to bring myself to do that. I usually end up bundling the babies up, bringing them in the house, and trying to contact a wildlife rehabilitator to bring them to.
Which is what I did today (after burying the dead mother.) Except I can't get in touch with any of the wildlife rehabbers in my area.
So, while I waited to hear back from someone, I bundled the babies up in a towel and placed them in a plastic crate, next to a bottle filled with hot water to keep them warm. They are used to being in their mother's pouch all the time, and are not old enough to produce much body heat on their own yet. Then I did some research and found a recipe for formula that they can eat: part Ebsilac (a puppy milk replacer), part heavy cream, part water. And then of course I had to drive to Tractor Supply to buy the Ebsilac powder.
I fed them with a syringe. Two of them ate well and the other two didn't quite get the hang of it. Then came the gross part: I had to stimulate them to produce urine and feces. In the wild, their mother would lick her baby's anus to produce this effect. I used a wet cotton swab. Then I bundled them back up in the towel and put them in a dark room with their hot water bottle. And I set a timer for four hours, which, according to the stuff I read online, is how often they need to be fed.
Hopefully I'll be able to get in touch with one of the wildlife rehabbers tomorrow. Otherwise, I believe I've gotten myself in over my head.