Short Tail Possums  By Tony Cueto
SHORT TAIL OPOSSUMS - Scientific Name - (Monodelphis Domestica)
The Short Tail Opossum (Monodelphis Domestica) were brought into the United States by an expedition team from tyhe National Zoo in Washington, D.C. in 1978. In 1994, Dr. Naomi Poran and Tony Cueto of Animals Exotic introduced them into the pet market. They are native to Brazil and Chile where thay live near human habitats. The locals call them "cachita" and welcome their presence because of their appetite for rodents and insects. They are very clean, curious, and friendly animals. Because of their nature and uniqueness, they make excellent pets. Short Tail Opossums are 4" to 6" full grown. The males are about 25% larger than the females. They weigh three to six ounces. The animals fur is grayish with a lighter tone underneath. They have a prehensile tail wehich they use to carry nesting material. They have large sensitive ears and have keen hearing.
Housing can be in ten gallon aquariums with a tight fitting lid. They are escape artists. We use pine shavings and provide them a nesting box. We make our nesting boxes out of plastic milk jugs, cut in half, placed upside down with an entrance cut into it. Provide the Opossum shredded paper, and they will make an elaborate nest in their home. It is very important that the water bottles used for these opossums do not have a metal ball in them. These are harder for the opossums to drink out of, and they may become dehydrated. I do not recommend water bowls either as when the female has a litter, the babies can easily become detached from the nipple and drown in the water bowl. We feed our colony Brisk'ys Short Tail Possum feed. In additon to this, we give them several crickets, pinkies, or mealworms twice a week and small amounts of bananas and mixed vegetables. It is a good idea to offer them variety. Since they are nocturnal animals, I feed them the fruits at night and remove it in the morning to avoid spoilage and flies.
The Short Tail Possum, being from a warm rainforest climate, requires constant warm temperatures (69 to 88) and at least 50% humidity. Warm temperature is especially important for lactating females and the babies for which several days of cooler temperatures can be fatal.
The Short Tail Opossum is a marsupial. However, the females do not have a pouch. The undeveloped embryonic babies firmly attach to the thirteen exposed nipples after birth. Unlike many marsupials, the Short Tail Opossums breed any time of year. They are introduced ovulators. These opossums are sexually mature at 4.5 months. I introduce the pair and keep them together for 12 days. The female cycles between the 8th to 12th day once the male has been introduced. Gestation is fourteen days. Litter size ranges from two to thirteen babies. On the average, ours have 8 to 10 pups. When the babies are born, the mother will spend the majority of her time in her nest box and may not come out for days. The babies will stay attached to the nipples for one month. When they are about four weeks old, the babies will start to wander about the nest. When the mother leaves the nest, they will firmly cling to the mothers fur and ride piggy back. This is quite a site! I begin to handle the babies at six weeks and wean them at eight weeks. By nine weeks, the babies should be housed individually. They are solitary animals and will fight, otherwise, possibly killing each other. Healthwise, the Short Tail Opossums are very hardy. The only health problem I have encountered is, very occasionally, a prolapse. Since I began treating my colony with ivermectin twice a year, this problem has never reoccurred.
The Short Tail Opossums are unique and fascinating pets. If handled at an early age, they become very docile and friendly and are very low maintenance to keep. I can spend hours watching them play, exercise, building a nest, and chattering away. With so few in the U.S., it will be quite a while before there will be enough to supply the pet market demand, but when that day comes, what a great pet they will be.
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