PICS! Found an orphaned opossum! Please help!

[muscovy94]

I was driving home last night and noticed an opossum that was dead on the road. Upon further inspection I found a baby crawling in the road. The other babies were already dead. I've only fed him twice so far. Once at like 6:30 this morning and again at 9:30 this morning. I've only been filling it up to the 1.5 mark on the syringe. Is that too much? Too little? How often should I feed him.
I called my local wildlife rehabber this morning but she said that since opossums are pest animals they would most likely put him down. I refused and said that he deserved a chance. Here are some pics:

 

[wordgirl]

Ahh, he's cute! It's kind of you to help him out! Sorry that I don't have any opossum-raising experience, or I'd give you more advice!

 

[hollymh]

Keep him warm! Most importantly, to treat dehydration you can use pedialyte or Gatorade, clear flavors. You can give him a warm heating pad on LOW but ensure he has room to move away if he gets too warm, provide him with something soft that he wont get tangled to lay on. It's best to offer fluids every hour at room temperature. Home formula goes as follows:1 part Esbilac powder, 1/3 part Heavy Whipping Cream, 1.5 parts Water, offer dilute formula in the beginning and work your way up to full formula. He'll need to eat every 2-4 hrs. You'll also have to stimulate defecation and urination, a damp cloth around the genitals will stimulate him. 1cc is about the proper amount, would let him decide if he's full, pretty easy just watch for signs. Good luck! He's a cute little thing, they're considered pests but they are beneficial to the environment just like all other animals.

 

[Chikenbutwut]

What Hollymh said is very good advice.

My husband once found 3 babies on the side of the road next to their dead mom who had been hit by a car. We researched online how to care for them. Once you get into the swing of things, they're really not that hard to care for. Eventually we found a rehabber who would take them in. We hated to give them up, lol! They were so precious and the noises they made were so cute. We really missed them when they were gone, but we knew it was for the best.

Believe it or not, some people keep hand raised opossoms as pets. Research it online and you'll see what I mean (though I'm not suggesting this...rehabbers go through steps to introduce them into the wild).

Maybe this site would be helpful for rehabbers? www.wildliferehabber.org/st_disp_list.php I checked your state and there are some that rehab opossoms.

Hope this helps.

Btw, s/he's adorable!

 

[dutchhollow]

I used to do volunteer work at a hs, and raised quite a few. We used kitten replacement milk, easier then mixing things. They have to be fed very often at that age, in their mom they would be drinking constantly.
That said, they are one of the worst chicken killers out there.

 

[Daddas1Punkin]

Ahh, he's cute! It's kind of you to help him out! Sorry that I don't have any opossum-raising experience, or I'd give you more advice!

Same here! SOOOOOOOOO CUTEEEEEE!!!!!!! Good luck. I would say to feed him every 3 hours, and probably twice that amount.