At some time or another in virtually everyone’s life, they will come across an animal that is hurt or orphaned and opt to care for the animal. This can be a stray cat or dog that needs a good home, or it can be a wild animal, like a bird. In fact, a study found that over 79 percent of all Americans have found an animal like this at some point in their life and have cared for it until it was old enough to go out on its own or they kept it as their own pet.
But, what about wild animals those can be quite dangerous? There may be instances where a person may come across a wild animal that is a baby and has been orphaned because the mother has been killed or abandoned it. What is to be done then?
This is a very interesting question. Many would care for some types of wild animals, but would they care for an opossum. What should a person do who has found a baby opossum that has been orphaned? What kind of assistance should they offer, including should they feed that baby?
This may seem like the humane thing to many people. This is a small helpless baby opossum that is in need of help. It seems only logical that a person would so. Since these animals eat about anything you could even takes scraps of garbage and give it to them.
The question is, should you do this? Is this really a good idea?
The answer is no. the fact of the matter is that the opossum is the carrier of a wide number of diseases, and if you start feeding that baby, it is going to stay around. This is endangering you, your family, and your pets, because that baby is going to grow up to be a big opossum one day, and he or she may bite or scratch you, a family member or your pet, making them sick. Some even carry rabies, which can be fatal to humans if not treated right away.
You also need to know that the waste of these animals is even dangerous to you. There are a large number of parasites that live in the feces of the opossum when it is released. You can step on this and they will burrow into your skin, making your sick, or if the feces becomes dry enough, the particles will become airborne, and you can breathe in those parasites and become sick.
It is likely that many would feel compelled to help this poor animal, but you can’t do it. The best thing to do is to call the animal control and see if they will take it to a shelter.
Read more:
Opossum Control,
How to Get Rid of Opossums,
Opossum Feces.
