Anyone awake know what to feed baby Ring Tail Possums?

[3 Sisters]

Just found a dead ringtail with two joeys in it's pouch(well one was down the road a bit), and I've got them home on a hot water bottle in a jumper, and I've been googling for the past two hours, and haven't come up with much, other than special foods.
So was wondering if anyone knew(no guessing please)what to feed them, they have baby fur(like mouse length), and are the size of a small rat.
Yes I'll call wires in the morning.

[HBWC]

something suggary will get them thro the nught then i carnt remember havent had to look after a possum for a long time i'll check in the morning

[isuzurover]

This may help:


BABY POSSUMS

Young possums should be put into a pouch (such as a beanie or sock) that is just large enough for the possum to be able to turn round in then wrap the pouch in a blanket or something warm. It is very important that an artificial heat source is provided to treat for stress and shock and even more important for very young possums as they can not keep themselves warm and being cold can kill them very quickly.

FEEDING BABY POSSUMS

If you find a baby possum please take it to one of our carers as soon as possible as young possums need regular milk feeds. We do not recommend that you attempt to raise the possum yourself, unless you are a member of a wildlife care organisation such as Fauna Rescue. Young possums have very specialised needs and need specialised equipment. Depending on the age it could need hourly feeds and the longer they are without milk the more their chances of survival decrease. The notes below give some basic care details in the event you are not able to get the possum to an experienced carer immediately.

Possums are lactose intolerant and need specialised milk substitutes. Wombaroo Possum Milk is recommended as it is designed specifically for possums. .

Other formulas that are available are “universal formulas”, that is they are able to be used for all baby animals. Divetelact (which comes in only one strength but a greater volume of liquid is used) can be difficult to get a very small possum to take in the initial stages. Biolac and Wombaroo Formula One are also available.

If you can not get the possum to a Fauna Rescue carer quickly and do not have a proper substitute milk such as Wombaroo you can use evaporated milk watered down with preboiled water i.e. 1 part evaporated milk to 3 parts boiled water. This milk substitute is for emergency only and for no longer than two days. Remember all marsupials are allergic to cows milk and this should never be given. Lactose free milk can also be used for very short periods in an emergency, but lacks the special nutrients that are in the specialised formulas.

The possum needs to be warm and hydrated before milk can be offered. If a baby possum comes into care and is well hydrated offer milk but if it is dehydrated it will not drink. In such cases it needs to be seen by a veterinarian urgently to administer sub-cutaneous fluids

To check for dehydration pinch skin between shoulder blades and time the smoothing out process - Immediate return shows a good level of hydration. If it takes a few seconds, that indicates the animal is dehydrated which must be treated urgently. If the possum is severely dehydrated their eyes will look dull (not moist) and may not be fully open. You can also move their skin over their body with your finger and it will glide freely if they are well hydrated. If dehydrated please take the possums to a veterinarian or Fauna Rescue carer as soon as possible.

Feed with a syringe (plastic or glass) with a teat or a trimmed winged infusion set on the end.

Feed possum in pouch and cover eyes with pouch liner. Remove any spilt milk from fur and change pouch if soiled.

Once a possum is furred it will start to eat solids. You should leave gum tips & fruit at opening of pouch. Offer more natives than fruit. Ringtail Possums eat very little if any fruit.

Possums will eat: the young shoots and blossoms of many native plants such as eucalyptus, wattle, melaleuca, grevillea. They will also eat plumbago, roses and geraniums. Do not feed cabbage, lettuce uncooked broccoli or cauliflower or junk food such as chips or chocolate.

Fauna Rescue Possum Page (http://www.faunarescue.org.au/possum.html)

[3 Sisters]

Yeah I read that one(and many others, thanks all the same). Is dehydrated milk the stuff you buy, or do I boil milk dry? Being lactose intolerant, I'm inclined to just starve them until Wires can get them or until I can get the proper food in the morning. I know a Wires person that raises Roos, so hopefully she'll have some spare food for me.
I was wondering about warm soya milk, but didn't want to risk it if some non native plants are poisoness to them.

[isuzurover]

Yeah I read that one(and many others, thanks all the same). Is dehydrated milk the stuff you buy, or do I boil milk dry? Being lactose intolerant, I'm inclined to just starve them until Wires can get them or until I can get the proper food in the morning. I know a Wires person that raises Roos, so hopefully she'll have some spare food for me.
I was wondering about warm soya milk, but didn't want to risk it if some non native plants are poisoness to them.

If it was me I would offer them some watered down warm soy milk mixed with honey and maybe some finely diced fruit as well if they are big enough. How young are they - do they have full fur???

I have read elsewhere that soy milk is fine for them in an emergency.

[HBWC]

thanks ben a man off may tallents

i dont usally look after mamals i usall get reptiles and birds

[3 Sisters]

They're 65grams, so yes, full fur, but not very thick. They have eye fur markings etc.
The poor little guy that was on the road, doesn't look like he's going to make it. I wish I had a vet open that could give him a small glucose shot.
I just tried to give them a blended mix of gravilia flowers, banana, soy milk, filtered boiled water, a drop of honey, and some gum shoots.
The lively one wouldn't go for it, and jsut kept exploring my lap, but I kept dabbing my finger in it and putting it on his lip, and I think he likes his lips once or twice. The other poor little fella struggles to keep his eyes open, but I dabbed a fair bit on his mouth also, hoping some went in. I doubt he'll be alive in the morning, which sux as they apparently have a better chance of survival as a pair.
What terrible timing.
Wish they were a reptile, would be heaps easier. Crushed snail, white bait or pinky depending what they were would get them going at least.
These guys have a stomach, then a fermenting chamber that they ferment gum shoots in, then pooh it out and eat it again, then pooh that out and discard it. I don't know how a carer can get the bacteria culture going in their belly without the parents pooh to get it started.
I might try the lively guy on straight Gravilea flowers in a few hours. So sad hearing them whistle for their mum and dad. Not sure if I should go move the mums body, apparently the dad helps raise the young, and I could here him calling out when I went back to double check there wasn't any more babies, half hour after I got these two.

[HBWC]

look up wild ambo if their in your areathell want a small donation to help with fuel (volenters) but they ll come help any time day or night

[3 Sisters]

look up wild ambo if their in your areathell want a small donation to help with fuel (volenters) but they ll come help any time day or night

can't find anything under wildambo, wild ambo, or wild ambulance on google, any other clues?

[crump]

feeding the wrong formula can do more harm than good, as your passing them on to an experienced carer first thing, just keeping them hydrated with water is fine for the first 24 hours.

[3 Sisters]

I think the second one has passed away. I don't know how long he was on the road for before I got there, or what shock he suffered, but it took ages for his temperature to come up. Sad, but at least the other one is going strong. I put the probably dead one in a different sock, and left him on the water bottle also, just incase. I'll see if he gets stiff in an hour.

[3 Sisters]

Well the second one still hadn't gone stiff when I just took them to the carer, so there's a 1% chance he's alive, and another 1% chance he'll live. I'll call her later to see.
Cool being at her house, it backs onto the bush where she lets her orphined roos go, and a lot of them come back every morning until their older, so there's always 5-15 roos there, and she nearly always has a couple in pouches.
Thanks for everyones help.