Species: Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
Intake Date: 2021
Patty was our Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) ambassador animal. She was found as a joey in 2020 and cared for by a well-meaning individual for a year. Patty then developed signs of illness and was surrendered to the Wildlife Medical Clinic in 2021, to receive lifesaving medical care. Patty was suffering from pyovagina, a dangerous infection in her reproductive tract that can lead to septicemia (a blood infection). The doctors and students at the WMC successfully performed a surgery to treat her ailments and get her on the road to healing. Patty was also extremely overweight, thus once she recovered from her surgery, her weight loss journey began with the help of our rehabilitation service here at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. While Patty’s friendly and human-centric behaviors meant she could never be released into the wild, they are also what made Patty such a great ambassador in our program! She helped to educate the community on the consequences of keeping wildlife as pets and simultaneously dispelled some of the negative connotations often associated with this ecologically valuable species! Unfortunately, we began to see age related health issues with Patty and while we managed these for some time, it was clear that they were getting worse. Due to this and her increasing age, the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize her in July of 2023. Patty was a huge part of our ambassador program and is greatly missed.
Fun Facts
Virginia opossums are the only marsupial to live north of Mexico. Their tails are adapted for grasping and wrapping around things to hang for short periods of time; one untrue myth is that they sleep hanging from their tails. Females have enough teats to support thirteen offspring, and commonly have seven to eight joeys at a time. The joeys stay in their mother’s pouch continuously for 55 to 60 days and spend another four to six weeks on their mother’s back before they are ready to be off on their own. Female opossums can have up to three litters a year.