Care of the Virginia Opossum

Diarrhea and Constipation:

 

As weird as it may sound, sometimes the cure for simple diarrhea or constipation can be one and the same; increased fiber will often solve both of these issues, but it depends on the underlying cause.

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Typical causes of diarrhea may include:

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1. Dietary indiscretion: Eating too much.

2. Change in diet: It may take a few days for a possum's digestive system to adapt to new foods. This happens fairly frequently to orphaned babies when placed on formula.

3. Food intolerance.

4. Allergies.

5. Parasites: Most of these will cause illness in babies with weak immune systems:

   1. Roundworms

   2. Hookworms

   3. Whipworms

   4. Coccidia

   5. Giardia

6. Poisonous substances or plants.

7. Bacterial infections.​

8. Illnesses, such as kidney and liver disease, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer.

9. Antibiotics and other medications.

10. Stress or emotional upset.

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In orphaned babies, being started on formula often causes digestive upset. They have gone from drinking their mother's milk as nature intended, to commercially manufactured milk. This transition can be made easier by following a few simple steps;

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• Use Esbilac GOATS milk puppy formula (easier to digest).

• Start out by making the formula much more diluted in the beginning; instead of 2 parts water to 1 part formula, mix 4 or even 6 parts water to 1 part formula, then gradually work your way up to full strength over a course of several days.

• Add lactase to the formula, this greatly aids in digestion. (More of this info is on the infant diet page of this website).

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Two products have been recommended by some folks for diarrhea; Diagel and Synacore (feline).  Let's take a look at both of these;

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Diagel Ingredients:

Carob, Cranberry Powder, Microencapsulated Bead Agents, Miglyol, Natural Flavors, Oat Bran, Orange Fiber, Origanum Oil, Potassium Chloride, Psyllium Seed Husk, Rice Bran Extract, Sesquiterpenoid, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Sorbitan Tristearate, Stevia.

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The largest common thread in Diagel is primarily the fiber content; rice bran, psyllium, oat bran, and orange fiber. I am not sure why they added cranberry powder to this, as that is used primarily for urinary tract health. There are possible other benefits to cranberry powder that are touted online but these are either proved or disproved, depending on which website you bring up. Carob powder aids in bone health. Its also said to be beneficial to your heart, nerves, and muscles function well. It contains calcium but it also contains oxylates  that reduce your body's ability to absorb calcium. Its unclear to me why they added this to a anti-diarrhea formula and since its the first ingredient, that tells me there is a lot of it in there. Could be they add it to make this formula taste good.

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Synacore Ingredients:

Inulin, Fructooligosaccharide, Dried Buttermilk, Dehydrated Cranberry, Dried Fermentation Extract of Bifidobacterium longum and Aspergillus niger, Natural Flavor, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Dried Fermentation Extract of (Aspergillus oryzae, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Lactobacillus helveticus, Candida rugosa, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Vitamin E Supplement, Bromelain, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol (Source of Vitamin D3), Maltodextrin, Silicon Dioxide, Ascorbic Acid.

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The largest common thread in Synacore are the digestive enzymes, however, I do not like the amount of Vitamin A that is in this product, especially since possums should have a diet that is relatively low-moderate in Vitamin A.

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You could certainly use these products to help an animal with diarrhea, but I have found that in most cases, simple digestive upset in small babies can be stopped by the steps outlined above (diluted formula with lactase added). For older possums (juveniles or adults), the addition of cooked white rice, and pumpkin often does the trick.

 

Make a smoothie:

 

Take some cooked white rice, a little plain (no spices added) pumpkin, add a little psyllium husk fiber, a small amount of cooked white chicken, some probiotics and digestive enzymes. Add some low salt canned or homemade chicken broth and throw it all in a blender until smooth and then serve. This mixture is my go-to for older possums that are past the formula drinking stage. Psyllium fiber is cheap and can be found in most stores/pharmacies as can probiotics and digestive enzymes. ***Don't go overboard on the psyllium husk.....this stuff expands once it becomes moist and too much could cause a blockage.

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For more serious, stubborn cases of diarrhea, the addition of Metrodiazinole (Flagyl) can be helpful. A stool sample should be analyzed for parasitic infections. Go thru the list at the top of this page of typical causes for diarrhea, its important to know what the underlying cause is in order to treat this problem correctly.

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Constipation:

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Typical causes of constipation include:

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1. Excessive self-grooming can cause large amounts of hair to collect in the stool.

2. Medication side effects.

3. Lack of exercise (exercise is so important!)

4. Dehydration.

5. Blocked or abscessed anal sacs (these need to be checked)!

6. Masses or tumors on the anus or within the rectum, causing an obstruction.

7. Neurological, metabolic or endocrine disorders.

8. Enlarged prostate gland (in males).

9. Hernia.

10. Orthopedic disorders that cause pain when crouching.

11. Old age.

12. Obesity.

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Baring a more serious underlying cause, constipation can often be helped by the addition of fiber to the diet (see smoothie recipe above), and making sure the animal is drinking enough water. I would substitute tap water with Smart Water to add additional electrolytes, but if the animal is dehydrated, they will need sub-q fluids. Make sure your possum is getting enough exercise! Go down the list above and consider all possible causes.

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