In February, mother opossums give birth to around 9 babies after only 13 days of pregnancy.
After birth, the tiny hairless babies, which weigh less than a dime
crawl into their mother’s pouch to start nursing and finish growing.
The babies are so small that all of them could fit into a tablespoon!
For the next two months they will hang on inside mom’s pouch
until they are about the size of mice and can open their eyes.
Once they get too big to all fit in mom’s pouch
some will hitch a ride on her back as she looks for food.
The young opossums will leave their mother sometime around May when they are 3 ½ months old.
Mom may then have a second litter.
To furnish their dens, opossums carry leaves in a bundle in their strong tails which works like an extra hand.
