It’s usually pretty obvious if it’s lying by the side of the road after being hit by a car. But I know what you mean - they can play dead, and the stupor can last for up to 4 hours. If you are in doubt, contact animal control or your local opossum rehabilitator. The great thing is it’s extremely rare for an opossum to have rabies, but one should still take caution.
Yeah I mean if it has an obvious lethal injury then it’s safe to assume. But I’ve known multiple people who found “dead” opossums in their yard and put them in the trash, only to later realize that they were still alive!
Yeah, apparently the sure way to tell us wait for 4 hours and see if their ears start moving (it can take as little as 40 mins). But if no movement after 4 hours = RIP.
How can you make sure it’s deceased though?
It’s usually pretty obvious if it’s lying by the side of the road after being hit by a car. But I know what you mean - they can play dead, and the stupor can last for up to 4 hours. If you are in doubt, contact animal control or your local opossum rehabilitator. The great thing is it’s extremely rare for an opossum to have rabies, but one should still take caution.
Yeah I mean if it has an obvious lethal injury then it’s safe to assume. But I’ve known multiple people who found “dead” opossums in their yard and put them in the trash, only to later realize that they were still alive!
Yeah, apparently the sure way to tell us wait for 4 hours and see if their ears start moving (it can take as little as 40 mins). But if no movement after 4 hours = RIP.
Yeah, it could just be “playin’ 'possum”.