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Orgin: In the 1900s opossums lived in the southeastern United States, but began a rapid northward expansion. Climate change has been a huge reason of their expansion.

Appearance: They are about the size of a house cat (40 inches). They have white of grey hair. They have a long pointed face with round hairless ears, and a rat like tail. They also have 5 fingers， one of them is a thumb.
Males have a different colored chest. It is stained yellow.

Life Span: They live for about 1-2 years in the wild. Humans are the main reason for their short life span. They often get hit by cars. They are also hunted for fur and food. When in a wildlife rehabilitation center they can live up to 3-5 years.

Diet: Opossums are omnivores. Which means they eat dead animals, insects, rodents, birds, snakes, eggs, frogs, plants, fruits, and grain. They will eat absolutely anything they can get their hands on due to the fact they are not aggressive animals.
They are also known to eat about 5,000 ticks a year!!
Opossums do have favorite foods. They love cat/dog food, super worms, crickets, fruits and vegetables (especially grapes), eggs, cooked lean meat, and dairy (sparingly though because it will upset their stomach).

Reproduction: People used to believe that opossums mated using the females nose. The opossum would use their forked penis and insert it into the females nose. She would then sneeze into her pouch. The “sneezing” was actually just a female cleaning her pouch or licking the area to soother her swollen teats.
Opossums have the shortest gestational period. They give birth to their babies after about 13 days. Once born they attach onto the mothers nipples in her pouch for about 2 months. Once they become too large to fit in the pouch they crawl out and spend their time on their mothers back. Baby opossums stay with their mother for about 3 months. Then will be completely independent.
Opossums sperm is quite unique. The sperm is ejaculated in pairs and remain paired in the mothers reproductive track until just prior to fertilation. Which causes the sperm to separate into single spermatozoa.
Breeding season can start as early as December and continues until October. Most infants are born between February and June. Mothers can have 1-3 litters per year. During mating season males will attract females by making a clicking sound with his mouth. An average litter consists of 8-9 joeys, but can go up to 20 babies. The joeys are about the size of a dime when born.
A females nipples are not all effective. Depending on the amount of babies is how many teats work.
The male also doesn’t stay to take care of the babies. They will have sex and leave once they are done. Meaning opossums have multiple partners in their lifetime.
Opossums do not mate for life. They can only give birth to up to 24 infants. Typically one 1/3 of them survive.

Playing dead: When opossums “play dead” it’s actually them passing out because of how scared they are. They can be like this for minutes or hours. When they “play dead” they fall into their side, and keep their eyes and mouth open. They begin to release a foul liquid from their anus that smells like rotting flesh. They know what is going on around them, but can not get up until the threat has passed.

Random: Opossums are the only marsupials in North America.
They have a similar personality to cats! Which is why they are also called “trash kitties”.
Opossums can not get rabies because their body temperature is to low. They are also immune to most snake venom.
During winter they can easily get frostbite. Many opossums can be seen with a short tail or tipped ears because of it.
They are nocturnal animals, but can change that during the winter. They will go out to get food during the day in winter to have warmer weather. They also do not hibernate.
Opossums are seen as dirty animals, but it’s actually the opposite. They love grooming themselves and often don’t have a scent.
Opossums that live in urban areas have an average body mass that’s 34% larger than rural opossums.
Opossums are often seen as beening quite slow, it was believed that they may be blind, but they actually have strongly dilated pupils which allows them to see in the dark.
They typically don’t make much noise, but some people have reported hearing them purr to their young.
Opossums are good swimmers.
They can run up to 4 miles per hour. When they are running the appear to be walking quickly, with their tails rotating their tails in circles to help them keep balance.
They are known to show affection by licking your skin and rub their head against you. Just like cats!
They are seen as stupid animals, but are actually better at remembering where food is better than dogs, cats, or rats.
In some cases opossums May wag their tail to warn others of danger nearby.
They use their tail for many reasons. Helping the climb in trees, carry leaves/sticks/food, generating their scent to mark their territory. Their tail is quite long, boneless, and flexible. It can hold their entire body weight hanging on a tree.
If you have an opossum as a pet they should not share a cage with another opossum. They are independent animals.
They are not destructive animals! They will not destroy your lawn or property.
Opossums are at risk of hair loss due to protein deficiency. Diarrhea is possible due to new foods and dehydration can be a real danger.
Older opossums are at risk of respiratory illness, digestive problems and tumors.
Opossums are the only other mammal that can develop skin cancer from too much sunlight!