"Floss"

Flossy was a Mountain Brushtail Possum, he arrived with us after his mother was hit by a car and killed. Joeys are very protected in the pouch, so it is of the utmost importance you check the pouch (if you see an injured marsupial) even if you are sure nothing could possibly be alive, it is surprising how often a little one is there quite unhurt.

This little Joey was 192g. with the finest of fur covering his little body. Luckily the person who hit mum, stopped and checked the pouch, so he was not left to go cold, this ensures that the chances of survival are even better. Once a joey looses the core temperature, it is a battle to keep them alive.

This little guy had a great chance, we worked him out to be approximately 4 months old, he spent his time in a pouch in the humidybox till he was able to thermoregulate his own temperature, he would come out of his pouch to crawl up and down my arm, using his muscles and slowly gaining strength. It did not take long before my arms looked like I had been in a fight with an allycat .

When Floss was big enough to live outside, but still be in a pouch, an old hangbag came in very handy and was recycled as a substitute pouch.

He was bottle fed for only a short time as possums very quickly learn to lap, again I must stress the importanse of the right formula for the native Australian animals, he was on special formula for possums, Floss would also eat a variety of native foods, leaves of eucalypts, native flowers, and the odd insect. No spider was safe once it entered Flossys pen.

I would take him out at night to exercise in the trees, it was very stressful (for me) as he would scoot high up in the branches, and stay up there sometimes for hours, on the rainy nights I would be sitting in the rain waiting for Floss to finish, I could not leave, the moment he could not see me he would come down faster than I could imagine. He would quite often find the wild possums in his vicinity, the moment they told him to move on, he would not hesitate, and run down to the safety of "mum".

Soon his handbag was too small, and we built him his own possum box, here he would spend the day, peeking his pink nose out to see what was happening and at night he would be very busy climbing the branches, and swing from branch to branch , he would hang upside down using the tip of his tail to hang on, eating his munchies, it was a wonderful sight.

When Floss was 9 months old, a little female bobuck came in, her mother had been attacked by a dog and unfortunatly had to be euthanased, but her little joey was unharmed. She was a little younger than Floss, about 61/2 months old, we kept her in a smaller cage for a short time till she got used to being here. Eating the formula and food we provided her, then she was to be introduced to Floss. We called the little new arrival "Mim", her smaller cage was put in with Floss, and they said hello through the wire.

After 2 days we opened the door , and Floss was told in no uncertain terms to keep his distanse, it was a very vocal confrontation, but much to our surprise the next morning, Mim was not in her box any more, up in Flossys box was now 2 little pink noses peering out at us. From that day on they were inseperable.

They grew very fast , and having Mim was wonderful, she had been with her mother a lot longer than Floss, and taught him a lot, about what possums should not do - like do not spend so much time on the ground, and always tell off the wild possums when they come too close to your pen. Outside the pen the wild possums would soon tell him off, but inside the pen he was more assertive.
The next stage was the release pen, this pen is in the bush, and here they both had to leave from, a thick rope was put from their pen to a large tree, for quite some time they would leave the pen at night and come back to sleep during the day in their box. Sometimes we would not see them for a few days, and then they would be back again.It is now a long time since they were released, we have the pleasure of seeing them every now and then in the bush , and a short time ago we spotted them, this time a little pink nose was sticking out of Mims pouch. They have not totally forgotten us, we cannot come very close and do not try, but we still get a grunt of hello when they hear us at night in the bush.





		Flossy was a Mountain Brushtail Possum, he arrived with us after his mother was hit by a car and killed. Joeys are very protected in the pouch, so it is of the utmost importance you check the pouch (if you see an injured marsupial) even if you are sure nothing could possibly be alive, it is surprising how often a little one is there quite unhurt. This little Joey was 192g. with the finest of fur covering his little body. Luckily the person who hit mum, stopped and checked the pouch, so he was not left to go cold, this ensures that the chances of survival are even better. Once a joey looses the core temperature, it is a battle to keep them alive. This little guy had a great chance, we worked him out to be approximately 4 months old, he spent his time in a pouch in the humidybox till he was able to thermoregulate his own temperature, he would come out of his pouch to crawl up and down my arm, using his muscles and slowly gaining strength. It did not take long before my arms looked like I had been in a fight with an allycat . When Floss was big enough to live outside, but still be in a pouch, an old hangbag came in very handy and was recycled as a substitute pouch. He was bottle fed for only a short time as possums very quickly learn to lap, again I must stress the importanse of the right formula for the native Australian animals, he was on special formula for possums, Floss would also eat a variety of native foods, leaves of eucalypts, native flowers, and the odd insect. No spider was safe once it entered Flossys pen. I would take him out at night to exercise in the trees, it was very stressful (for me) as he would scoot high up in the branches, and stay up there sometimes for hours, on the rainy nights I would be sitting in the rain waiting for Floss to finish, I could not leave, the moment he could not see me he would come down faster than I could imagine. He would quite often find the wild possums in his vicinity, the moment they told him to move on, he would not hesitate, and run down to the safety of "mum". Soon his handbag was too small, and we built him his own possum box, here he would spend the day, peeking his pink nose out to see what was happening and at night he would be very busy climbing the branches, and swing from branch to branch , he would hang upside down using the tip of his tail to hang on, eating his munchies, it was a wonderful sight. When Floss was 9 months old, a little female bobuck came in, her mother had been attacked by a dog and unfortunatly had to be euthanased, but her little joey was unharmed. She was a little younger than Floss, about 61/2 months old, we kept her in a smaller cage for a short time till she got used to being here. Eating the formula and food we provided her, then she was to be introduced to Floss. We called the little new arrival "Mim", her smaller cage was put in with Floss, and they said hello through the wire. After 2 days we opened the door , and Floss was told in no uncertain terms to keep his distanse, it was a very vocal confrontation, but much to our surprise the next morning, Mim was not in her box any more, up in Flossys box was now 2 little pink noses peering out at us. From that day on they were inseperable. They grew very fast , and having Mim was wonderful, she had been with her mother a lot longer than Floss, and taught him a lot, about what possums should not do - like do not spend so much time on the ground, and always tell off the wild possums when they come too close to your pen. Outside the pen the wild possums would soon tell him off, but inside the pen he was more assertive. The next stage was the release pen, this pen is in the bush, and here they both had to leave from, a thick rope was put from their pen to a large tree, for quite some time they would leave the pen at night and come back to sleep during the day in their box. Sometimes we would not see them for a few days, and then they would be back again.It is now a long time since they were released, we have the pleasure of seeing them every now and then in the bush , and a short time ago we spotted them, this time a little pink nose was sticking out of Mims pouch. They have not totally forgotten us, we cannot come very close and do not try, but we still get a grunt of hello when they hear us at night in the bush.


			©Wildlife Mountain 2000, 2001, 2002 Wildlife Mountain is sponsored by the caring people from Foto Riesel. All pictures in this site are taken using their camera's and equipment. (364a Kent St, Sydney, +61 (02) 92996746) We are also kindly sponsored by the friendly gang from the Ginger Necktar Drink Company. We would also like to acknowledge the amazing support and help we have had from the Lismore Vet Clinic who have been an invaluable support to both us and the native wildlife of this region. All native birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles are proteced under the Wildlife Act 1975, they may not be captured or harmed in any way without an authority issued under the Wildlife Act.