General STO Food Questions
Feeding Your Short Tail Opossum
By Molly Kalafut
General Questions
- Gross! My STO is eating his poop! What's wrong?
- My STO doesn't eat a lot of food, is that okay?
- How can I tell if my STO is eating a healthy diet?
- Hey, my STO love Brisky food, why are you being so mean about Brisky food?
- I'm creeped out by mealworms, crickets, pinky mice, etc - do I have to feed them?
- But STO eat rodents in the wild! Don't we have to feed them pinky mice?
General Questions
Gross! My STO is eating his poop! What's wrong?
Probably nothing is wrong. Unfortunately this happens occasionally with some short-tailed opossums. It does not seem to indicate a diet deficiency or health problem. While some animals only eat their droppings if they are missing something from their diet, this does not appear to be the case with STO and has not been reported as a problem in veterinary literature.
Some STO are never seen doing this. Some do this more when they are young and grow out of it, while others eat their droppings occasionally throughout their lives. As long as the STO is eating other food as well there is probably no cause for alarm.
My STO doesn't eat a lot of food, is that okay?
Yes. Short-tailed opossums eat less and drink less than other animals their size because they are marsupials and have a different metabolism. They don't need as much food to stay healthy.
How can I tell if my STO is eating a healthy diet?
Short-tailed opossums with a healthy diet and good activity level usually have thick fur that is not scraggly or patchy. Their body is well-proportioned and does not appear pudgy or flabby.
STO that aren't receiving enough protein often lose fur around their rump and legs. Feeding a high-protein meal of insects, meat, egg, protein or tofu at least once per week usually fixes the problem and the fur grows back.
STO are most frequently overweight from a dry food diet too high in fat; usually dry dog food. An overweight STO can be coaxed back into health by slowly decreasing the amount of dry food and meat provided, increasing the amount of fruit and encouraging exercise.
Hey, my STO love Brisky food, why are you being so mean about Brisky food?
If your short-tailed opossum eats it, great! But most refuse to eat Brisky food. Check the nutritional content - primarily difficult to digest grain "fillers" and meat by-product. Any information about pet food (dog, cat, hedgehog, ferret, etc.) explains meat-eating animals digest food better from meat sources rather than grain. Most grain passes right through their system.
I'm creeped out by mealworms, crickets, pinky mice, etc - do I have to feed them to my STO?
Many STO pet owners are anxious to feed their short tail opossum a healthy diet but have reservations about some aspects of feeding live food. They may want to avoid feeding any live food, love rodents too much to use them as feeders, or just hate touching certain live bugs. Some people live too far from a pet store to get live food frequently, and others worry live rodents may harm their STO (though that is unlikely).
There is evidence that short tail opossums fed fresh foods, including fruits, insects or meat tend to be healthier and live longer than those just fed dry foods. Is it a good idea to feed STO insects and mice, are they nutritious, do the STO love them and does the hunting give them exercise and excitement? Sure.
Will your short tail opossum get sick and die, and have a substantially worse quality of life if you don't give them live insects or mice? No. Many STO kept in zoos, universities and homes have led healthy lives on diets including pre-killed, cooked or even freeze-dried insects and meat.
My personal recommendation is feeding live (or dead) insects and/or rodents regularly - whether it is once per day, week, or month depends on your access to live food, your willingness, and the other amounts of protein provided. If you do feed live insects daily or weekly, don't provide too much fat and keep an eye on their activity level. If you feed live food less often than that - twice per month or less - just make sure to supplement their diet with other protein sources at least once per week.
These are some suggestions:
- Pre-killed or freeze dried insects or rodents can be an alternative to live.
- Have someone else in the household feed the insects/mice if you don't want to touch them or watch.
- Poke a hole in the cricket bag and just dump them into the STO's tank if you don't want to touch them.
- Try a tweezers or scoop for mealworms if you don't want to touch them.
- Bits of leftover meat from dinner (beef, chicken, turkey, etc) can provide your STO with protein and calcium.
- Eggs and tofu can be good protein sources if you absolutely refuse to feed insects or rodents.
- Baby-food meat like the jars of soft meat sticks can be an alternative to live (but watch the sodium content).
But STO eat rodents in the wild! Don't we have to feed them pinky mice?
No. Short-tailed opossums in the wild eat scorpions - but nobody (including zoos, biologists and vets) suggests we feed scorpions to captive STO!
Plenty of short-tailed opossums live out happy, healthy lives without ever being fed a pinky mouse. Many STO love eating rodents, but if you are unable or adverse to feed them rodents (either live or pre-killed), your STO will be fine if you provide crickets, mealworms, insects, or bits of meat instead of pinky mice.
Personally, I do feed my short tail opossum feeder rodents and they love them. But if their nutritional requirement for protein is being met (especially by insects), they do not need them. Besides, crickets have a lower fat content and give STO more exercise.
