Acorn Acres Wildlife Rehabilitation

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Tag: Virginia Opossum

  • 26-250 Manheim

    Patient 26-250 was found by Wendy in the middle of the night lying in a turning lane on Manheim Pike. He appeared to have been struck by a vehicle and wasn’t going anywhere.

    With no wildlife rehabilitators open and nowhere to take him at that hour, Wendy did something we wish more people knew to do. She carefully contained him in a plastic tote, placed him in a dark, quiet room, and left him alone until morning.

    No food. No water. No handling. No guessing. Just a safe, warm, quiet place to spend the night.

    The next morning, she brought him to Acorn Acres. At intake, he was alert and surprisingly plump, but he had blood around his mouth and signs of trauma. We knew he had been hit by a car so we began monitoring him closely while providing supportive care.

    As part of our diagnostic workup, we also ran a LeadCare test. His blood lead level came back at “high” which is more than 65 ug/dL, a level high enough to require immediate treatment.

    Lead poisoning in wildlife is incredibly common and can cause weakness, neurological problems, inability to find food, digestive issues, abnormal behavior, and make animals much more likely to end up in dangerous situations like roadways.

    Over the past two weeks, this handsome guy has undergone lead chelation therapy, and received multiple rounds of medications/fluids along with proper rest. And now? Well… judging by these photos, he’s feeling a whole lot better. 😅

    He’s eating well, acting like an opossum again, and reminding us that sometimes what looks like a simple car strike isn’t always the whole story.

    A huge thank you to Wendy for doing everything right. Because she stopped, cared enough to help, and gave him a safe place to spend the night, this opossum had the opportunity to receive the treatment he needed.

    💚 Wildlife Tip: If you find an injured wild animal after hours, the best thing you can usually do is place it in a secure container in a warm, dark, quiet location and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible. Keeping them calm can be lifesaving.

  • 26-318 Eleanor

    The eye likely cannot be saved. 💔

    Patient 26-318, now known as Eleanor, was found by Raymond after he noticed something was terribly wrong and made the decision to stop and help.

    When Eleanor arrived at Acorn Acres, she was suffering from a severe injury to her right eye. The eye was protruding from the socket, badly damaged, and no longer functional. She was also mildly dehydrated and in obvious need of medical attention.

    What happened to Eleanor is something we’ll likely never know.

    Wild animals don’t come with a medical history. We don’t know whether this injury was caused by a predator encounter, a vehicle strike, an infection, trauma from the environment, or something else entirely. By the time many wildlife patients reach us, all we can see is the outcome.

    Since arriving, Eleanor has received fluids, parasite treatment, and pain management while we work with our veterinary team to determine the best course of action. Unfortunately, the damage to the eye is likely too extensive to repair and will have to be removed.

    While that may sound heartbreaking, there is good news.

    Wildlife can be incredibly resilient, and Virginia opossums adapt remarkably well to the loss of one eye. If her remaining eye is healthy and she recovers well from surgery, Eleanor can still navigate her environment, find food, avoid predators, and live a normal wild life.

    It’s easy to look at these photos and see what Eleanor has lost but we see something else.

    We see an animal that is still alert. Still eating. Still curious. Still fighting.

    And we see a finder who cared enough to stop, make a phone call, and give her a chance. Sometimes that’s all it takes to change the outcome of a life.

    Thank you, Raymond, for making that choice. 🩷