I find an active possum during the day is it sick or rabid?

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This is one of the statements that many people will believe with regards to opossums, as they are most nocturnal creatures, and people will rarely see them out and about during the daytime hours. The fact is that there are several different reasons why an opossum may be active during the day, and sickness including rabies can be among the reasons why the opossum is active during those times. The key to dealing with the animal safely, if you have to come close to it is to be cautious and to give it plenty of space, and to know the key signs that may tell you whether or not the animal really is sick.



Is The Opossum Acting Erratically?

If the opossum is moving freely and simply appears to be going about its business normally, then in many cases you can look to other reasons why the opossum is active. However, if you see signs in the animal's behavior, such as unusual aggression or an unsteady movement, then this may be a sign that the opossum actually may be ill. One of the main signs of rabies is a severe aversion to water, so an opossum that jumps away from puddles or other water sources could be suffering with the disease, and should be treated with extreme caution.

Learn about the Opossum's Mating Habits

Signs Of Rabies And Sickness

As well as the hydrophobia, another sign that an opossum may be rabid is if you can see a visible white foam being produced around the mouth of the animal, and this is another tell-tale sign that you should treat the animal with caution. While rabies is one disease that can affect opossums, there are relatively few bacterial conditions that can affect opossums due to their naturally low body temperature, but signs such as mucus or excretions being produced around the eyes and nose of the animal can be another sign of sickness in an opossum.

Find out: How big do opossums get?

Reasons Why An Opossum May Be Active During The Daytime

The most common time that you will see an opossum active during the day is if it is a female that has a litter of young opossums to look after, and the demands of being a mother will sometimes mean foraging at different times of the day. There may also be local factors that affect the availability of food sources, such as a garbage collection or something similar that means a certain type of food is only available during the day, and the opossum may be taking advantage of that. For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How much does opossum removal cost? - get the lowdown on prices.
How to get rid of opossums - my main opossum removal info guide.
Example opossum trapping photographs - get do-it-yourself ideas.
Opossum job blog - learn from great examples of opossum jobs I've done.