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Kisak and Suki-da,
Short Tailed Opossums

"Kisak"

"Suki-da"

Information and Photos: by Robin White

Meet Kisak and Suki-da:

   "Kisak's name means something to the effect of opossum. I forget what website Iwas looking up but the name was there and it just hit me. It fits him well. Suki-da is japanese and it means 'I like you' or..a term of affection. It fits her, especially with her cute little mickey mouse ears. Kisak's ears were chewed off by siblings because they kept them together too long in the pet store. He never minded being with others but well..I'm just glad he chose me.
   "Kisak is probably more special in a connection way with me. He chose me at the pet store. When I was walking through, I felt something skitter up my leg, up my back and onto my shoulder. It was kisak. He had gotten out and the owner was trying to catch him. She had deemed him unhandleable. *Chuckle* I guess he proved her wrong, because i walked out with him that very same day. Suki-da i got because i wanted another one...and maybe someday i'll breed them and have their little kiddos running about. For now though its just all about Suki-da and Kisak..My worlds cutest little short tail opossums.
   "Both Kisak and Suki-da just keep on a plugging and doing cute things. Kisak is constantly going with me, even to walmart as weird as that sounds. The store manager loves him to death so she lets me bring him in all the time. At petsmart he gets worlds of attention and you just know his little opossum mind is eating it up. Suki-da is more content to be looked at rather then touched. They are worlds different. But yet they know they are each others companions at the same time."

 
"Hey..this critters trying to steal my show!"

Kisak and Suki-da Playing Games:

   "They like attention, especially Kisak, and he has had some little adventures. He played 'The Great Escape' twice on me. I had to tear the whole house up each time just to find him and the whole time he was making a game of it. He'd purposefully wait for me to find where he was then let me see him. When I went to grab for him he'd run to a new spot. He turned it into a game of 'Short Tailed Opossum Tag' I guess
   "He also likes to play 'Opossum Peek-a-boo and Tag'. He will hide under a blanket, just stick his nose out sniffing at you, and wait for you to touch it. Then he will duck under the blanket quickly and poke his nose out from another spot. If you manage to touch his nose he jumps out at you and plays kind of like a ferret would when its hopping around. Then he hops back under the blanket after biting a shirt button or a piece of your shirt. I guess it's his way of tagging you back!
   "And another game is 'Terrorize the Kitten'. We got a little kitten named Jynxy and she is probably Kisak and suki-da's favorite toy. You wouldn't think it because they are mouse like and she is a cat but i swear..I can put them on her back and they will ride around forever and a day. They play chase with her and even sleep by each other when i put them in the playpen I bought for the opossums. It's a cute thing to see a kitten fluff ball curled up with two opossums curled up next to her. I got the playpen so they could move around in an open air area and I could watch them with the cat better..Just to make sure they don't hurt one another.
   "Suki isn't quite as experianced or playful but she has her own quirks. She eats very feminine and she loves, just loves her baby pinky mice and apple bits."

Kisak and Suki-da from the back!

Time to explore!

A Little Bit About Short Tailed Opossums As Pets:

   "They are a time pet. If you have the time for them they are the greatest. It's like anything though, if you never hold them or love on them, of course they are going to turn mean on you. They are definitely not for little kids though. Even though I help my 6 year old and my 9 year old hold them at times, I would never let them have their own just yet. The responsability is too great.
   "A little history..they started in the pet trade about 1994. They were used as laboratory animals at first and well I guess some people got curious and started domesticating them as pets. They origionate from Brazil and chile. The Brazillians consider them good luck to have in the villages and call them cachita. I think it means opossum or something having to do with opossum. They eat all the insects and help in insect control, which, is healthier for the people and fills the opossums little bellies. They are opportunistic eaters though. So...if they leave a fruit or two on the ground well these little guys figure "why not, less for me to hunt"!"
   "They do sound aot like rats but I assure they aren't. They have a defensive pose thats just adorable. They will haunch their little backs up and open their mouths at you. I call it the 'Im so scary, don't mess with me ' pose. It's a curse for them really because to me it just makes them cuter. Once they smell you and know it's you and not something that is going to eat them they are usually ok. Again at least my little guys do this. I can not speak for all Short taileds out there. I've read where one boy had a biter and it always was. Another i saw was extremely shy and never came out of her house.
   'I have been told that Kisak and Suki-da are definitely a one of a kind thing in that respect. Their attitudes promise a liking for the animal.that people can see them and appreciate what a truely tamed down one could be. I took them to my daughters kindergarden class..and yeah it was awesome to see all those kids light up and ask questions. It made it better with the fact that kisak likes to be held by strangers. This way all those kids got to hold and pet an animal they would have never been able to in normal circumstances."

Kisak is getting curious!.."Is this a worm?"

(a special note..you should always keep an eye on them when they are together..because they can get mean..no matter how nice you THINK they are )

Caring For Short Tailed Opossums:

   "Some speculate because life span isn't very long. I've had some breeders tell me 2 to 3 years and some tell me 5 to 8 years. I know from experience that a healthy diet and love effect these type of things. So I will just do my best to provide a good enviroment and good health, with regular vet visits to keep my little ones hopping and healthy.

A Bit About Housing:

   "As cages go, you want to make sure it's a good one. They are escape artists extraordinaire. Alot of breeders suggest 10 gallon aquariums with a tight locking lid for the top. The problem I see with this is they don't get enough room to explore and show their curious sides. I provided Critter trail hamster cages with the tubing and a reptarium habitat (as afore mentioned). I then connected everything with the tubing like a maze.
   "They are naturally curious and will explore if given the opportunity. I like to change up the tubing patterns weekly to kind of stimulate their little brains. As well, I like to move things in the cage around. It keeps them entertained and keeps me entertained because i get to watch them explore this new bit of maze fun.
   "For temperature they do like it warmer. I find 73 to 76 degrees works best. its warm for them and yet not too hot for you to get in there to work with them.
   "They also like a clean cage. They themselves are clean animals, and in fact both of mine use a litter box. I like to put hamster bath powder in it versus a hamster litter. It's non toxic and they also clean their bottoms at the same time when using it. The cage shavings should be like the alpine bedding or the natures care bedding. NEVER ever use cedar. Its poisonous to them. So is newspaper because they will lick the ink off their paws.
   " For mine...their cages are combined critter trail cages with reptarium habitats made to look like the brazilian jungle inside. Each one has their own set up because they would fight over territory othrwise. I've probably dropped 300.00$ + dollars in each ones set ups..including the humidy gauges and heaters so they can stay at their desired temperature of 73 to 76 degrees. They are rth it though.
   "We have currently about 60 feet of the critter trail tubing running about in the opossum room so they can go from cage to habitat to10 gallon mini set up and then back again. Yes I have devoted a room just to them. They are my kiddos :) .

A Bit About Feeding:

   "Now as far as food..Usually you don't ever have to worry about over feeding an Short Tailed Opossum. They are omnivores and both my little opossums are picky eaters..They have chosen a diet similar to what they'd eat in the wild. They won't touch the dry food but they will eat crickets, super king meal worms, fruits like apples, bananas, strawberries, and veggies. They like spinich the best. Then there is the meat they like so far; white turkey, boiled, grilled, or plain chicken, bits of beef like from a grilled steak, and their fav..pinky mice. They also like the yolks of boiled eggs, but they won't eat the egg whites for some reason.
   "Short Tailed Opossums eat a load of things but, it's just what YOUR paticular opossum will eat. Mine chose a naturalist diet. Some people just can not feed live insects. In this case the freeze dried ones might work. Some people can't stand feeding live rodents. Alternatives have been suggested such as baby food, like the turkey and veggie mixes or the other meat mixes. Tofu , fruits, vegetables,.and other things. They will eat boiled eggs and even raw eggs if you let them. There are dry foods for them you can order off the net and then there is the high quality cat foods, Marshall ferret food and Insectivore diet.
   "It's fun to watch them hunt the live crickets in their cage. You get to see their agileness and their gracefullness.You see the use of their ears and you see them working. They are quick little buggers and this is really a good way to see all their instincts in action.
   "Again..I can't stress it enough..the diet you use really depends on one thing... your opossum. They are the ones in the end that will choose what they want and do not want to eat. If you happen to get one that LIKES baby mice and you can't stand feeding live, well my suggestion is buck up,.because this is your pet and this is what they have chosen that they like to eat. If you force them to try and eat a different diet it could very well effect their very health.

A Bit About Activities:

   "They are very active at night. They infact adore hamster wheels. (At least mine do ) They will run for hours on it and while providing entertainment it keeps them in shape. Besides the hamster wheel they have lots of hollow little things in their cages. Little trees and rocks that i got from an aquarium section. These work great because they like to burrrow down and sleep during the day in them. Then at night they climb through and all over them.

A Bit About Breeding:

  "Normal Short tailed Opossums are very territorial.even when breeding. It's very risky and stressful to your opossums. Most breeders keep their opossums together for 12 to 14 days. A heat cycle is kind of induced om the female by being with the male. Then they remove the male and wait 12 or so days. Gestation is about 10 days on a Short Tailed Opossums. Because they are pouchless marsupials you can actually see the development of the joeys as they latch on to the nipple. They will have between 8 and 14 joeys per litter. They have large families.

"I hope this information helps..and I don't really know everything I would like but..I've talked to a lot of breeders to become informed. My ultimate goal in the end is just to make sure my babies have a good healthy life."....

Robin White

Dr. Jungle says, "I think I want to come live at your house Robin!.."

To learn more about these wonderful Short Tailed Opossums,
visit our Short Tailed Opossum page!

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"Kisak and Suki-da must be the best loved critters in the world!!" ...Dr. Jungle

Name :     Kisak and Suki-da
Type:        Short Tailed Opossums
Cuteness: 11+ (Welcome to the "cutest pets in the world" club.)

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