What is a opossum’s natural diet, and how does it get its food?

Given the fact that opossums are omnivores, they will feed on the variety of foods, like fruits, all sorts of nuts, different grains, like beans, peas and other, insects, including bugs, flies and spiders, slugs, various types of snakes and frogs. Possums will also feed on birds and eat bird eggs, which they will sometimes steal from the bird’s nests. Possums also feed on shellfish, and hunt mice. It is not uncommon for possums to feed carrion, which is a corpse of dead animals. As your can see, possums can survive on all sorts of foods, which makes it available for them to live in different types of environments.



The diet of opossum will vary depending on the season and the environment they inhabit. When found in human habitation, opossums are also very likely to eat garbage, as well as pet food, and all types of birdseeds. This means that keeping trash, pat and animal food outside might attract possums. They will also prey on poultry, which is why they often inflict substantial damage to farmers, and handouts if they get accustomed to be fed by humans. This is the reason why it is not recommended for homeowners to leave any type of foods outside, as well as to feed opossums.

The way in which possums feed can vary significantly depending on the season. During the winter and spring, possums that live near populated areas will most likely feed on small mammals, both alive and dead, while during the summer, their main food are going to be slugs. During the fall, possums will feed mostly on fruits and vegetables. This is, however, not the end of the list of various foods that possum might eat. These animals are going to feed on anything that can keep them alive, including the remains of other dead animals.

Because opossums often feed on various types of road-killed animals, which includes corpses of other road-kill opossums, they are also likely to be run over themselves. Because these little marsupials accumulate very little body fat supplies for the winter, and they also don’t store any food, they will forage all year-round. This means that possums are not going to hibernate, but stay active throughout the year. They will search for fresh food daily, without storing any spare supplies.

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