Sonoran Opossum
Last October, Tucson Wildlife Center’s intake team received a call about a Sonoran Opossum found lying in the middle of a residential road in Tucson, bleeding from her mouth. The finders initially tried to gently move her off the road, hoping she would continue on her way, but it quickly became clear her injuries were too severe. They contacted TWC and one of our rehabbers responded to transport her to our hospital for care.
On intake, she was dehydrated, covered in fleas and biting lice, and had minor lacerations likely from road rash. But her most concerning injury was a severe fracture at the front of her skull caused by blunt trauma. At first, this fracture simply needed time and supportive care to heal but, because of its location, it began affecting her sinuses. Our wildlife care team noticed loud snoring, persistent sneezing with heavy discharge, and frequent pawing at her nose.
She began receiving nebulizer treatments and nasal flushes, which helped temporarily. However, when symptoms persisted, our veterinarian performed an exploratory surgical procedure. During surgery, a small fragment of bone was discovered blocking one of her sinuses. Once the fragment was removed, everything changed. After several more nebulizer treatments and one final nasal flush, her breathing normalized, and her nasal discharge stopped.
With several months of healing and careful monitoring, she was finally strong enough to return to the wild and was released into a resource-rich desert habitat, away from busy roads and dense neighborhoods. Our team released her at dusk, allowing her to venture out under the cover of darkness, when opossums are naturally active and better able to avoid predators. If you would like to help patients like this Sonoran Opossum, click this link to donate,
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