Peanut was found in Spotsylvania County, VA and brought to Awesome Possum at the end of August 2024.  He was about three months old.  The finder knew he was too small to be on his own.  Upon arrival, Peanut was small for his age and his fur was thin and patchy.  He should have had a full coat, complete with guard hairs and undercoat, but this was not the case.  He looked a lot like a Muppet actually.  Although he loved to eat, and did a fantastic impersonation of a garbage disposal, his little body did not seem to be absorbing nutrients properly.  He had plenty of energy so I started him on a vitamin supplement and hoped for the best.

He also seemed to have another issue.  He was far friendlier than a three month old possum should be.  Whenever I approached his cage to feed him or clean the cage, he wanted to come out and he'd do his best to climb on me when I reached into the cage.  As time went on, this behavior did not change and pretty soon he was riding around on my shoulder at night as I fed and cleaned the other ambassadors.  His health improved, his fur grew in properly and he was added to my permit.  It's hard to say if he'll ever grow to be the size of a "normal" male possum (as of October 2024 he's five months old and a whopping 1.5 pounds), but he's a sweet little guy and an excellent ambassador!