Possums eat vegetation, fruit, nectar and some varieties of possums eat insects. One source notes their need for high amounts of calcium. Other possum predators are dogs, feral cats, raccoons, bobcats, Rufous Owl, Spotted-tailed Quoll, raptors, great horned owls, and snakes not to mention humans. Early in life, only the front legs show much development. They also feed on eggs, frogs, plants, fruits and grain. Possums are scavengers. Here they will eat everything from roses to rock melons, camellias to carrots, magnolias to mangoes, wisteria to wattle, and can decimate a veggie garden in no time. Another of the more disconcerting sounds of the Australian bush at night, the throaty coughs and growls of a Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) sounds more monster than fluffy marsupial! Contrary to popular belief, a group of possums is not called a "passel". Possums live in the trees and occasionally come down to the ground to look for food. The feet on those front paws have small deciduous (temporary) claws that help the infants make their way to the pouch. What do ringtail possums eat? Much like koalas, the ringtail possum has a specialised stomach that allows them to digest eucalyptus leaves. They prefer forests, woodlands, rainforests and shrublands but with habitat loss are increasingly moving into urban areas. True possums, which are marsupials found in Australia and on nearby islands, do not eat hamsters. They also eat pasture so there is less food for farm animals. If the opossum’s eyes have not opened yet, please get it to a licensed rehabilitator as soon as possible. Urban possums. It is very easy to aspirate a baby, which can be fatal. Let us study what do Australian possums eat in the wild. If baby is cold to the touch when you receive it, do not try to feed it; the body has shut down and it cannot digest food. Female opossums often give birth to very large numbers of young, most of which fail to attach to a teat, although as many as thirteen young can attach, and therefore survive, depending on species. Thumping across the roof, living in the chimney or raiding our compost bins - possums are at home with people and in the urban environment. Brushtail Possums live in tree hollows and Ringtail Possums in the south of Australia build a nest out of sticks. [citation needed] Thus, possums eat the skeletal remains of rodents and roadkill animals. No one is certain how the “o” was dropped, but the correct term is “opossum.” However, the name “possum” began to appear in print as early as 1613 and is the accepted name for North America’s only marsupial. The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus Phalangista) is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia, and the second-largest of the possums.