what do australian possums eat

What Do Australian Possums Eat? – Australian Possum Diet & Eating Habits

Do you have any idea what do Australian possums eat in the natural habitat? Australian possums, unlike North American Opossums, are divided into two main classes: brushtail possum and ringtail possum. We will be discussing diet of both these possums. Brushtail possums are mainly recognized by their bushy tail whereas ringtails have lightly furred tail.

What Do Australian Possums Eat? – Ultimate Guide to the Australian Possum Diet and Eating Habits

Ringtail Possums

Common Ringtail Possum Diet

  • The common ringtail possum (Pselldocheirus peregrimts) is a pure herbivore. It likes to eat eucalyptus leaves, flowers, and fruits.
  • Depends on the location, ringtail possums have varied diet. For those population that are found near human settlement particularly in Sydney and Adelaide, possums likely consume quite many flowers and fruits that occur in human gardens.
  • Ringtail possums are entirely nocturnal. They will come out to feed during the middle of the night.
  • Common ringtails aren’t known to feed in groups. Like most other possums, they prefer solitary lifestyle.

READ: [What Do Possums Eat?]

what do australian possums eat
Common Ringtail Possum

Herbert River Ringtail Possum Diet

  • The Herbert ringtail possum is thought to rely on rainforest trees particularly those of the Pink Bloodwood and Cadaghi.
  • It supplements its diet with some fruits and flowers including bacelliamts, Silver Quandong, and Melodinus bacellianus.
  • The possum will also consume the flowers of a Bumpy Satin Ash tree.
  • The captive possum will prefer to have cultivated fruits as well as Broad-leafed Peppercorn.

Green Ringtail Possum Diet

  • Green ringtail possums eat a lot of different leaves.
  • They fancy feeding on fig trees. Green ringtails are probably the only possums that consume fig trees.
  • The possum’s diet also consists of Red Tulip Oak, Shinning-leafed Stinging Tree, False Stinger, Pepperwood, and Flame Kurrajong.
  • Green ringtail possums can also emerge at day although they are mostly nocturnal.

Rock Ringtail Possum Diet

  • The staple diet of the rock ringtail is fruits and flowers.
  • Rock ringtails make homes in rocky habitats which are abundant in trees and shrubs.
  • The possum’s diet comprises blossoms of Eucalyptus miniata, fruits of Vitex glabrata, Terminalia, and

Lemuroid Ringtail Possum Diet

  • The possum is an exclusively a leaf-eater animal.
  • It is known to feed on a variety of tree families such as Queensland Maple, Bollywood, and Brown Quandong.
  • Lemuroid possums also eat flowers of Brown Bollywood.

Brushtail Possums

Common Brushtail Possum Diet

  • The common brushtail possum is probably the most common of the Australian possums. It will make habitats in open forests and woodlands.
  • Common brushtails travel a lot on the ground. Eucalyptus leaves make up much of the possum’s diet.
  • Possums supplement their diet with some fruits, bark, and buds. They can detoxify the eucalyptus leaves.
  • Common brushtail possums can also consume meat but only occasionally.
what do australian possums eat
Common Brushtail Possum

Mountain Brushtail Possum Diet

  • The mountain brushtail possum is thought to feed on leaves of mesophyllic shrubs as well as lichens, buds, bark, fungi and fruits.
  • Mountain brushtails live in trees but they do spend a reasonable amount of time on the ground too.

Eastern Pygmy-Possum Diet

  • Unlike many other possums, the eastern pygmy-possum is primarily insectivorous.
  • It is known to feed on nectar as well as spiders, termites, beetle larvae, grasshoppers, beetles, and mantises.

What Do Australian Possums Eat? – Video


Comments

4 responses to “What Do Australian Possums Eat? – Australian Possum Diet & Eating Habits”

  1. Barry Spencer Avatar
    Barry Spencer

    You have given me some great tips here and I do appreciate it. I have a wild ringtail female that comes to me for food every night when I call her. It’s a great feeling. She has 2 babies in her pouch right now about 11/2″ long and I want to give her the right food for her and her babies. She loves Banana and nectarine and nectarine leaves ( young ones ) Now that we are coming into winter what would be the beat food I could give please. Any advice would be appreciated Thankyou. Regards Barry

  2. Have you got the Brushtail and Ringtail pictures swapped and mislabeled?

  3. I was told that possums will eat guinea fowl keets … do you know anything about keets going missing during the night?

  4. Hello
    Thanks for these insights. We have a fairly small ringtail possum living in our workshop – causing some damage, so I’m relocating an empty nesting box near to where it was hiding last time I evicted it. Now it’s back what can I lure it into and line the box with – and do I need to sort out some sort of drainage for the box as, sigh, it loves to urinate all over classic car and bike parts when it’s not dropping expensive heavy items on to delicate irreplacable ones.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *