Update 5th April 2013

Kiki (left) and Spock (right) 3^rd April 2013

Spock is growing up. He is now fully weaned but occasionally still back-rides. On two occasions he slept alone in box 7. He looked very small curled up in the big box, but he didn't appear anxious about being alone.

Spock 28^th March 2013

Wasabi recently visited and brought a young female ringtail with him. It looked like she was one of his children and he was baby-sitting her. This is the first time we've seen a male ringtail taking care of young.

Apparently this isn't so unusual. The Australian Museum site says "The Common Ringtail is the only species of possum currently known in which the male helps to care for the young". They even claim that babies sometimes back-ride on their fathers, although we've never seen that happen.

Wasabi (right) looking after Vindi (left) 23^rd March 2013

We've named the new possum Vindi, short for Vindaloo; like Wasabi I'm hoping she'll prove too hot for the local pythons to swallow.

It's possible that Vindi was the leaping ringtail in the last blog entry.

Not to be outdone by Wasabi, Wesley has been also been unusually tolerant towards Spock. Normally male brushtails either avoid or chase each other, however a couple of times we've seen Wesley and Spock close together without any conflict. Also, one day Spock slept in box 7 and Wesley slept in a stack of tyres nearby, as if guarding him.

Wesley (top right) tolerating Spock (bottom left) 28^th March 2013

Immediately prior to this photo, Spock and Wesley were sniffing noses and being friendly. Probably this is at least partly because Spock is still under the protection of Kiki, but it might also be that Wesley is Spock's father.

Pinot has visited a couple more times.

Pinot, cheeky as ever 30^th March 2013

Possum Injury News:

Spock's nose wound has cleared up. No sign of infection, although it'll be some time before the fur grows back.

The nail on Kiki's injured toe has dropped off. The toe itself still looks a little ugly, but (according to veterinary advice) doesn't need any treatment.

Wesley's new shoulder wound was treated and gradually got better. We continued the antibiotics a little longer than previously to ensure it had fully healed this time. Annoyingly, several days after this, the wound reappeared (for a second time). According to the vet, it appears to be a cut rather than a recurrence of the infection.

Immediately prior to this, Wesley was behaving a little strangely. He didn't visit the house for a couple of nights. Then, one morning, he visited boxes 3, 1 and 7 in turn, before deciding that he'd rather sleep inside a stack of tyres in the garage. He could be trying to tell me that he doesn't like my boxes, but on the other hand it might be that there's another possum after him and he's decided that it's easier to escape from the tyres if he's attacked.