Arkansas lets residents keep up to six qualifying hand-caught wild animals per household, including opossums, subject to additional rules. That’s the actual law, and it’s also a terrible idea. The reasons have much more to do with biology than with the law.
Some people searching “can I keep a pet opossum” are standing in a yard next to a baby opossum with no mother in sight, deciding in real time whether to bring it inside. Others really do want one as a pet.
Found a baby opossum? Measure it first
Young opossums fall off their mother’s back, and she doesn’t come back for them. A juvenile on its own for the first time looks tiny and helpless and is often fine.
So measure, nose to the base of the tail, tail not counted. The Wildlife Center of Virginia says an opossum at least 8 inches long that weighs more than 7.25 ounces, or 200 grams, can survive on its own and needs no help.
DFW Wildlife uses the same 8 inches and offers a field shortcut: a dollar bill is 6 inches, so the animal should be longer than a dollar bill by two inches.
The Opossum Society of the U.S. puts the cutoff at 7 inches. We use 8 as a conservative benchmark. If the animal is borderline, a rehabilitator can settle it quickly.
Under 8 inches, it does need help, but not yours. It needs a licensed rehabilitator.
Need a rehabilitator near you? Use our state-by-state wildlife rehabilitator finder.
If you have a baby that needs help right now
- Call a licensed rehabilitator or wildlife vet first. That call matters more than anything else on this list, and they’ll tell you what to do next.
- Wear gloves, and avoid contact with the baby’s saliva, as the Wildlife Center of Virginia advises.
- While you wait for instructions, keep it in a secure, ventilated box with a soft cloth, somewhere dark and quiet, away from people and pets.
- If it’s cold, add gentle warmth under half the box so it can move off the heat. The Merck Veterinary Manual recommends supplemental heat with a gradient, so the animal can pick its own comfort zone.
- Give no food and no water until the rehabilitator tells you what to do.
If you find a dead adult on the road, babies may be alive in the pouch. The Wildlife Center says to check only if it’s safe from traffic, wear gloves, and take the whole animal in a box to a permitted rehabilitator if babies are attached.
Why raising a baby yourself so often goes wrong
Opossums are marsupials, and that’s most of the problem. A baby is born after about 13 days of gestation, crawls into the pouch and nurses continuously for roughly two months, then rides on its mother’s back. They’re independent at around four months old.
A rehabilitation presentation from Wildlife Rehabilitation of North Carolina describes the newest babies as embryonic, with mouths sealed around the nipple and an esophagus so thin that tube feeding can tear it.
The Wildlife Center of Virginia warns that the wrong food or feeding technique can lead to sickness or death.
And milk isn’t the easy fix it looks like. A veterinary care sheet notes that lactose-based sugars, like milk, are poorly tolerated by opossums.
It gets starker the smaller they are. A tiny, pink baby was living in a pouch that held it at a constant temperature, like an incubator. DFW says pink babies have very low odds even in rehab.
If an expert with permits and equipment struggles to keep one alive, a first-timer with a heating pad and an internet recipe isn’t going to do better.
Raising one also isn’t allowed in many places. The Wildlife Center points out that keeping a wild mammal in captivity without a state permit is illegal in Virginia, and other states have their own versions of that rule.
What the law says, and why you can’t trust the lists
Opossum possession is state law, and the states are all over the place. Arkansas allows hand-captured opossums as pets, up to six qualifying animals per household, with enclosure and other rules on top. Wisconsin exempts opossums from its wildlife licensing, as long as the animal was legally obtained.
Other states require a permit, and those permits tend to be built for rehabbers and educators rather than pet owners. Some states ban private possession outright. I couldn’t find a primary-source count of how many fall into each group.
Even worse, the “pet opossum laws by state” pages that I found online squeeze all of that into one word, usually “legal” or “illegal.”
Florida shows why that misleads. The FWC lists opossums as Class III wildlife, and keeping one as a pet takes a free personal-pet permit. A tracker that says “legal” leaves out the permit.
The permit comes with a catch, too. Per the FWC’s FAQ, personal pet permits are only issued for animals that are captive bred and obtained from a legal licensed source. A wild opossum from your yard doesn’t qualify.
Can you keep an opossum as a pet?
State-by-state legal status. Tap or hover a state.
Each one shows its status, a one-line note, and the official source.
Snapshot taken October 10, 2026. Laws change, and many cities and counties add their own rules. “Unclear” means we couldn’t confirm the state’s rule against an official source. Check with your state wildlife agency before you take one in.
Every state and province in plain text
AlabamaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Opossum is a listed furbearer. We could not confirm whether pet possession is allowed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
AlaskaIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Only animals on the state Clean List can be pets. Opossum is not on it.
Official source: adfg.alaska.gov
ArizonaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Opossums (genus Didelphis) are restricted live wildlife and need a special license.
Official source: law.cornell.edu
ArkansasLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Up to six hand-captured opossums per household.
Official source: agfc.com
CaliforniaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: CDFW says wild animals can't be possessed, but we could not confirm opossum is covered.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
ColoradoUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: CPW bars native wildlife and restricts exotics. We could not confirm the status of Virginia opossum.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
ConnecticutIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: DEEP: keeping a wild bird or mammal as a pet is illegal. General rule, opossum not named.
Official source: portal.ct.gov
DelawareIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: DNREC: regulations forbid owning native wildlife as pets. General rule, opossum not named.
Official source: dnrec.delaware.gov
FloridaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Class III wildlife. Personal-pet permit covers only captive-bred animals from a licensed source.
Official source: myfwc.com
GeorgiaIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: On the list of native species that may not be held as pets.
Official source: georgiawildlife.com
HawaiiUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: No opossum rule found.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
IdahoUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Raccoon, skunk, and fox are banned. Opossum not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
IllinoisPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Nearly all wildlife is protected and can't be held without agency authorization. DNR says not as pets under most circumstances. General rule, opossum not named.
Official source: dnr.illinois.gov
IndianaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Regulated as a Class I wild animal with caging rules.
Official source: inrules.elaws.us
IowaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Furbearer possession rules found. Pet status not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
KansasUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Raccoon, skunk, fox, and coyote pets are banned. Opossum not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
KentuckyPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: A permit is needed in nearly all cases to keep live native wildlife. General rule, opossum not named.
Official source: fw.ky.gov
LouisianaLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Hand-captured natives may be kept, max six per household (opossum, rabbit, raccoon, squirrel combined).
Official source: legis.la.gov
MaineUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Strict wildlife possession law. Opossum status not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
MarylandPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: A permit or license is required to possess any wildlife native to Maryland.
Official source: mgaleg.maryland.gov
MassachusettsIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: MassWildlife won't issue a permit to keep a wild animal as a pet. Opossum is not on the no-permit exempt list.
Official source: mass.gov
MichiganPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Permit to Hold Game in Captivity required.
Official source: michigan.gov
MinnesotaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Permits exist for wild animals as pets. Opossum status not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
MississippiIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Possession of live game and furbearing animals (opossum is listed) is prohibited, with zoo and education exceptions.
Official source: law.cornell.edu
MissouriUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Up to five native wildlife may be kept without a permit unless excluded. Opossum exclusion not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
MontanaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: No clear rule for opossum found.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
NebraskaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Listed as an animal that requires a Captive Wildlife Permit.
Official source: outdoornebraska.gov
NevadaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Possessing live wildlife requires a license. Opossum is not on the no-permit list (NAC 503.140).
Official source: nevada.public.law
New HampshireIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Opossum is regulated wildlife (Fis 800 table) with only an exhibitor permit category, so no individual pet permit.
Official source: gc.nh.gov
New JerseyPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Yes, with a captive game permit.
Official source: dep.nj.gov
New MexicoUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Protected-species rules only. Opossum status not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
New YorkUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: The pet-ban law lists specific families. Opossum doesn't appear to be covered, but other rules may apply.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
North CarolinaIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: You cannot hold a wild animal as a pet or for companionship. General rule, opossum not named.
Official source: ncwildlife.org
North DakotaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Category 2 species. Needs nontraditional livestock licensure.
Official source: ndda.nd.gov
OhioUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Wild-animal possession rules found. Opossum status not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
OklahomaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Oklahoma Title 29 covers native wildlife, and ODWC regulates it, but we could not confirm a rule on keeping opossums as pets.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
OregonIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Virginia opossum is a prohibited species. No possession.
Official source: oregon.public.law
PennsylvaniaIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Unlawful to possess live wildlife taken from the wild (58 Pa. Code 137.31). General rule, opossum not named.
Official source: pacodeandbulletin.gov
Rhode IslandIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Possession as a pet is prohibited.
Official source: rules.sos.ri.gov
South CarolinaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Only release and import rules found. DPH says owning wild species is not banned.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
South DakotaIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Live furbearer possession is prohibited. Only raccoon, jackrabbit, skunk, fox, or coyote may be kept as a pet. Opossum is a furbearer.
Official source: gfp.sd.gov
TennesseeUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Permit classes found. Opossum class not confirmed.
Official source: No official source confirmed.
TexasPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Fur-bearing animal. A license or permit is required to possess one.
Official source: tpwd.texas.gov
UtahIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Prohibited mammal. Personal possession will not be authorized.
Official source: wildlife.utah.gov
VermontPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: No one may possess any live wild animal without authorization from the Commissioner.
Official source: legislature.vermont.gov
VirginiaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Unlawful to possess wild animals unless a permit allows it.
Official source: dwr.virginia.gov
WashingtonPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: WDFW names opossums: unlawful to possess live wildlife without a permit (WAC 220-450-030).
Official source: wdfw.wa.gov
West VirginiaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: WVDNR: illegal to possess wildlife without a permit. General rule, opossum not named.
Official source: wvdnr.gov
WisconsinLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Opossums are exempt from licensing if legally obtained (s. 169.04).
Official source: docs.legis.wisconsin.gov
WyomingLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: Possession allowed with no Chapter 10 permit. A permit is needed to import one.
Official source: wgfd.wyo.gov
AlbertaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: The opossum is on Alberta’s Controlled Animals list. You can’t possess a controlled animal without a permit.
Official source: open.alberta.ca
British ColumbiaPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: It’s an offence to have live wildlife in your possession without a licence or permit. The opossum is listed as wildlife in the province’s designation regulation.
Official source: bclaws.gov.bc.ca
ManitobaUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Manitoba bans keeping a live wild animal without a permit. We couldn’t confirm whether the opossum counts as one.
Official source: web2.gov.mb.ca
New BrunswickPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: Keeping wildlife or exotic wildlife in captivity takes a permit. The opossum isn’t on the short exempt list, which covers pets like hamsters and ferrets.
Official source: laws.gnb.ca
Newfoundland and LabradorUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: The Wild Life Regulations cover possession of live wild life. We couldn’t confirm how they treat the opossum.
Official source: assembly.nl.ca
Northwest TerritoriesUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: The Wildlife Act covers possession of live animals. We couldn’t confirm whether it applies to the opossum.
Official source: justice.gov.nt.ca
Nova ScotiaIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: The province’s wildlife director bars all marsupials except sugar gliders as personal pets. That policy dates to 2007.
Official source: novascotia.ca
NunavutUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: Keeping live wild animals takes a licence. We couldn’t confirm whether the opossum counts as one.
Official source: gov.nu.ca
OntarioPermit required or mixed
Legal status: Permit required or mixed.
Explanation: The opossum is a furbearing mammal, which makes it game wildlife. Keeping live game wildlife in captivity takes a licence.
Official source: ontario.ca
Prince Edward IslandIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Keeping any marsupial except a sugar glider as a pet is prohibited.
Official source: princeedwardisland.ca
QuebecLegal
Legal status: Legal.
Explanation: The opossum is on Quebec’s list of species you can keep without a provincial permit. You can have up to 15, and selling them is banned. The list is dated 2019.
Official source: cdn-contenu.quebec.ca
SaskatchewanIllegal
Legal status: Illegal.
Explanation: Only species on the Allowed list can be pets, and the opossum isn’t on it. Animals not listed are barred unless they were declared to the province by November 30, 2021.
Official source: saskatchewan.ca
YukonUnclear
Legal status: Unclear.
Explanation: The Wildlife Act covers keeping wildlife in captivity. We couldn’t confirm whether it applies to the opossum.
Official source: laws.yukon.ca
Your county or HOA can be stricter than the state, too. If you’re seriously weighing it, call your state wildlife agency and ask. We walk through the same maze for another animal in keeping a pet raccoon and keeping a wild rabbit.
What a pet opossum actually takes
Say the animal is legal where you live, or you’re past the baby stage.
Opossums aren’t sold in the pet trade, and a veterinary information sheet from LafeberVet says animals kept as companions were often orphaned in infancy. Many pet opossums start as orphaned babies that never make it back into the wild.
After that, it’s a wild animal with a long list of requirements, and the veterinary sources spell them out.
| Need | What the vet sources say |
|---|---|
| Housing | Young animals can start in a modified rabbit or ferret cage, at least about 1.1 x 1.5 x 2.5 ft. That size is only for the young ones. Juveniles over 350 to 400 g do best in large outdoor cages with branches (the sheet suggests about 4 x 4 x 8 ft or bigger), and for adults the sheet recommends outdoor yards of at least 30 x 50 m. That’s its recommendation for outdoor housing, not a universal minimum enclosure size. A rabbit cage isn’t enough for a grown opossum. They dig under fences. A nest box and climbing structures are standard. |
| Diet | Small amounts of low-fat cat food or an omnivore pellet, chopped vegetables, a little fruit, and protein (egg, whole mice, insects) a few times a week. A marsupial metabolism runs slow, so obesity is one of the most common problems. |
| Vet care | Regular fecal parasite checks are recommended. Opossums can carry several parasites and pathogens, including Leptospira, which can infect people. Finding a veterinarian experienced with opossums is essential. Spaying or neutering is also recommended. |
| Behavior | Solitary and best housed alone. Crowded adults can be aggressive. Nocturnal in the wild, though pets can adapt to a daytime household. Constant supervision when loose, since they’ll nibble houseplants. |
| Lifespan | 1 to 2 years in the wild. 3 to 4 in human care per the National Zoo, 3 to 7 per a vet handout. |
A few of those details cut against the horror stories. The same sources say opossums tend to pick a latrine spot and can be trained to use a litter box, and that a pet can adjust to its owner’s daytime schedule.
The lifespan is the part that stings. In the wild, opossums live one to two years. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo says three or four in human care, and the LafeberVet handout says pets can live 3 to 7 years, with rare reports of 8 to 10.
So captivity roughly doubles a life that’s still short compared with a cat or a dog.
Three things people get wrong about wild opossums
Opossums come with three reputations, and each one is partly earned and partly oversold.
They eat all the ticks. Some of it is earned. In a study of field-caught animals, opossums and squirrels killed 83 to 96% of the larval blacklegged ticks that tried to feed on them. Those ticks were deliberately placed on the animals in a lab.
A later stomach-content study of 32 Illinois opossums found no ticks at all, and questioned the often-quoted 5,500 ticks per week figure.
So opossums groom ticks off themselves and kill many of them, and it’s still unclear how much that cuts tick numbers in your yard. Our guide to animals and tick control covers the wider picture.
They can’t get rabies. Opossums can get rabies, but it’s rare in North America. The usual explanation is a lower body temperature than most mammals, though a CDC journal report calls opossums “considered resistant,” not immune, and documented a rabid white-eared opossum in Brazil.
Hissing, drooling, and baring teeth are defensive displays, not reliable signs of rabies. They also aren’t a bluff to test. A frightened opossum can still bite, so don’t approach one just because you think it’s harmless.
They’re faking it. The famous dead act is real, and it’s involuntary. It’s a stress response called tonic immobility, and the vet sheet says it can last from as little as a minute to as long as six hours. Give a motionless one time before you decide it’s dead.
More on living alongside them in are opossums good to have around and what to do if you see one.
Questions people ask
Is it illegal to keep a pet opossum? It depends on the state. Some ban it, some require a permit, and a few allow it with conditions. Local rules can be stricter. Ask your state wildlife agency, since the online lists conflict.
Can I raise a baby opossum I found? Not safely, and in some states not legally. Under about 8 inches, it needs a licensed rehabilitator. At 8 inches or more and healthy, it should be left where it is.
How do I know a baby is old enough to be on its own? Measure nose to the base of the tail. At least 8 inches and over 200 grams means independent, according to the Wildlife Center of Virginia. One rehab group uses 7 inches, so when you’re close, call a rehabber.
How long do opossums live? One to two years in the wild. In human care, the Smithsonian says three or four, and a vet handout says 3 to 7.
What does a pet opossum eat? Veterinary sources describe low-fat cat food or an omnivore pellet, vegetables, a little fruit, and a protein source a few times a week. They gain weight easily.
Do opossums carry rabies? Rarely. They’re considered resistant, though not immune, so a sick-looking opossum still deserves distance.
Sources
- Wildlife Center of Virginia, If you find a baby opossum.
- DFW Wildlife Coalition, I found a baby opossum.
- Opossum Society of the U.S., Orphaned and injured opossums.
- Wildlife Rehabilitation of North Carolina, Opossum 101 (2022 symposium).
- Merck Veterinary Manual, Care of orphaned native birds and mammals.
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Captive wildlife (Code 09.14).
- Wisconsin Statutes, s. 169.04.
- World Population Review, Pet opossum legal states, and Reptile Knowledge, Which states allow possums as pets.
- University of Florida IFAS, Virginia opossum, and Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Virginia opossum.
- Keesing et al. (2009), Hosts as ecological traps for the vector of Lyme disease, Proc. R. Soc. B; and the Illinois opossum stomach-content study.
- Emerging Infectious Diseases (CDC), Naturally acquired rabies in a white-eared opossum, Brazil.
- KPAX, The science behind playing possum.
- LafeberVet, Basic information sheet: Virginia opossum, and the Care of the Virginia opossum client handout.
