Gray Short-tailed Opossum
Monodelphis domestica
Also called Brazilian opossum, Rainforest opossum, Laboratory opossum, Short-tailed opossum
From South America: Brazil south of the Amazon, eastern Bolivia, northern Paraguay and northern Argentina12
A friendly guide, not veterinary advice. For anything about your pet's health, ask your vet.
At a glance the quick version
Males are larger than females. Wild animals weigh about 58-95 g; captive animals can reach about 150 g.
Coat and looks how to spot one
short fur, no pouch
A small marsupial with short, soft fur, a pointed face and a thin, mostly bare tail that is roughly half the length of its body. The tail can grip a little. Unlike most marsupials, females have no true pouch.12
Personality what they are like
A quiet, independent little marsupial that explores mainly by smell. It prefers its own company and is busiest around dusk and at night.12
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Most active in the first hours after dark. Offer climbing branches, hides and room to forage so it can search for food the way it would in the wild.12
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Keeps its own coat tidy. Provide soft leaves or paper bedding it can gather into a hidden nest, and spot-clean the enclosure regularly.12
Home where they are happiest
A secure enclosure with ground cover, low branches and at least one concealed nest box, reflecting its natural home in forest, scrub and grassland.12
Food basics what goes in the bowl
An omnivore that eats insects and other invertebrates, small vertebrates and some fruit. In captivity a varied diet with insects plus some fruit reflects this.12
Company who they like around
Naturally solitary and does not tolerate other adults of its kind well, so it is normally housed alone.12
The story where it all began
This opossum has been bred in laboratories for decades because it is small and breeds readily, which is why it is also called the laboratory opossum. In 2007 it became the first marsupial to have a draft genome published, and captive-bred animals later reached the pet trade in the US and Europe.21
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
It was the first marsupial whose genome was sequenced, with a working draft released in May 2007.2
- 2
Females have no proper pouch; the young cling to the mother's teats instead.2
- 3
It can carry nest material by curling its partly gripping tail around it.1
- 4
Gestation is remarkably short, only about two weeks.1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Gray Short-tailed Opossum. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- Fresh food and waterevery day
- Spot cleanevery day
- Full cleanevery week
- EnrichmentNew things to explore every dayevery day
- Nails checkevery month
- Weigh inevery 2 weeks
- Vet check-upFind a vet who sees exotic petsevery year
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at support@furrydiary.app and we will fix it.
- Animal Diversity Web: Monodelphis domestica animaldiversity.orgused for range, size, weight, lifespan, diet, behaviour, reproduction
- Wikipedia: Gray short-tailed opossum en.wikipedia.orgused for names, range, size, coat, diet, behaviour, genome history
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.