54 MAMMALS 



acterized by the fact that the young are born at an incom- 

 pletely developed stage and finish their early growth in a 

 sac on the abdomen of the mother. When they finally 

 emerge, the young opossums clamber to their mother's back, 

 holding themselves in position by wrapping their prehensile 

 tails firmly around that of the parent. Opossums are 

 typically tropical animals. South and Central America being 

 the home of a large number of species of very diverse size. 

 There is but one species in the United States, generally con- 

 fined to the south, but not uncommon in the vicinity of New 

 York. 



The opossum is a hardy creature and lives well in cap- 

 tivity. It cannot be considered as a particularly desirable 

 pet, since it is nocturnal in habits and lacks intelligence and 

 friendliness of many other mammals. Its cage should in- 

 clude a sleeping-box and suitable branches for climbing, 

 at which it is very expert. The opossum's jaws are power- 

 ful and it can administer a severe bite. It is an omnivorous 

 feeder, and will eat meat (which should be partly cooked), 

 chicken heads, sparrows, pigeons, bread and bananas and 

 berries. The diet which seems to suit it best is milk and 

 raw eggs, with a little chopped meat added. 



Foxes 



The recent craze for breeding foxes for their fur has 

 brought great popularity to the keeping of these animals in 

 captivity. The fox breeders of Prince Edward Island have 

 learned much concerning the needs of these animals, and 

 have developed a great deal of skill in handling them. 



As a pet the fox does not shine. He is both smelly and 

 tricky, really tame individuals being most uncommon. On 

 the other hand, in a suitable enclosure, he lives well, and 

 under proper conditions will breed. 



