Editor’s Note: The Opossum is part of the CROW CAW (Case A Week) series, which tells the stories of the patients at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife on Sanibel Island, the dangers they face, and how we can help protect all of our wildlife. Read previous cases here.
A concerned citizen brought opossum 24-4816 to CROW’s hospital after noting that he appeared sick.
During the intake evaluation, our staff saw the opossum had a right-sided head tilt. This neurological abnormality could be caused by trauma, infection, or other illnesses such as lead poisoning.
The opossum’s initial lead panel blood test came back with an elevated lead level, and our hospital staff began treating the patient for lead poisoning.
Lead poisoning is treated through a process called chelation, in which a medication binds to the lead and carries it out of the body. However, only lead circulating in the blood can be treated. Chronic lead storage in bone is challenging to address, and many rounds of chelation treatment may be needed.
Opossum 24-4816 needed two rounds of treatments.
While any species can get lead poisoning, the most affected include scavengers (vultures, eagles, opossums) and dabblers (ducks and waterfowls). These animals commonly eat fragments of lead bullets found in carrion or at the bottom of bodies of water.
Historical environmental lead contamination is also due to leaded gasoline and other contaminants. There is no “normal” amount of lead in the blood, so any detectable lead levels could negatively impact our patients’ health.
CROW’s hospital staff continued to periodically check the opossum’s neurologic status and lead levels during his stay. They noted improvement with each recheck. We are pleased to report that Opossum 24-4816 responded well to his treatment plans and was recently released.
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