The smallest of the three species, the Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) is about half the size of a cat and weighs approx 1 kg when fully grown. They have small rounded ears and a thin curled tail with a white tip. They can vary in color, but are usually a rusty rufus color with a grey to black nape of the neck. These possums are gregarious and live in family groups in a ball shaped nest of sticks and twigs called a drey. Females usually have twin offspring (joeys) usually born in the Autumn or Winter. The young appear as back-young at about 4-6 months. Their diet consists mainly of leaf from native eucalypts and new tip on other native foliage. Signs of these possums would be chewed tips of young Eucalypts leaves or flower buds, wattle foliage dropped some distance from the source and small jellybean size droppings with a eucalypt smell. Whilst Common Ringtail Possum are found in and around inner city areas they rarely are a nuisance to homeowners.

BRUSHTAIL POSSUM

The second and possibly the most familiar possum is the Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). This is a large cat size animal, which can weigh up to 4 kgs as an adult. They have large pointed ears and a thick bushy tail with a bare underside. They can vary in color but are usually a slate grey with silver tips to the fur with a lighter underbelly, which is pumpkin orange to creamy white. Males may have a dark stain on their chest area, as this is their scent gland. The Brushtail possum is a mainly solitary animal, though a female may have a previous years young residing with her for some time. The female has a single young (joey) in Autumn or Spring which remains in the pouch for up to 6 months, before appearing on the back of the mother. Brushtail Possums usually choose to spend their days asleep in a tree hollow, however with the loss of habitat and especially older hollow trees, more and more find their way into our houses as an alternate home. Brushtails are less selective feeders and will eat common fruits and vegetables as well as most native and exotic plants. Their droppings are usually larger jellybean sized with one pointed end and are often found below the area they are sleeping. Often a urine stain on the ceiling of a home is the first sign of a resident Brushtail Possum.

SHORT EARED POSSUM

The largest of the Common Possum is the Common Short Eared Possum, Mountain Brushtail or Bobuck (Trichosurus canninus). This possum is generally restricted to the mountain areas, rainforest and densely vegetated areas bounding watercourses. Similar in size and shape to the Brushtail Possum, it has smaller rounded ears and has a less bushy tail toward the tip. It tends to be darker in color, some being almost black with a pale underbelly. The female gives birth to one young, which stays with her for anything up to two years. The Common Short Eared Possum is a more specialized feeder, eating a selection of native leaf and flowers, fungi and lichens.