Virginia Opossum Gestation Period: How Long Is a Virginia Opossum Pregnant?

How long is a virginia opossum pregnant?

A virginia opossum carries her joey for an average of 13 days, or about 0 months and 1 week. Counting from the breeding date, birthing is normal anywhere from day 12 to day 14.

Key checkpoints across the 13-day virginia opossum gestation, measured in days from breeding:

Estimate your virginia opossum's birthing date

Enter the breeding date for an estimated birthing date at 13 days.

Virginia opossum gestation stages, month by month

Signs a virginia opossum is pregnant

• There is little visible sign of pregnancy, because gestation is so short
• A slightly fuller belly in the last few days
• The pouch looking swollen, with tiny bumps visible once the young are attached
• Older young riding on the mother's back weeks after birth

Signs of approaching birthing

• The female licking and cleaning her pouch just before birth
• The female staying in a sheltered den during the birth
• Contact your vet if labour stalls, if the animal strains without progress, or if there is abnormal discharge before birthing begins.

What affects virginia opossum gestation length

• The Virginia opossum, North America's only marsupial, has one of the shortest gestations of any mammal, at about 12 to 13 days.
• Newborns are about the size of a honeybee. They crawl into the pouch and each one attaches firmly to a teat.
• A female usually has 13 teats, so more young can be born than can survive. Those that do not find a teat die.
• The young stay in the pouch for about two months, then ride on their mother's back for several more weeks before becoming independent at around three to four months.
• Females can have one to three litters a year depending on the region. Southern opossums tend to have more litters than northern ones.
• Opossums live only around two years in the wild, so they breed young and often.

Virginia opossum gestation chart

Every fifth breeding date across the year with the matching birthing date, calculated at 13 days. Find the row closest to the date the virginia opossum was served; because normal gestation spans 12 to 14 days, plan for a window of a few days either side. Filter by month, or print the chart for the barn wall or breeding record: navigation, buttons and adverts are hidden on paper.

Sources for virginia opossum gestation figures

Figures on this page are drawn from state wildlife agency and university extension information on Virginia opossums, and published studies of marsupial reproduction, and checked against the references below. Averages describe healthy animals under normal management; individual animals vary, and nothing here replaces advice from your vet.

• State wildlife agency and university extension pages on Virginia opossums
• Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) — species husbandry and animal care manuals
• Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute — species fact sheets
• Published zoological studies of captive births