They have also been documented using man-made structures such as buildings and culverts. The opossum is a highly opportunistic feeder eating a wide variety of animal and vegetable foods. Carrion and insects are usually the principal food items, but fruits, berries, grains, green vegetation, earthworms, and fungi may also be important. Food may be obtained on the ground or in shrubs or trees. The availability of food in the winter is an important limiting factor.
Home ranges vary in size and are usually oblong or elongated following a watercourse.
Night movements are erratic and because they are somewhat nomadic, den sites are changed often. Opossums are not territorial but they are solitary and aggressive. Mating occurs from January to February and June to July. Gestation is 12.5 to 13 days when a litter of 6 to 25 young may be born. There are two peak periods of litter production, January to March and May to July.