When skinning opossum, be careful around the belly area as it can easily tear. Start skinning by slitting down from the heel of each hind paw. The cut should pass 5 cm (2 inches) below the vent. This is the most important cut, sometimes called the money cut.
 
Skin down to the front legs and cut the fur free at the wrist. Skin carefully around the neck and cut the ears close to the skull. Continue down, cutting around the eyes, lips and nose, until the pelt becomes free. Leave the lower lip on the carcass. Pelts can be frozen and fleshed at a later date. If this is done the pelt should be turned fur out and rolled starting at the tail. This way when the pelt is thawing it can be hung by the nose and allowed to unroll as it thaws.

FLESHING AND DRYING
Pelts should be cool before attempting to flesh. Pull the pelt onto the fleshing beam and scrape until all the fat and flesh is removed. It is especially important to scrape all the gristle from the ears and the back of the neck. Do not over scrape. Try to keep the grease off the fur during fleshing. Sawdust can be used to soak up excess grease. Insure that all the sawdust is removed before the pelt dries.

The tail must be removed!!!

Push the knife through the underside of the tail and cut up leaving 1" to 1 1/2" inch of tail attached to the belly fur. Turn the opossum around and repeat procedure meeting at the tail incision. You will notice the line where the fur from the back (longer) meets the belly fur (shorter). The 1" to 1 1/2" inch of tail left on the skirt of the belly prevents the pelt from tearing when it is mounted on the wire stretcher. Sew or push pin the holes that may appear in the pelt. Care should be taken not to over scrape pelts, especially early blue pelts where the hair roots can be damaged. Wipe the fleshed pelt with a dry cloth. Make sure the fur is completely dry before placing it on a standard drying board. Insert a belly board to aid in removal of the pelt from the stetcher when it dries.
 
STRETCHING OPOSSUM
Stretch and dry opossum on a fox board 5 1/4”. Smaller sizes can be placed on wire. Make sure the pelt is centered properly on the stretcher. All opossum should be put up leather out. Opposum are marketed leather out. Refer to the board size chart in the appendix for proper wooden stretcher size. Mark opossum sizes on your boards to prevent over-stretching.

CUTTING THE WINDOW
On a male, cut the window up to just below the penis hole. On a female, cut the window to the lower two teats. Keep your window narrow - the flanks are very important when the manufacturers make the garments. If the window is made too wide, it can hurt the value of the pelt. The window should be made right after the pelt is put on the stretcher, never when the pelt is dry.

TAKING THE OPOSSUM OFF STRETCHER
Wipe the opossum first with a rag or paper towel to remove excess wet grease. Remove the pelt from the stretcher and comb out the inspection area.