Why Small Critters Almost Never Get Rabies

If you've ever had a squirrel dart across your path or spotted a opossum waddling through your yard, you might have worried about rabies. But here's the surprising truth: those little critters are almost completely immune to the disease.

According to the CDC, small rodents like squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and rats are not considered rabies vectors and have never been known to transmit rabies to humans in the United States. Opossums? Even more impressive—less than 1% of all rabies cases involve them.

Why Opossums Are Rabies-Resistant Superheroes

Opossums have a secret weapon: low body temperature. While most mammals maintain a toasty 98-100°F, opossums run cool at just 94-97°F. The rabies virus doesn't thrive in that chilly environment, making possums naturally resistant to infection.

It's not that they can't get rabies—they're mammals, after all—but it's so rare that wildlife experts don't lose sleep over it. When a opossum hisses at you, rabies is probably the last thing you should worry about.

Small Rodents Have a Different Survival Problem

Here's the dark reality for squirrels, chipmunks, and mice: they're too small to survive an attack by a rabid animal. If a rabid raccoon or fox bites them, they typically don't live long enough to develop the disease themselves, let alone pass it on.

A Connecticut study tested 77 animals not typically associated with rabies between 2017-2020, including 54 squirrels and 14 chipmunks. The result? Zero tested positive for rabies.

So What Animals SHOULD You Worry About?

Wild animals account for over 90% of rabies cases in the U.S., but you're looking at the wrong suspects. The real troublemakers are:

• Bats (35% of cases)
• Raccoons (29%)
• Skunks (17%)
• Foxes (8%)

These are the animals that can survive a rabid bite, incubate the virus, and spread it to others—including your pets and, potentially, you.

The takeaway? That opossum rummaging through your trash or the squirrel raiding your bird feeder isn't a rabies risk. They're just trying to make a living, and their biology happens to give them a pass on one of nature's deadliest viruses. Save your concern for the masked bandits and the nighttime flyers instead.