LITTLE PJ may not be the cleanest room-mate but he makes for interesting conversation.

Two months after being taken in by Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary supervisor Clare Anderson the tiny stripped possum has doubled in weight after a gruelling routine of two-hourly feeds.

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In return, he is giving his carers a rare glimpse into the lives of his elusive relatives.

Though Ms Anderson said she did not believe striped possums, endemic to the wet tropics, were endangered, very little was documented about the species.

"No one keeps these little guys captive in Australia so this is a great opportunity for us to learn as much about them as we can," she said.

Favouring melaleuca and rainforests, the marsupial, which feeds mostly on insects is often heard rather than seen, with Ms Anderson saying she is now more than familiar with the species repetitive, guttural call and loud chewing, scratching and tapping.

PJ, named because he looks like he is sporting a pair of striped pyjamas, was just out of the pouch when his mother was killed on the road at Miallo, north of Port Douglas, and is estimated to be about three months old.

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