SarahLovesSalamanders
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Posting on this specific thread within hopes that someone with knowledge of this specific species knows anything about my newt's behavior.
So I have an Eastern Newt Eft and he is currently terrestrial only, no morph yet. Long story short he is the lone survivor amongst 2 of my other newts who sadly passed away. A week ago we had an outbreak of some sort in their terrarium. I prepared some new coconut coir and isolated all of them and added the new bedding to each. It's been 3 days since the first 2 passed away, and its been a week now since the isolation. My little survivor has since began shedding a bit, for the last day and a half. He only got it down to his neck though. I didnt wanna disturb him because I though he may be trying to rid himself of any traces of infection.
But today I checked on him and dampened his substrate and noticed he was kinda trying to burrow and was vigorously pushing his little head down. I didn't know if it was normal rubbing or if he was stressed or maybe a sign that there was still a parasite of some kind. He seemed generally uncomfy.
Although its worthy to note, my 2 other newts who passed were killed within days of the outbreak despite isolation and they became really skinny and refused food.
However this guy ate 2 days ago and since seems to be holding onto his chunkiness pretty good.
I heard they can get lethargic and lack appetite when shedding too.
But my question is, is this semi normal shedding behavior or signs of an underlying issue? How do I stress him out less?
Are warmer or colder temps better for fighting potential infection in terrestrial newts?
Should I try to get him to a vet before it's too late?
Just trying to resolve if this is a sign he's trying to heal himself or a sign that he is sick.
So I have an Eastern Newt Eft and he is currently terrestrial only, no morph yet. Long story short he is the lone survivor amongst 2 of my other newts who sadly passed away. A week ago we had an outbreak of some sort in their terrarium. I prepared some new coconut coir and isolated all of them and added the new bedding to each. It's been 3 days since the first 2 passed away, and its been a week now since the isolation. My little survivor has since began shedding a bit, for the last day and a half. He only got it down to his neck though. I didnt wanna disturb him because I though he may be trying to rid himself of any traces of infection.
But today I checked on him and dampened his substrate and noticed he was kinda trying to burrow and was vigorously pushing his little head down. I didn't know if it was normal rubbing or if he was stressed or maybe a sign that there was still a parasite of some kind. He seemed generally uncomfy.
Although its worthy to note, my 2 other newts who passed were killed within days of the outbreak despite isolation and they became really skinny and refused food.
However this guy ate 2 days ago and since seems to be holding onto his chunkiness pretty good. I heard they can get lethargic and lack appetite when shedding too.
But my question is, is this semi normal shedding behavior or signs of an underlying issue? How do I stress him out less?
Are warmer or colder temps better for fighting potential infection in terrestrial newts?
Should I try to get him to a vet before it's too late?
Just trying to resolve if this is a sign he's trying to heal himself or a sign that he is sick.