Hello everyone,
I've previously posted about my beautiful mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) whom I've been taking care of since 2010 and even though over the years he's done well, this summer his health appears to have begun declining. Starting back in May/June I noticed that he appeared emaciated, i.e the ridge of his backbone and the outline of his hind leg hip bones are visible, he's much more lethargic, his suction mechanism for catching food is much weaker, and even when hand fed to accommodate the previous issue, he refuses most food, only barely accepting minnows that are held in front of his face with chopsticks. From what I've noticed, there are no lesions or signs of infections (as he's had previously) and his tank conditions and my maintenance of his 20 gallon enclosure have largely remained consistent over the past several years (sparingly feeding nightcrawlers/minnows every couple weeks, water temp btwn upper 60's/lowest 70's, water change every few weeks/couple months).
With all this in mind, I can't tell if he's simply succumbing to old age after 13 years in my care (he was already reproductively mature when I first got him so he's no younger than 17, but I don't know his true age nor the maximum potential lifespan), or if there've been issues with the care I've given him that are finally catching up and causing him to deteriorate, or if something recently happened that I'm not aware of that's causing his condition to decline. I've been getting the water tested at the pet store using the test strips and the variables, save for hardness and nitrates (hovering btwn 20-40+ppm), are apparently consistently optimal (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite) and his water temp hovers between 68 and 72, occasionally getting as high as 74 (obviously very concerning), so if not simply aging I worry that these settings are contributing to the decline.
I'm already grieving and mourning and feel great heartache because as far as I know, any day could be his last, and even though I fed him two days before this post and his condition hasn't seemed to deteriorate any further than what I've already described, I still feel very uncertain about what's going on and why, so I come to these forums to at least get clarity. Thank you all.
I've previously posted about my beautiful mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) whom I've been taking care of since 2010 and even though over the years he's done well, this summer his health appears to have begun declining. Starting back in May/June I noticed that he appeared emaciated, i.e the ridge of his backbone and the outline of his hind leg hip bones are visible, he's much more lethargic, his suction mechanism for catching food is much weaker, and even when hand fed to accommodate the previous issue, he refuses most food, only barely accepting minnows that are held in front of his face with chopsticks. From what I've noticed, there are no lesions or signs of infections (as he's had previously) and his tank conditions and my maintenance of his 20 gallon enclosure have largely remained consistent over the past several years (sparingly feeding nightcrawlers/minnows every couple weeks, water temp btwn upper 60's/lowest 70's, water change every few weeks/couple months).
With all this in mind, I can't tell if he's simply succumbing to old age after 13 years in my care (he was already reproductively mature when I first got him so he's no younger than 17, but I don't know his true age nor the maximum potential lifespan), or if there've been issues with the care I've given him that are finally catching up and causing him to deteriorate, or if something recently happened that I'm not aware of that's causing his condition to decline. I've been getting the water tested at the pet store using the test strips and the variables, save for hardness and nitrates (hovering btwn 20-40+ppm), are apparently consistently optimal (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite) and his water temp hovers between 68 and 72, occasionally getting as high as 74 (obviously very concerning), so if not simply aging I worry that these settings are contributing to the decline.
I'm already grieving and mourning and feel great heartache because as far as I know, any day could be his last, and even though I fed him two days before this post and his condition hasn't seemed to deteriorate any further than what I've already described, I still feel very uncertain about what's going on and why, so I come to these forums to at least get clarity. Thank you all.
thank you!