NathanF
New member
Over the past 2 months I have noticed some very disturbing behaviour in my Notophthalmus Viridescens! I have had him for 2 years and he is now full grown. Over the past two months I have seen hom act very weird. Some weeks he will barely ever enter the water. Other times he will be aquatic for a month at a time.
Last month I saw that he had wedged himself in a crack in a Malaysian wood log that was previously in his setup. His skin looked funny so I ran cold water over the wood until I could get him to squeeze out of the log. When he came out from the log he was super skinny and his skin was dark and hard!!! On certain parts of his body their was calcium build-up because he had sat in the crack for so long. I thought he would die for sure, but within the hour he was swimming around and doing alright. The next day his skin was soft and he looked quite healthy again.
I then noticed last week that he had not eaten in awhile and was looking super skinny. I tried to feed him, but he would not take the frozen blood worms. The next day he was looking plump and healthy again even though there was no food in the enclosure and I had removed the blood worms.
Today I saw that he had himself wedged awkwardly hanging from a piece of wood. His body hung in the water, but his head and front legs were resting on an elevated piece of wood. I pulled him out and too my surprise his head was all hard and dark and the front of his body looked skinny and sickly, but the rest of his body looked okay. The skin on his head was as hard as a finger nail and his front legs looked rigor mortis.
I can't undertsand why he keeps doing this to himself. I will mention water quality is NOT an issue I test it often(especially lately). Does anyone have any insight into this phenomenon of self-deprication???
Last month I saw that he had wedged himself in a crack in a Malaysian wood log that was previously in his setup. His skin looked funny so I ran cold water over the wood until I could get him to squeeze out of the log. When he came out from the log he was super skinny and his skin was dark and hard!!! On certain parts of his body their was calcium build-up because he had sat in the crack for so long. I thought he would die for sure, but within the hour he was swimming around and doing alright. The next day his skin was soft and he looked quite healthy again.
I then noticed last week that he had not eaten in awhile and was looking super skinny. I tried to feed him, but he would not take the frozen blood worms. The next day he was looking plump and healthy again even though there was no food in the enclosure and I had removed the blood worms.
Today I saw that he had himself wedged awkwardly hanging from a piece of wood. His body hung in the water, but his head and front legs were resting on an elevated piece of wood. I pulled him out and too my surprise his head was all hard and dark and the front of his body looked skinny and sickly, but the rest of his body looked okay. The skin on his head was as hard as a finger nail and his front legs looked rigor mortis.
I can't undertsand why he keeps doing this to himself. I will mention water quality is NOT an issue I test it often(especially lately). Does anyone have any insight into this phenomenon of self-deprication???
