Taricha going downhill?

[Guillerm0]

Hey all! I've come here seeking help for my dear newt. He is about 8 or so years old and hasn't been doing too well lately.

He has gotten incredibly thin and I do not know why. There has been no changes really. I tried putting a filter in for awhile but took it back out and still no change. He has always eaten pond fish pellets and more recently turtle and newt stick things.

He lives in a 10 gallon tank, mostly filled with water with leaves and a little platform. He spends most of his time on the platform but he doesb't dry out so I assume he goes in the water at some point.

Water changes do not help. =/

Any suggestions here?

Thank you for reading!

 

[JM29]

I don't know well Taricha, but why not trying live food (earthworms) for a change ?

 

[shmifty5]

what is the exact species (granulosa, torosa, etc)? he might just be getting old, i've also read that the pellets tend to be lacking nutritionally and may cause issues with long-term usage, how old was he when you first got him (aprox)?

if he is not eating i would recomend you to try and feed him some earthworms, they come hughly recomended and i have personally witnessed both my C.orientalis (RIP) and my A m melanostictum gobble up worms like they were "drugs", aswell waxworms seem to be gladly accepted with the added benefit of being very fatty (to help your little guy pack on the pounds), neither of these should be too hard to locate.

if anything you could also try and fridge the fella, it helps keep them cold and if they are suffering from an infection or if they are just not very comfortable it will help them.

anything past this and i really don't know what else to say, im still new and learning alot but i always try to help.

i hope there is nothing seriously wrong with your little friend, but if worse does come to worse you always have a good place to confide in and get support from, we are all a great big family here.

(there are some great caresheets for taricha, fridging, foods, general faq, etc on Caudata Culture Home Page)

 

[shmifty5]

Also, Welcome to the forum! I sincererly hope your first experience here isn't a sad one.

 

[Guillerm0]

Thank you for the replies!

I have had him for the 8 years or so but I do not know how old he was when I got him. I am also not sure of species. I am at school now, but I will post before and after pictures later today. He's gone through quite a bit of mistreatment in his life from my 10 year old self that first purchased him.

I will try earth worms, but would bait worms be better or just ones dug out of the yard? I don't want to give him anything with pesticides. =/

 

[shmifty5]

as long as the worms don't have any additives (dyes, chemicals, etc) and they are alive then the worms will work, you can buy some bait worms or you can dig the worms yourself, just try to avoid red wrigglers as they make this yucky slime that tastes terrible for caudates, any nightcrawlers will be a positive as night crawlers are delicious, don't slime up, and they tend to be larger.

here is a link on worms that you should give a look at.
Caudata Culture Articles - Worms

 

[Guillerm0]

Ok! I'll go digging after dinner then~

Here is a picture of him before:

He is nice and plump and alert and swimming.

And here is a picture I just took:

He's just laying there and has trouble getting around in the water. He did switch from one end of the cage to the other though.

Do these help any?

 

[tmarmoratus]

Along with earthworms, try checking around your local pet stores for wax worms. Wax worms are high in fat, and will help put weight back on your newt quickly.

 

[shmifty5]

maybe it's just the photo angle but his legs look pretty thin, he must've stopped eating a while ago, if he is as thin as i think he migth be, it might take time for him to adjust to food again, so if he eats a little and refuses the rest it isn't a big deal, just give him time and he should get better.

 

[Guillerm0]

He is sosososo thin its depressing. =/ I found a worm and chopped it up (ew) and its wiggling all over his nose and right in front of him and he isn't biting..?

 

[shmifty5]

was the worm a reddish color? did it get "slimy" when you chopped it up? if it is reddish or it did get slimy then it is a red wriggler, when ya chop a red wriggler is becomes nasty, like if you were to take twinkie and then drop it in some foul-smelling dumpster ooze, the twinkie is still a delicious twinkie it's just now covered in gross disgusting stuff.

if all you can find are red wrigglers then id wash them off hardcore before feeding them to your little guy, or if the worms aren't incredibly massive you could just give it to him without chopping it up.

for a reference, my C. orientalis (RIP) never needed his worms to be chopped up, the worms were about 3 inches loong and he was only 2 inches long, quite a sight.

don't be alarmed, as i said he hasn't eaten in a while so it will take time for him to start eating, if he however continues to fade away you might want to consider force-feeding him, i have never attempted to force feed my pals so if another member comes by with more info on the subject it would be much appreciated.

 

[Azhael]

Uh....that newt has the shine. That´s very bad news indeed....
Keep it cool (15ºC would be nice), completely terrestrial, and as was already mentioned, try to find waxworms.

The diet you were providing was rather poor (specially not knowing the contents of the fish pellets). In the first picture, were you think it was plump and healthy, it was already quite thin.
Have you seen this?:
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Taricha granulosa

 

[Guillerm0]

The worm was rather slimy I guess. :c

He passed away last night after I cleaned his tank.

 

[shmifty5]

He passed away last night

aww, im so sorry, i can relate (sort of), i hope this experience doesn't deter you from caudates.

you will always have support from us on this forum so feel free to stick around.