Terrestris male gone skinny?!

[Mike Gent]

Hi All,

Sorry its been so long since been on line.

Of the 3 adults we have 1 of them has gradually gone quite thin over the last few months. Its skin is still of good texture and appearance and the colours are fine, but it is nearly half the size it was.

It was the original until early last year when we aquired 2 more (Both females) and now 1 of those is huge (Looks very gravid but has been like this for months!) and the other 1 and the original one are very thin. They all get offered the same amount of food and wild creatures roam the vivarium (Woolice, worms, etc).

Has anyone known them to have an 'alfa' syndrome....has the large female become 'boss' and the other 2 are just shrinking away in her presence. I havent ever seen any violance from any of them to each other and they all stay together under logs etc as normal in groups.

Also with the large female being SOOOOOOO big for sooooo long.....how long can they be gravid for before eventually giving birth?

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,

Mike.

 

[marco]

Re: Terrestris gone really thin

Your idea about one salamander bullying the others might be a good cause of the problem, try seperating it and see how it does, as for gravid females, the longest ive seen a female be gravid for was about 6 months +.

 

[spendday]

personally i would split, but i dont have any experience with house multiple salamandra species together. I do know that mine was sold to me because he was housed with a female, he wouldnt breed with said female and he was getting quite skinny and wasn't eating much.

now he lives on his own and he's the pride of my collection. he's confident, quite tubby, and a lovely salamander

 

[benw]

Hi Mike,

I would be tempted to split the male, as suggested, and feed it up.

I do tend to keep my sals in pairs, or in the case of small groups, they are youngsters, and there does seem to be a definate pecking order, most definately noticable in my S s almanzoris.
The females do bully the males, space is an important factor too, and introductions into an existing groupdoes seem to upset the applecart.

Hope it works out ok.

Ben

 

[Mike Gent]

Re: Terrestris male gone skinny?! BAD NEWS!

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the feedback and advice.

We seperated the 3 and all seemed well (Apart from the male remaining skinny and not interested in food).

Sadly he died today....kept visiting the water tray daily, sitting in it for ages and then dissapearing. He eventually entered the tray and then just gradually died. (Dont worry he didnt drown...the tray isnt even deep enough where he was to get his lower jaw under)

Apart from being skinny he looks really well, colour is nice and bright and the yellow and black are both deep and healthy looking.

The other 2 (Females) are both doing well, albeit in seperate enclosures.

In fact the only other weird thing is that the male had deposited 2 sperm sacs recently and the thinner of the 2 females is now looking gravid like the other one!

If anybody has any ideas feel free to get in touch.

As we have had the male for well over 7 years it is a sad day for the family.

Cheers,

Mike.

 

[rigsby]

hi Mike..Was the male adult when you got him, if he was wild caught and you have had him for seven years it begs the question how old was he?...old age????

 

[Mike Gent]

Hi Ian,

Nice to hear from you mate.

The male was adult when we got him, albeit reliably informed that NOT wild caught!

Unsure of actual age to be fair though and potentially could be 10+ years.

Did consider old age...and hope that is in fact the cause.

Females seem fine.

How are your gang doing? any new additions?

Have you managed to breed the Giglioli yet?

Do you have any Manderins juves available?

If we dont speak before, Happy New Year to you and yours,

Cheers,

Mike.

hi Mike..Was the male adult when you got him, if he was wild caught and you have had him for seven years it begs the question how old was he?...old age????