Very sick cfb, please help!

V

vicki

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I inherited a chinese fire belly last year ( I work at a high school) and since I started taking care of him he's gained weight and become more and more active. I had someone else take care of him over the summer. I came back to a skinny, inactive newt who hasn't eaten in at least 3-4 weeks and refuses everything I give him (brine shrimp, bloodworms, and earthworms. I don't know what else to do, no visible signs of injury or fungus.
 
Cool down his temperature as much as possible. Keep trying with the foods he has eaten in the past. Have you tried hand-feeding with tweezers or toothpick? Is the newt staying out of the water?
 
I have been freezing small bottles and floating them in the water, they don't seem to bother him. He is staying out of the water as much as he can. My land area is now setup so that he can't completely emerge. I have tried with tweezers, but he seems afraid. I will try the toothpick. Unfortunately I think he gets worse by the day.
 
Gee, thanks for all the help. Yeah right! Look, I can't get him to eat for like a month now and he won't even look at food at this point. I am keeping him cool and comfortable, but he acts like he's afraid of everything. He used to nip at my finger during feeding, now he acts like it's his worst fear. PLEASE HELP!!!
 
I wish I had some ideas. I think the lack of answers here is not due to people not wanting to help, it's due to nobody having any good ideas. You seem to be doing all the right things already (various foods, handfeeding, cool temp).

My only other suggestions would be (1) force the newt to be aquatic (or move it to a fully terrestrial habitat), and (2) try additional types of live food, suited to either the aquatic or terrestrial environment.

At some point, though, a newt can pass the point of no return: they go into something I call "anorexia" and are not able to come back out of it. I hope this isn't the case, but it does happen.
 
Hello Vicki
Hey you are doing all that you can for your newt.
Obviously some thing happen to your newt during the summer. But that is not your fault!
Please remember that every one that keeps newts is going to have a very sick newt at one time or another and some times they are also going to die!
Best wishes to you and your newt!
 
I think my newt is in the 'anorexia' stage as he refuses to eat anything for the last 4-5 weeks. I feel like I'm just waiting for him to die. Is there anything else I can do?
 
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  • Clareclare:
    Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
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