Lethargic T. granulosa

My T.gran Peter usually has a good appetite. He has not been eating for the last few weeks and i have been force feeding him blood worms mixed with calcium powder. He is lethargic and hasn't swum for some time. He also has been staying on the surface only and I haven't seen him go into the deeper water for weeks.

Peter was diagnosed with metabolic bone disease several months ago. i treated the MBD with calcium supplements and neocalglucon prescribed by a vet. He recovered quickly and was doing well.

I was wondering if the colder temperature may cause a change in appetite and activity.

I would appreciate any feedback.

alex

Any suggestions anyone? He is still refusing to eat bloodworms.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Alex

Have you tried any other types of food?

No, I have not tried other foods.
I don't think the food is the problem as he is usually very fond of bloodworms.
The only time he ever rejected bloodworms was when he was sick.

I just made an appointment to see a vet tonight. I want to make sure that he doesn't have an infection.
I will post a follow up after I see the vet.

Alex

Regardless of whether or not he is sick you really should try other foods since bloodworms are not very good as a staple diet. Earthworms would be your best option for the mainstay of it's diet with bloodworms as a nice occasional treat.

alex3141 said:

Any suggestions anyone? He is still refusing to eat bloodworms.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Alex

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Hi My Taricha torosa went through a similar stage they didnt eat for some time and when they did they eat very little ! this lasted for about 6-7 weeks now they are eating, A member from California told me the ones in the wild go through a stage like this they also move away from the water to caves/holes !

Hope this helps !

Bloodworms are definately not a good nutritional diet for newts. In fact they could be the reason your newt was diagnosed the the mbd. The suppliments you are putting on the food are very important. I would try to feed it very small pieces of nightcrawler - as most grans do not seem to like to take larger pieces. I would also dust them with a calcium and vitamin supplement. If your newt is preferring to stay on land at this point I think that that is not necessarily problematic - newts go on land to help regulate themselves during stress or illness. I would make sure you provide it with a place to hide and then put the dusted nightcrawler pieces on a piece of damp paper towel outside of it's hide. It may go for the pieces when it is alone in the dark.
Force feeding is also extremely stressful on a newt. I would recommend touching it as little as possible and leaving the food for it to eat on it's own. You do not want it to associate food with stress or it may never eat again.
I would check your temps to make sure they are at 70 F at the highest and possibly 60F at the lowest to help with appetite. Also double check to make sure your water quality is good.
Hope it gets to doing better.