Dobrogicus not swimming!

My male dobrogicus wont swim anymore! Hes been like this for like 1monnth. I never really thought that there was a problem. I just thought he preffered to be terrestrial. I just tried to put him in water and it seems he cant swim! He'll thrash and struggle about but no progress. He'll go straight for some plants or rocks to help support him afloat. He wont even submerge, when hes in the water his tail completely rolls up and then he puts it between his legs rolled up. I'm thinking could it be a broken back or injury? The reason I think it could be a back injury is because previous to him not swimming at all he used to allways be in that CAT POSE with his back arched like a mating dance. He held that pose to consistantly all the time after he lost his toe. He lost a toe a while back. If anyone knows anything let me know please.

About him not swimming, i don´t know it kind of sounds to me like a normal behaviour to not wanting to be aquatic. When i got my cynops they would do the same, they would try at all cost to reach land, and they would grab any plant or anything they could float on. Their swimming was also erratic and complusive and they never submerged. I don´t know if that´s the case but i wouldn´t worry much about that...if he wants to be terrestrial...let him be, he knows better. The cat pose, well my male also shows specific poses from time to time, i think it´s just like stretching or something though, nothing in the spine. When a spine problem occurs it´s normally evident, or at least not reversible, so if he went back to normal after the cat pose, then it might not be a spine thing...just a thought though...i wish you luck.

yea

ofcourse if he wants to be terrestrial thats all good. its just that he hasnt ate in a while and i'm concerned. when i 1st got him with another which is a female they both were totally aquatic and they ate all the time. now after he lost his toe and cat pose was all the time and i havent seen him eat in like 3 weeks

he's totally ok now just has a slight arch in his back while hes submerged.when I look from the top his body is more like in a "S" shape and he stayes like that. did anyone have that problem

I've had similar problems (bent spine, spastic movements, lack of interest in food) with T. marmoratus with MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease). Do you dust your food with a proper calcium/vitamin supplement every now and then?

i have never seen my newts eat outside the water. they have allways eaten under water. ia there anyway I can supplement aquatic foods?

Rainworms have a very good calcium level. Varying with food however is the key. I sometimes dust a lesser waxmoth which I feed my aquatic dobro's at the surface, so it won't wash off totally, I'm not sure if this is very efficient though. MBD is not curable, but I heard it is maintainable...I have to admit I never succeeded in keeping a newt with MBD disease alive.