Dying salamander needs help!

[ParkourMexican]

Ill try to keep this short and to the point...

I bought 3 salamander larvae from a bait shop and brought them home to a 30 gallon tank. One of them died due to stress (smallest of the 3) but the other 2 morphed a month after I brought them home.

Both of them did not eat after they had morphed for 3 months (early September to late November). I dug them up one day to make sure they were alive and managed to get them to eat. I also changed their environment a bit.

The smaller (at this time he was only about half an inch smaller -4.5in and 5in ) one burrowed again after only having 1 night crawler. The second one has been happily feeding on a nighcrawler every 3 or 4 days since. (he is not skinny anymore but a healthy size)

The smaller one was not seen for another month (all of December)

From Aug 25th until now Jan 8th, the smaller one has only had one bite of food and he looks like a walking salamander skeleton. I now have had him in an tupperware container inside the habitat for 2 days with a worm in it and he was yet to eat.

I don't know what to do anymore and if i don't do something soon I will have one salamander less... What should I do? what have I done wrong? How can I make him eat?

 

[elKendo97]

Hello, what they now needs your salamander is a source of fat to gain weight, for it can try to give it mealworms and similar worms, earthworms also usually work well, crickets can also try one of my salamanders does not accept well the earthworms, the crickets however devours them.
Insists, but not much.

Would be well you to tell us how you keep

PS: you could post some pictures of salamanders and terrarium

 

[manderkeeper]

. I also had a barred tiger salamander that didn't really care for the longest nightcrawlers, though he would eat them sometimes, I feel they were just too much work and sometimes he would just drop them. Usually a tiger salamander will eat anything wiggled in front of their faces, but I'd give holding a cricket in front of his face for at least a minute a shot then injure most of the crickets legs so it cannot run away and leave it with him alone for 15 minutes or so. I've never tried this but it works with snakes, put him in a small container with the worms (obviously add air holes) and leave them together overnight. Since it's a salamander, you'd have to make sure he wouldn't dry out of course, I'd add a small amount of water to the bottom of the container to keep him moist if you try this.

My guess is there is something wrong. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to take a stool sample to a vet? If there is no way to coax him to feed, they can instruct you on how to syringe feed him also, but unless the underlying issue is fixed as to why he won't eat, I'm not sure if it will be a solution or not.

If you're determined not to bring in a vet, I suppose the best you could do is make up a solution yourself and syringe feed him. It would help to have two people. What you would do is buy some carnivore care, keep it in the fridge and keep the left over solution in the fridge also, and make up a new solution every other day.

 

[ParkourMexican]

Thanks for the answers guys! Ill try to feed him some crickets, i have not done that. I tried feeding him red wigglers yesterday and it was no use... maybe he just doesn't like them at all. As for the syringe feeding, that would be a last resource thing right? If different bugs don't entice him i'll have to do that.

I read up somewhere that it helps if you put them in honey water (it helps them absorb a few calories for a bit more energy). I was thinking of doing that maybe to get his appetite going.

This is what the tank looks like. I'll post pictures of my little guys later tonight when they're up and running.

 

[Asevernnnn]

I tried feeding him red wigglers yesterday and it was no use... maybe he just doesn't like them at all.

Maybe try Canadian Nightcrawlers, many newts and salamanders refuse Red Wigglers, and Nightcrawlers would be a lot better nutritionally and a lot safer, where theres no risk of the salamanders being bitten like with crickets

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

I read up somewhere that it helps if you put them in honey water (it helps them absorb a few calories for a bit more energy). I was thinking of doing that maybe to get his appetite going.
.

Where did you read this? To say a salamander breathing through its skin is fine. But eating via skin? What is (honey water) anyway? Is it water with honey added to it? And hopefully your not talking about this post when you mention the (HONEY WATER) http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...mander-help/82399-salamanders-not-eating.html. This member actually received the advice about honey water from a random woman on Yahoo. And also this member states "I wish I had never done that" referring to the honey water bath. Also the honey bath didn't not help this members' salamander.

 

[elKendo97]

I read a something about water baths with honey as a treatment in Xenopus frogs apparently doing very well and the frogs recover successfully.

 

[manderkeeper]

What's the temperature in the room? I've had best success keeping salamanders cool. I had some issues with newts when I kept them at room temperature but zero issues once I moved them to a cooler basement and all recovered quickly from a fungal infection.

 

[Neotenic_Jaymes]

I read a something about water baths with honey as a treatment in Xenopus frogs apparently doing very well and the frogs recover successfully.

Where'd you read it? I'm curious about what kind of honey is used. Store bought honey? Xenopus are amphibians but they're not salamanders. We're talking about salamanders here. Let's stick with salamander based methods. It's safer this way and it's definitely safer to use popular methods.

 

[elKendo97]

I read on a forum aquarium, I I agree with follow the thread but thought it would be interesting as data.

 

[RPM]

Try spraying him down with water first (simulating rain). After a few minutes, try dangling a size appropriate section of nightcrawler held by forceps. You may need to repeat this numerous times after spraying him down. Also try a dangling a small piece of fresh water fish which most eat as long as they are not too emaciated. Is he snapping at food, pushing the food around with his nose or showing no interest at all?

 

[ParkourMexican]

Thosenewtstho - I tried night crawlers before I tried red wigglers. The only reason I tried was because the night crawlers are just as long, if not longer than the salamanders themselves. My other salamander has no problem gulping one of them suckers down though.

Neotenic_Jaymes - I probably wont try to do the honey thing now... i made sense though, I mean amphibians are really susceptible to anything that comes in contact with the water they swim in. So i figured absorbing water, and whatever was in the water, would be within reason.

manderkeeper - they are at a solid 70 degrees and the humidity goes between 70% and 85% depending on how much i leave the glass open.

RPM - i'll try the mist thing as soon as i find him again. He managed to crawl out of the container i was keeping him in last night (the holes were to big). And he is not showing absolutely any interest at all in any worm that i have put in his face. I have not tried crickets which was next on my list before my cat got to the bag and released them all over my house. I'll need to get more but that's the next thing I'm trying.

 

[Asevernnnn]

You don't have to feed the worms whole, cut them into pieces that are small enough to eat.