DragonBane
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- Aug 10, 2011
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I want to start by getting a quick question out of the way. What's the best way to transport a tiger salamander to the vet? I've never had any health issues with my salamander before, so I'm completely green when it comes to treating anything. I immediately got a vet appointment today at a local exotic vet and have an appointment in a few hours.
Now for the issue. Any advice is appreciated!
I have had an Eastern Tiger Salamander for roughly 9 years.. Suddenly she's refusing to eat even though she's losing a lot of weight. She seems a bit lethargic as well, but not so much that she isn't digging. She ate once last week, and then buried herself as she does and I hadn't seen her since. Today, when I found her she was a lot thinner than I've ever seen her. She was moving around a little, and got into her water dish for about 10 minutes before I started getting concerned that she seemed a little lethargic. She put her head under water and blew bubbles twice so, not wanting her to drown herself, I reduced the water to a level she wouldn't be able to submerge her nostrils and moved her back out of the water dish.
She's also doing something I've never seen her do before where she has her back legs spread and is pushing her rear side to side. She will do that for roughly 10 seconds and then moves her stomach in a strange wiggle that reminds me of a snake slithering. It all looks like some sort of weird dance.
She has since covered herself in substrate, but isn't burrowing under her usual hide. Though this isn't all that strange either, she sometimes just hangs out barely covered and stares into the room.
I haven't given her a full examination yet because I plan to clean her off and do that right before taking her to the Vet, and don't want to have to put her through the stress twice today (she hates water being put directly on her).
In the past she sometimes refused to eat, especially when the seasons are changing, and sometimes won't come out from being buried for weeks at a time. Usually it's not an issue, and after 2 weeks I will dig her up and she'd be plenty active and would feed right away. Sometimes she'll do that for a month or two and loose weight, but usually she'll start to come out again and plump right back up.
She's in a 20 gal tank, with roughly 3 inches of coconut fiber and about an inch of topsoil at the bottom. There are several hides, but no vegetation or other animals/insects. Temperature stays between 65-70 at all times.
Now for the issue. Any advice is appreciated!
I have had an Eastern Tiger Salamander for roughly 9 years.. Suddenly she's refusing to eat even though she's losing a lot of weight. She seems a bit lethargic as well, but not so much that she isn't digging. She ate once last week, and then buried herself as she does and I hadn't seen her since. Today, when I found her she was a lot thinner than I've ever seen her. She was moving around a little, and got into her water dish for about 10 minutes before I started getting concerned that she seemed a little lethargic. She put her head under water and blew bubbles twice so, not wanting her to drown herself, I reduced the water to a level she wouldn't be able to submerge her nostrils and moved her back out of the water dish.
She's also doing something I've never seen her do before where she has her back legs spread and is pushing her rear side to side. She will do that for roughly 10 seconds and then moves her stomach in a strange wiggle that reminds me of a snake slithering. It all looks like some sort of weird dance.
She has since covered herself in substrate, but isn't burrowing under her usual hide. Though this isn't all that strange either, she sometimes just hangs out barely covered and stares into the room.
I haven't given her a full examination yet because I plan to clean her off and do that right before taking her to the Vet, and don't want to have to put her through the stress twice today (she hates water being put directly on her).
In the past she sometimes refused to eat, especially when the seasons are changing, and sometimes won't come out from being buried for weeks at a time. Usually it's not an issue, and after 2 weeks I will dig her up and she'd be plenty active and would feed right away. Sometimes she'll do that for a month or two and loose weight, but usually she'll start to come out again and plump right back up.
She's in a 20 gal tank, with roughly 3 inches of coconut fiber and about an inch of topsoil at the bottom. There are several hides, but no vegetation or other animals/insects. Temperature stays between 65-70 at all times.
