Mudpuppy concerns

[KSELF]

I recently received a mudpuppy at a biology teacher's convention. She was in a tupperware container in a convention hall for a week with three smaller Necturus. I've had her home for a week now, all of her filaments fell out the first day, she pooped the second day, and hasn't eaten anything. I have offered her redworms on three separate occasions. She will bite the worms, spit them out and then swim away, leaving the worms to die a slow, wiggly death. There was a dead crayfish in the tupperware with her but I haven't seen any in the pet stores around here. Her water is a constant 64 F and there is an in-tank filter.

 

[Jay Redbond]

Hello,

When I first got mine one of them didn't eat for a month, I tried her on all sorts of food items. Once she swallowed the first item I didn't have a problem with her after that. Try some whitebait that worked for me, if that doesn't work make sure all the conditions of the tank are correct as it may be stress related from the conditions. However as I said one of mine didn't eat and I think it was a wild court animal that was stressed from the move so it could be that and it just needs to settle in.

Let me know how you get on.

Kind regards
Jay

 

[Otterwoman]

How big is her tank? I can imagine she's stressed. Keep trying, I say.

 

[Jan]

Try nightcrawlers instead. Red wrigglers can exude a foul tasting secretion that cause some salamanders to avoid the worm.

You may also find this caresheet from our Caudata Culture section helpful: Caudata Culture Species Entry - Necturus maculosus