Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Durig my daily misting the other day I noticed that my baby jaya looks dehydrated and did not hardly move. I thought he was dead at first but I noticed he moved his eyes when I took him out on his perch. he doesn't move much and is not eatting. His humidity is about80% and the temp is about 80 dropping down at night to room temp. There are plenty of places to hide in his 16x116x20 cage including live plants and a large water bowl. I gave it a nice long soak and he seemed to perk up for a little while but still acts lethargic. I am going to try again today to get him to take a pinky. anybody got any suggestions? Thank you
Lonnie

How old is the animal? Sounds like there are several problems. First, your temps are too low. You need to raise them to around 86 degrees for a neonate and provide a slight temp gradient if possible. Run this constant without a night drop if it is under 1 year of age. What are you using for heating and are you using a thermostat? Second, have you noticed it drinking at all since you had it, and how long have you had it? You said it has plenty of room. Perhaps it has too much room. Neonates should be housed in small tubs to reduce stress and decrease the liklihood of problems such as those you are having. I am attaching a link that provides a good tutorial for housing young gtp's. When was the last time it has eaten for you?

My advice is to get it into a smaller tub enclosure and get those temps up immediately or you will lose it. When you try feeding, dip the food item in warm water. This will allow it to hydrate a bit in the event it doesn't seem to be drinking.

Good luck,
Bart
Link

I should also mention that gtp's are nocturnal and typically will not move during the day. With that said, how are you determining it is lethargic?

Bart

Aside from the obvious temp problems, how close to shed is your baby? My animals become quite blah when they are close to shed, rarely moving around and sitting on the branch in one place even after dark. After shed, they perk up.
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I will keep this brief, as my last post to this forum ruffled quite a few feathers, but a neonate is a specimen under one month of age and I doubt any legitimate dealer sold and shipped such a specimen. T
The advise which has already been offered should be closely followed, especially the hydration issue, as chondros are a hydrophilic and quite vulnerable to the effects of dehydration. I have performed many necropsies on juvenile chondros that were in apparent good health and harbored no feeding issues and, to their new owner’s dismay and horror, simply ended up dead in the bottom of the enclosure one day. The result was generally the same; chronic renal failure initiated by dehydration. Bear this in mind, when acquiring a new specimen, it is initially more important to see whether your new charge will drink, rather than feed, as feeding a dehydrated chrondro will quickly lead to irreversible end stage renal disease…

Best of luck to you,

Jeff
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947