Okay, I have had my WTF for about 5 months and he has been happy and healthy. I went away for 3 days and my brother-in-law was supposed to be watching him and my lizards for me. When I came back I immediatly noticed he was sick. He was not stuck to thew glass, his skin was very dark and brown, he was very skinny, and his pads on his feet were dryed out. There was no water in his bowl and the substrate was completely dry. I freaked out and immediately put him in a bowl of water. It has been hot here and I do not know how long he has been without water. He was very lathargic and his eyes were only 1/2 opened. In the last 6 hours he has come around a little, fattening up with water and ate 1 cricket (though he normally eats 3 quickly). However, he now has white spots on his head and as he has sat in the water his skin appears to be comming off in a very thin layer. His color is looking better, though not quite normal yet. I have the bed-a-beast in the bottom and a branch. Should I change his housing for now or will it only cause more stress? What else can I do for him and do you think he will be okay? I assume it is all from dehydration...is that so? Thank You!
Dana
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Dehydrated...Please help!
Replies (1)
The best fix for dehydration is simply rehydration. I know little about WTF, but I am sure they have adaptations for coping with extremes in weather, so he might be alright once he sheds a few layers of skin. Wait a couple days to see what those white spots turn into.
I would like to point out 2 things.
-If your setup dries out in only 3 days, you might want to cover some portion of the lid to help it retain moisture.
-You should not ever attempt to feed an animal when it is very sick, traumatized, or stressed. This is an amphibian with low metabolic demands, so it doesn't need the food right away. Having to digest a meal in times of stress may only compound things.
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