During the last two weeks my 7 FBT's aren't interested in eating. Maybe a cricket or 2 here or there, but definitely not like their usual eating pattern. They seem pretty normal otherwise, maybe a little less active. Could it be due to the shorter days? Also, the water is a little cooler--it's about 68* F but is around 72* during the warmer months.
Help me out here, folks! Another 2 days and they're still not eating. I even tried getting them some wax worms, which they usually go crazy for & they just ignored them. Are they sick? They all look OK, they're moving around, swimming, etc. Is it some kind of winter hibernation type thing or what?
im located down here in southern texas and about 3 weeks ago when the weather dropped, my firebellies really cut back on eating and their movement. i was afraid a husbandry switch i had made was killing them some how? now that i have put them in a new enclosure with a heater (they didnt have one before) set to 78 degrees (auto temp set to) they have picked back up in pace, and even compete for their crickets. they have begun trying to mate and we now have croacking (when we never did before).
since you said the enclosure has dropped in temperature, thats what im thinking... sort of like a hibernation type of scenario. you havent introduced any new FB's to your setup right? try warming things up for them a little, my bet is that they will pick back up in speed.. good luck! (heat lamp or something?)
How long has it been since you did a water change? I don't know why they aren't eating, but if there is an issue with their water a water change should help.
Thanks, Kristie. I'll try warming things up. I didn't think it was that because the apartment I lived in last winter was not as warm as this one & they didn't stop eating then.
Emandkel, I change out about 1/4 of the water every day or every other day. I have a filter & circulating pump running all the time and I take the whole thing apart & clean out every thing a couple times a year.
you dechlorinate the water right? but yeah i would DEFINITELY reccommend warming them up!
Yes, I always dechlorinate. And I'm shopping online right now for a heater! Thanks for the suggestions.
i dont know how big your set up is... but my 2 are only in a 5 gallon (thats a diagonal pattern) and were currently using a beta heater since regular reptile/amphibian heaters were too big. remember the whole thing has to be under for some heaters, or the beta ones have a fill to line.... SO moral is... even if you dont find one with the term REPTILE HEATER, even specific fish ones will be ok... i paid 15 bucks for mine from petsmart
but i believe our local walmart also carries them for 10 something... it was too big for my tank!
good luck!
Thanks again, Kristie. I have a 55 gallon tank with about 40% land / 60% water. I have a lot of plants, rocks, hides etc for them, but there's plenty of space for a heater. Until I get a heater set up I put a heating pad outside the tank by the water, it doesn't get warm enough to be harmful.
It is my understanding that fire bellied toads are cool-water toads and temperatures exceeding the mid 70's can be harmful. Mine are kept at room temperature (around 70) and they are active, go after their crickets like they are starving, and I have a male that calls and regularly tries to mate the others.
i would agree with you in a sense that they are cool water temperature tolerant. however while researching everyone has a different input on this subject, however most information out there states somewhere between 70s-80. room temperature would generally work and it did for many months for me with my toads. but when we started dropping below the 50s at night, my toads werent maintaining too well. so i gave them a heater, and they have begun to thrive again. when the normal temperature picks back up, that may be a different story.
it comes down to everyones personal preferences, my personal preference is... that mine are mantaining great with the 1-3 gallon sized heater (its very very tiny) and if i could get my little turtle (in a seperate encolusre of course) to not try to eat everything i put in his tank, he'd get one too! lol
What kind of heater do you have, Kristie? I've been looking online & the vast majority of submersible heaters are vertical & won't work because the water in my tank is only a few inches. I found a couple of small submersible ones on Amazon that look like they might work, but they have poor reviews, and also no thermostat controls, which would make me nervous--I don't want to have to check the water temp constantly. Anyone have any ideas?
I have my two in a much smaller enclosure than you have, mines similiar to this one, but mine always stays on, at least this one shuts off. however i think its too small for your enclosure (gallon wise)
Marina Submersible Mini Aquarium Heaters - Heaters & Accessories - Fish - PetSmart
the one i put in my tank, i found on the fish aisle in my petstore, and its actually listed for a beta (it has a fill line, but i turned it sideways (diagonal) as i only have about 3 inches of water myself)
do you have a petstore close by, that you go head into and go down the fish aisle? reptile/amphibian heaters were much to big for the space i had available
Thanks again, Kristie. Yes, I have a pet store nearby, which I will check out today. I was under the impression that the long ones had to be installed vertically.
An update...I bought a heater & raised the temp to about 75, but it didn't seem to make much difference, they still weren't very interested in eating. I have been planning for a while to redo their tank, so I set up a smaller 20G long with just rocks, plants and water, and moved them there temporarily while I work on the big one. They were more active the first few days in the new tank, exploring, but they have settled in again, and still aren't eager to eat. I really think it is the shorter days. In my previous apartment there was very little natural sunlight, and so their days & nights were dictated by the tank lighting. Where I live now has a lot of windows and is very bright, so the natural light prevails, and I use one tank light on cloudy days. So, I'm just waiting to see if they continue to become more active & hungrier as the days get longer. In the meantime, I'm making them a very cool rock wall. :-)
Hmmm...mine have accepted food occasionally, but mainly they aren't interested--obviously--the crickets will literally walk on their heads and they just knock them off LOL. But none of them have visibly lost any weight, so it makes me wonder if it isn't the same thing with yours if he has become skinny. Maybe someone with more experience than me can answer that. Good luck with your little guy.
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