The Puffer Forum

Last night I fed my 8 inch Nile puffer a mid-sized crayfish. He didn't finish his meal and soon after eating he began to act kinda lazy..labored breathing and idol. I also noticed that his stripes were much darker than normal. I have fed him these several times and keep them in a seperate tank for a month or so before I give them to Pookie. The claws were re-moved, nothing about the feeding was out of the norm. He of course was excited and snatched the crayfish up quickly (at first) then began to show these symptoms. Does anyone have any info on what could be going on? No other changes had been made to his tank and he doesn't have any tank mates. This morning he was acting about the same (maybe a little better), he had used the bathroom (so to speak) I was thinking maybe he just ate to quick. Any help would be great, Thanks a bunch.

My email is rebakahz@gmail.com if you'd like to write!!!!!!!

This generally happens to my Abei when he overeats. After he's wolfed down an insane amount of food, he rests on the bottom of the tank, gets darker, and appears to be breathing a bit heavier.

If he seems okay now, they're that's probably all it was. Keep an eye on him and look for any symptoms getting worse.

My fahaka does the same thing. So does my stars & stripes. Like Agnate said: just keep an eye on him.

Thanks guys, I just worry about him. My husband is going to watch him for me today while I'm at work. I'll keep you updated

add extra air stones....

Just talked to my hubby and he said he is acting normal now. Maybe i should add more air stones..i had a large bubble stick but he bit a hole in it..haha.Thanks guys!

My dog has been throwing up violently & regularly for the past 24 hours. He got into the container of dog food. Yesterday he was 2 lbs more than the day before, so you can immagine how much food he wolfed down! Today he's only 1 lb lighter. Poor fella--he was soooooo sick! This is the 3rd time he has done this. Any animal will overeat if given the chance. Try smaller crays.

Cats don't overeat!

IDK about that... How many obese kitties are out there?

Pufferpunk wrote:IDK about that... How many obese kitties are out there?

Humm...my kitty Oliver is what you'd call big boned...you know when the belly area drags the ground haha well it isn't that bad but close...fuupa

To be fair, obesity isn't solely caused by overeating. Lack of exercise plays a serious role in that, especially with indoor cats. Also, I've never seen a cat eat so much that it has to lie on the ground, breath heavily, and vomit for days to compensate for the food it ate... then again, I haven't owned too many cats, haha.


Big boned, hahaha!

That sounds just like Kalvin the past 24 hrs. Poor fella was so weak from vomiting, he was sitting slumped over, shaking... .

Dogs are scavengers. They will gorge on what they find, because instinct tells them they don't know when they'll eat next and they have to compete with pack mates for whatever they find, so they have to gorge as much as they can because the next dog will knock em away from the kill/find

Cats are true predators. They STILL Don't know when they'll get their next meal, but they know they dont have to compete with pack mates for a share of their kill *except for Lions...but they are an exception rather than the rule RE: feline behavior*

Fat cats are from lack of excersise. They walk to the food dish, eat, go and lay down...get up, eat..go lay down.

Cats are meant to be fed..well...adlib, but since they don't do much in the way of excersise if they are strictly indoor, they get fat...*that and reccomended food servings for animals are just that reccomended, NOT the law...Most cats can do just fine on one can a day.*

I learnt about animal nutrition a week ago

Puffers, are also true predators. BUT they also know they have to compete *remember they think wild because they are wild* with other fish for their kills, hence why they gorge as well. They snap at a crawfish, and if they leave any of it behind, the next opportunistic fish will come by and take it from them. They don't have the luxury to drag it into a tree like a cat.

If you wan to get a cat to lose weight limit it's intake and play with it. Simple. And adding a pair of 3 month old puppies doesn't hurt either....Mine lost 4 lbs in 2 months when the dogs arrived.

Acctually with cats: Up the quality of protein. DO NOT limit the portions, just buy better protien. Rule of thumb when buying pet food: the better quality of protien = more expensive BUT when it comes to cats, the better quality protien they're fed, the thinner they are.

My cat *may his furry soul RIP* was the HEALTHYEST when he was eating nothing but mice caught in my apartment, and, canned tuna once a week. That's it. Took him to the vet shortly after moving back in with my mom, got him wormed, and the vet commented how healthy he was, lean, glossy coat, clean teeth with the least amount of periodontal disease he ever saw in a housecat. His health greatly deteriorated when he went on commercial cat food. I limited his intake too, only gave him half the reccomended portion. His bladder got blocked up with crystals, by the time we noticed anything was wrong it was way too late and his bladder broke and he died.

coincidence? Nope.