Illness/Sickness: Bad infection on purchased fire belly newt

[baggofpeas]

Hello, i have just recently joined.
The reason i joined in the first place was because i ran into a very concerning problem with one of my (just purchased) fire belly newts. He appeared to have some sort of flesh eating disease/ bacteria on one hand but i wasn't sure if it was just an injury he could regenerate, so i searched online for information. Finding nothing useful i decided to keep the little guy in his own environment separate from my others to avoid spread of infection. In the morning the infected areas had spread and his hands flesh had become completely eaten away to a white nub. He had two white spots forming, one on his shoulder another on his belly, his other hand and one foot began to "melt" and the bones were exposed just like the first hand the day i bought him. Though i wanted to be able to help him i knew i wasn't able to, especially at the rate his infection was taking over. In the end i had to return him to the pet store where they offered me a replacement newt, but i figured i better not purchase them from that particular store anymore.. not for a while at least.
So, i am still curious as to what happened exactly.. if anyone has seen this before or has any ideas of what i could have done to help him it would be good to know just in case i come across this again.
Thanks.

 

[Manion]

This is very common in store bought firebelly newts.

Read over this article, and it's next two parts. I'm no expert on this, but those legs may need amputation(Which would be miserable for the newt). I'd read over the article, and wait for someone more experienced in this field before you do anything, because this may also be curable through salt baths and refrigeration.

 

[vistajpdf]

Yes, that article is great. However, I'd caution you against purchasing any newts from a pet store. They are wild caught and kept in deplorable conditions, many arrive sick or dead at the stores. They don't often exhibit symptoms immediately, but they can be very unhealthy from the start.

Try to find captive bred (CB) newts. Here, there is a list of "FOR SALE / TRADE" that often has CB animals.

Chilling the newt helps slow the progression of the disease, some have used salt baths with some success, depending on the disease. Many true flesh-eating issues are fatal. So sorry this had to happen. Stay on this forum and you will learn a lot. My pair, also from a pet store a couple of years ago, had 50+ offspring and I was as clueless as can be at first. The people here are great and, with their help, I've had very few losses. Many are now returning to the water after a year on land. If I can ship to Canada, you're welcomed to a few!

Dana

 

[baggofpeas]

Wow thank you, (to both) this helps a lot even though I cant do anything for the newt anymore it is still good to know just in case I ever see this again.
I have two newts from a different pet store that appear to be fine so far.. I never knew about the store bought ones being caught wild though, that is also good to keep in mind. Thanks Dana, your offer is very kind and I am definitely interested!

 

[ael]

I think your question about the limb rot has been answered, but I was wondering whether the spots that were developing on the belly and shoulder looked to be the same kind of infection or something different. I had a similar experience (without the limb rot) with newly purchased newts about two years ago (detailed here: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...ander-help/56146-mysterious-newt-ailment.html). I wouldn't bother with the link, except that your description of the spots and "melting" seemed like it was the same kind of advancement mine went through as the infection progressed.

 

[baggofpeas]

well the flesh turned the same whitish colour as where the limbs were rotting (but no bones were exposed on these shoulder/belly spots) and as for your pictures it looks similar to that from what I can see but its hard to tell.