Illness/Sickness: C. Orientalis with bacterial infection

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dorytheemofish

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Question: How do I best treat a bacterial infection in a C. Orientalis?

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Recently I purchased a C. Orientalis from a local pet store. It died after 1 day, though it showed no sign of illness. The store gave me a credit for another newt, so I got that one and another.

I took the newts home and put them in a quarantine tank. In a few days, I noticed a small sore on Doug's head. I presumed [correctly, I might add] that it was a bacterial infection. Thus, I removed Spock (the second new newt) from the quarantine tank so he would not be infected and because he showed no sign of illness. Since I had no other tank but the main one, I put him in the big aquarium with my 7(ish) year old C. Pyrrhogaster.

However, in a day or two, I noticed the same sores showing up on Spock. I therefore removed him from the aquarium and put him back into the quarantine tank with Doug.

Since then (it has been 2 days), I have been applying diluted hydrogen peroxide (a 1:1 ratio) with a Q-tip. I then drip clean tap water over the sore to rinse it. I apply a bit of 2% Mupriocin to each sore and then let them back in the tank. I do this twice a day.

Doug died this morning, and I honestly expected Spock to be gone by the time I got home from work today. But when I got home I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. He is not showing any signs of further decline, but none of particular improvement, either.

Since I began treating Spock closer to the time the infection presented itself, I think he may have a chance at surviving. I want to maximize this chance, and I am looking for suggestions. I have searched all over the web and it is surprisingly hard to find advice on treating bacterial infections (or, at least, any more than what I am doing now).

Help!

[Also, anyone living in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area should know that I went back to the pet store to investigate the living conditions of the newts before they came home with me, and they were in a terrarium at 80F, AND living with fire-bellied toads AND crabs. So please, DON'T support Wet Pets on Rt. 19, at least in its newt trade. From what I can tell, most other animals there are well treated.]
 
There are some other treatment options listed here:
Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 1
People have had good success with silvadene cream for skin sores.

How are you so sure that it's bacterial? There are also fungal and viral pathogens in amphibians that can cause skin sores, that's why I ask. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to diagnose, so any treatment usually ends up being a shot in the dark.

Good luck!
 
Those articles helped some. I had only found one of them when I was looking through the site, and I'm not sure why. So thank you.

The infection has slowed but is still spreading. The little guy's hanging in there, though! I feel terrible for him. His front right arm bone is showing a bit, and his back left foot is mangled (but hasn't fallen off yet, which surprised me.

How are you so sure that it's bacterial? There are also fungal and viral pathogens in amphibians that can cause skin sores, that's why I ask.
Click to expand...

Good question. I thought the skin sores automatically meant bacteria. But I guess that was silly, eh? Also, I know that keeping newts at too high a temperature makes them much more susceptible to bacterial infections, so that fit.

This morning I bought a fungus and bacteria treatment for fish. I saw a few comments about that when I was doing research. It's the kind that turns the water green. I read that people were soaking the newts for 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a day. Would leaving him in the water be more helpful?

And as for silvadene cream, am I looking for 1%? Like just over the counter stuff? It's the burn cream, right?

I just found out there is a herp vet in my area. I just feel kind of stupid because many people see fire-bellied newts as "disposable" pets (because they are common and cheap). Should I still call, or just keep trying these methods and see what happens?

Any advice is much appreciated.
 
I don't have any experience with silvadene cream, but it appears that the 1% is what's available OTC.

Does the green medication contain malachite green? This is copper-based and could be toxic to amphibians. But I've also heard of people using it without immediately killing them. Be careful with it. A straight antibiotic like kanamycin or nitrofurazone might be safer.

I guess whether you call the vet depends on whether you think it's still possible to save the newt and if you are willing to pay for care. It might be worth finding out if they would treat a newt, even if it's just for future reference.
 
The medicine is nitrofurazone, furazolidone, and potassium dichromate. Hopefully it will help. I will be switching to silvadene cream tomorrow as opposed to mupriocin. I'll keep updating.

Thanks again
 
Usualy with high temp, it's fungal.
sorry to hear about your Doug best of luck with spock.
I agree I think he has more of a chance.

as Jennewt says it;s worth calling them up to see if they would treat it.

___
how dare they do that, this wet pets, how horrible to hear. There's too many shops that are making fatal mistakes like that.
 
Spock died around the 4th or so. I went back to Wet Pets with a sample of my tank water to prove its not my nitrates or anything, it's THEM. Didn't change much.

Anyway, I went to another store, one where I have bought my puppy many things. They had a tank of healthy-looking fire-bellies who were active, had a nice sheen, no missing limbs, and were not in with any other animals. Water was about 72 F.

I'm very happy to report that Spock III and Doug II are home and thriving, and have been for a few days!

Thank you for all your advice, everyone.
 
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