Do you think this is bloat?

[RobM]

Hi all,

Do you think this newt has bloat?

If yes what do you recommend I do?
Thanks!

 

[shmifty5]

im not too sure, most bloat i've seen is body+throat, this guy/gal looks really fat and/or pregnent, im not very experienced though so i would wait until a more senior member gives his/her opinion, but for the most part cutting back on food can't hurt. sorry i can't be more useful.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/bloatEDK.shtml

(this may help you out if you haven't seen it already)

 

[dipsydoodle]

I don't think it looks like bloat (unless it's the really first stage)

The newt in question to me looks like a female, and a gravid female at that (when they are gravid they look a bit podgy around the middle).

The newt looks exactly like my two girls (shape wise from the belly). However I can't tell if it is female from a side on picture.

 

[RobM]

From my under standing these are 09, so I don't think this one would be old enough to be pregnant, the other 3 in the tank are pretty much terrestrial still too. I would have normally put it down to over eating, but it seemed a sudden increase in size to me.

 

[RobM]

I am beginning to suspect another one of having bloat too now:

I know I cant go by size on this one yet, but this one has always been the smallest and skinniest. But if you look at his skin texture, shine and similar look to a bent balloon. :-s

 

[Azhael]

I don´t know what to say about the first one...you could give it a preventive salt bath and see how it evolves.

The second one has a fully aquatic skin, what is it doing on land? What are the temps on the tank?
A picture of the whole set-up would help.

Are you sure they are captive bred?

 

[RobM]

The water is at 70 with a ph level of 7.5. Both should be fine for this type of newt.

It would be strange if this one was "fully aquatic", because its only the guy from the first pictures that stays in the water all the time. The other 3 are mainly land based (2 100% landbased, this one about 85% landbased).

They were sold as cb, From Andrew Tillson-Willis of Pollywog.

Email from October 2009:
"Hi, they are very well started captive bred juveniles oldest are about 6 months"

So they would be just over a year old, therefore it would not be possible the newt in the first pics to be pregnant. The newt in the first picture has probably been nearly 100% aquatic since before January.

 

[RobM]

Pic of setup:

Water is about 6inches deep, filter is in the land area.

 

[Azhael]

Although it is certainly possible for a Cynops to become sexually mature in a year or even less, females usually take a little longer than males. I doubt she is gravid, you´ll have to keep an eye on her.

If that animal is mostly terrestrial then there is something seriously wrong with it. The shiny skin is a very bad symptom in terrestrial Cynops.

70ºF is not too bad, but for an ill animal it can be a problem. If possible, a cooler temp would be desirable.

I was only asking if they were CB because of the deep red bellies. Generally, breeders don´t achieve such a nice colour. I´m glad they are CB, it´s refreshing xD

Other than cooler temps, and perhaps a preventive salt bath i don´t know what to recommend. The vet would be the best option, of course.

 

[RobM]

I gave both a salt bath last night. Both were in the water when I went to bed and when I awoke.
I have placed ice in the tank before I left and increased airflow to the tank by putting a net over it instead of the lid, so hopefully it will get a tad cooler.

 

[Azhael]

If you had a lid with no ventilation, that might be the cause of the problems with the second newt. The shiny skin can be the result of a bacterial infection caused by inapropriate humidity/ventilation.

If they recover (i hope they do), you should increase the water volume of your tank. They are never going to go fully aquatic if the water conditions are not ideal. For that purpose, the bigger the water volume you have, the better. Also, a good deal more plants would certainly not hurt. You could substitute the filter with plants, which believe me, the newts would apreciate a lot.

 

[RobM]

Thanks for the advice.

I know the lid isn't the best for ventilation, but considered it fine for the winter (which it has been), I am going to use the netting from now on though. They were in a bigger tank, with probably 3 or 4 times as much water, however as only one was aquatic, I swapped the tanks between other newts I have that were always in the water. I planned to move them to a new tank of the same size once they started being more aquatic (which as of yet hasn't happened). When I changed tanks, I also removed all the stones, as I was finding it much more of a problem keeping the tank clean.

I did have some more plants but they got messed up when I changed tanks and I wanted to avoid getting more plants until I move again in a months time, as they just get destroyed being pulled about and taken elsewhere.

Would you advise giving them a salt bath today to? or is too regular bad?
Also would it be best to separate these two from the other two?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Azhael]

Quarantine is certainly best.
Has there been any improvement or any change? Salt baths are rather inocuous but without knowing what caused the problems, they are nothing more than a preventive treatment, possibly doing nothing.

Keep them well fed and nourrished if they are still eating.

 

[RobM]

I haven't been home, so haven't been able to check on them. I have got my girlfriend to change the ice and got her to check the temperature was staying below 70.
They ate Sunday ok, I would assume they will eat tonight too

 

[dipsydoodle]

One of my newts has such smooth skin as that (fully aquatic) but on occasion does come on the land for a few hours; my other (fully aquatic) newt barely ever leaves the water (in fact never ever leaves the water) has really rough skin.

 

[RobM]

No improvements. I'm 100% its bloat now though
Just brought air con and set it up in the room, hopefully I can bring the temp right down in there in hope it will help.

 

[Azhael]

Take a look at this if you haven´t already. It might help.

Caudata Culture Articles: Bloat

 

[RobM]

Thanks, I had a look at that before starting the thread, I just wasn't that sure back then if it was bloat.

 

[Azhael]

Oops, that´s right, the link had already been supplied. Sorry, didn´t notice

 

[RobM]

I've noticed a few snails in the tank recently, is it possible the biggest newts bloat could have been caused by impaction caused by eating a snail?