Illness/Sickness: Emergency Newt Decision

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Holding2k9

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one of my c.orientalis when purchased had a bad leg.
after treating it continuously there was no success the fungal infection keeps eating away at the leg and the body.
i now have 2 options
humainly put my creature out of her misery or release her into a nearby pond with other newt species?

i need a reply asap thank you
 
Do not release that newt. Why does this have to be a snap decision?
 
DO NOT RELEASE THE NEWT!

First of all, it is sick, and could infect the local fauna.
Secondly, it is from China and is probably colonized with whatever local bacteria it was born in, plus it carries its own diseases has its own immunities that British fauna doesn't have. Third, there is a worldwide epidemic of chytrid fungus among amphibians and you never know if your wc/recently purchased animal is infected. Never, never release pets into the wild, and especially never a species from a foreign country!!!
 
wow, that's sad and i'm sorry for you but the way that was presented ended up kind of funny.

My newt is very horribly contagiously sick with a fungal infection, should I kill it unleash it on a natural habitat?
 
I have been in your situation and I know that it is difficult to watch a little companion animal go through that. I really hope you are able to gain control of the situation by treating it, or take it to a vet as soon as possible.

I, like most people here, was quite surprised you were thinking about releasing your newt to the wild, foreign species or not, with such an infection. You would be handing it a death sentence without treatment from you. I can't imagine what good would come of that. Even if it got eaten by a predator and shortened it's suffering, it would likely sicken or kill the predator. The diseased animal could affect the food chain. The sick newt could also sicken and kill local amphibian species along the way. It could lead to a local eco-disaster if you released it.:eek:

I am sure you meant well, or you would not have posted. Thank you for posting. Please keep us updated about your newt!:D
 
all is well i sent it to a vet and luckily they have isolated it and will continue to treat it until it is better.
 
My god...i´m with Dawn..NEVER release ANY animal....but very very specially a sick wild caught from another coountry....
No one should ever release anything..not even local animals that have been in captivity for a period of time.
 
I'm so glad you took it to the vet - great decision. I won't beat you up anymore for thinking of releasing it. I know our instinct is to end its pain and our pain having to watch it! Good for you for doing the right thing which is not always easiest thing.

I'm rather new to this board and while I've had my fire belly newts for a year, only found this forum when they reproduced and I was unprepared and clueless! But, I have read something about limbs regenerating in this species. I'm not sure it was here as I may have read it before when I had an injured tree frog. Anyway, it was quite fascinating to see the time progression photos of the little limb growing back. I wonder if amputating it would end the fungus and allow it to regenerate? I hope the vet is an exotic one and is well-versed in the treatment of amphibians. Exotics are relatively new to vets and sometimes I feel like we're still in the very early stages of the learning curve.

Anyway, best of luck w/ the little guy.

Dana
 
So glad you took it to the vet. Please keep us updated on your newt's progress.:D
 
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