Illness/Sickness: Hong Kong Warty Newt

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lockpicker

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I had 2 HK Warty newts then one of them died for no particular known reason. The one that died was healthy then suddenly one morning it was covered in cloudy white stuff DEAD...The second one has an unmovable arm. The top-side of it's hand is infected with white fungi? It's getting wider everyday and i think it's bones are starting to show. pls help :( It's also not eating the sinkable fish-pellets the shopkeeper suggested me.
If you need pictures ask.
 
Sounds like a Fungal infection.

Try to remove any of the fungus you can with a tissue or cotton bud. Then give him a salt bath (6g of salt to a litre) for appropriately 15mins, full guide can be found: Caudata Culture Articles - Salt Solutions in Treating Salamanders
In another thread you have asked about calcium silicate, I do not know the exact answer to this, but do know that sea salt is usually ok to use and seeing as it is used in salt that could typical be consumed, I would assume it is safe.
After the salt bath I would quarantine him, move him to a different clean tank/container (or totally empty out and clean the current tank if you do not have a spare).
If you can, reduce the temperature (his immune system will work better), some people use refrigerators or chillers for this (see: Caudata Culture Articles - Cooling for more ideas)

More useful info on quarantining: Caudata Culture Articles - Quarantine and Disinfection
Information on: illnesses and treatment: Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 1
 
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lockpicker said:
It's also not eating the sinkable fish-pellets the shopkeeper suggested me.
Click to expand...

Sorry posting again...
How long have you had them? fish pellets are not a good source of food for amphibians. Live food is much better for them, and if they are wild caught (which I suspect they are if you just got them) then it is unlikely they will eat the pellets because they are used to eating live food in the wild.
Try feeding it Earthworms, they are a good nutritious meal. Other alternatives are waxworm, bloodworms, brine shrimp, dusted crickets, woodlice.

Some care information: Hong Kong Warty Newt (Paramesotriton hongkongensis)
Temperature is important (as touched upon above, high temperatures decrease the immune system)
 
What temperatur should I maintain when I am refridgerating my newt? and how long? Thx a Lot^^
 
I post this information from your PM so that anyone else wishing to reply has the information too (also correct it if I am wrong):
Tank temperature is 15C
You have had the two newts for 5 days.
The remaining newt may be starving.

15C should be an OK temperature for this species (if it were identified by the shop correctly, post pictures for confirmation). In the wild this species would experience temperatures as low as 12.5C. So 15C should be OK and allowing the newts immune system to work effectively.
I suspect this is a wild caught newt, and its infections are yet another example of poor treatment and transport from the wild, I doubt it is your fault for its condition, especially as you have only had them for a couple of days.
You suggested buying bloodworms from a local shop, Live food would definitely be preferred and its wiggling may encourage the remaining newt to eat. However a lot of newts may take a couple of days up to a couple of weeks to start eating (do not worry yet unless it looks skinny).
The normal temperature of a refrigerator should be fine, however because this species minimum temperature in the wild is relatively high for a newt, perhaps only put it in for a couple of hours at a time at the highest refrigerator temperature. Keep trying salt baths a couple of times a day if you can too.
 
Hey. Thx...
I just picked up some blood worms (alive) and fed a pinch of them to my newt. Sadly, it seems to be moving away from the worms. :( Anyways, if it doesn't eat, when should I remove the leftover/ not eaten food? I'm freezing the blood worms because I don't know how long they would last and I am avoiding the blood worms to get all slimy and rot. I also picked up some fish medicine from the shop that says it would cure rotting gills/ fins/ scales, gill parasites, red spots and white spots. Can I ask if you think it would be safe to use it? Wait...hey I think that it just ate some, the number of worms have decreased (I think). Hopefully it did^.^ HOPEFULLY ><
My Questions are:
Do you think it's safer to use the medicine I just bought or just give it a salt bath?
When should I remove the leftover/ not eaten food?
Thank you for your help and time^.^
Imma take some pics when I have time, maybe tomorrow so you can see how it's doing :)
 
lockpicker said:
Hey. Thx...
I just picked up some blood worms (alive) and fed a pinch of them to my newt. Sadly, it seems to be moving away from the worms. :( Anyways, if it doesn't eat, when should I remove the leftover/ not eaten food? I'm freezing the blood worms because I don't know how long they would last and I am avoiding the blood worms to get all slimy and rot. I also picked up some fish medicine from the shop that says it would cure rotting gills/ fins/ scales, gill parasites, red spots and white spots. Can I ask if you think it would be safe to use it? Wait...hey I think that it just ate some, the number of worms have decreased (I think). Hopefully it did^.^ HOPEFULLY ><
My Questions are:
Do you think it's safer to use the medicine I just bought or just give it a salt bath?
When should I remove the leftover/ not eaten food?
Thank you for your help and time^.^
Imma take some pics when I have time, maybe tomorrow so you can see how it's doing :)
Click to expand...

Remove the food if it looks dead, if it is still wiggling, you might as well leave it in.
It can depend on where you get the bloodworms from, the ones I get from my local fish shop can easily last a week in their original bag (they wont last as long in your aquarium).
That medicine is designed for fish, I wouldn't use it on amphibians, perhaps post the name of the product here, someone might be able to tell you if it is safe to use. I know very little about medication for amphibians, so I am sorry I cannot help more with that.

Does he seem better? Does the infection look like it is going?
 
How long should I leave defrosted blood worms in the tank if it is frozen? His infection seemed to have stopped spreading but it's still there. I don't think my newt ate any of the worms. The worms are still wiggling in the aquarium. You can check my gallery for the pictures I took. :) The shop also sells baby shrimps about 1 cm long. Should I feed that instead of the worms I already froze? I don't know how the shrimp would last and I don't think i'm left with any other option but dry food, Blood worms and the tiny shrimps (i think it's the little brine shrimps).

My Questions:
Feed shrimp instead of frozen worms?
If worms, how long to leave it in the aquarium (The defrosted worms)?

P.S look at my photos and take a look at my newt :)
 
That is good news that it has stopped spreading :)
I guess you would only leave frozen blood worms in the tank for an hour.
Brine shrimps don't last as long in aquariums as blood worms, this is because brine shrimp are salt water based and your aquarium is fresh water based. You should alternate different types of food, so that your newt gets a mixed diet. For example I feed my C.orientalis brine shrimp, bloodworm and earthworms weekly.

I took a look at your pictures, I like the little ruins :)
Is that your permanent tank or just for quarantine? A permanent tank for this type of newt should be at least 10 gallons (15 gallons for a pair), its always better to have bigger too, the more water there is, the easier it is to maintain a good water quality.
 
I'm moving into a new flat with my own room(finally) in about around 3 weeks. I gave my aquarium (20 gallon to my creamsicle corn snake. So my newt will have to do for now. Where do you get earthworms? Is it alright with the newt if I change the water every other day? I'm getting a little worried my newt would starve to death ><. Are there any suggestions to make my newt more wanting to eat the blood worms? There's only one fish shop nearest to me and there is a whole street full of fish shops in Hong Kong but it's not near to where I live. O BTW I live in Hong Kong :p :)

My Questions:
Is it alright with the newt if I change the water every other day?
Where do you get earthworms?
Are there any suggestions to make my newt more wanting to eat the blood worms?
I also found a stream behind my school with some friends (It looks soft and when I took some out with a stick it looked like slime, basically looks like snot). Do you think it's safe to put some of it in my aquarium?

P.S:
Anyways Thx.You've helped me a lot. I just can't stop with the questions. Sorry if i'm being troublesome :(
 
So you will be getting a bigger aquarium?
You probably don't need to change 100% of the water everyday, doing spot checks daily and 20% water changes weekly should be enough. (By spot checks I mean extracting out any debris and uneaten food you see, this can be done with a pump, net or turkey baster. Turkey basters are very good for this)

I normally order my earthworms online and get them through the post. Unfortunately I cannot recommend anywhere online that delivers them in your area, but I would guess there must be some website that does them. Some people breed their own worms, others might buy them from a fish and tackle shop (worms normally used for fishing bait). Some people also collect them from their garden, but you have to be careful that they have not come in contact with any chemicals, and its possible they might bring infections etc to your newt.

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do to make a newt eat. Your species should be fed every 2-3 days normally, it could be worth waiting to a 3rd day to make sure it is at its hungriest. Trying different foods is another thing that can encourage eating, they might have their own preferences. A good food to try is wax worms (wax moth larvae), its so big and juicy a lot of newts cannot resist. It should not be fed exclusively though as it is very fatty. I don't know whether wax worms are available there though, if you know of a reptile shop, try there. As I mentioned before, your newt is likely to be wild caught, this could make it very difficult to get it to eat, it is having to adapt to a whole different type of life, different food, different water quality, different surroundings, different temperatures!

As for the snot :p, I personally wouldn't put it in, because I wouldn't want to risk whatever might be brought with it. Others however would risk it, so really it is your own choice, but I will say that as your newt is not well at the moment, it might be best to stick to plants found at your local fish shop for now.

PS. You are very welcome, you are not being troublesome, I used to ask questions all the time too. I think its better to ask questions and learn than to kill an innocent animal because you didn't care :)
 
I spoke too soon, half of my newt's hand is gone (finger bones exposed :p) >< My sis said that she saw a worm swimming around/ attached to it's hand like it's chewing it or something. I will give it a salt bath tomorrow. I will try to buy Kosher Salt or just plain Sea Salt that doesn't have any added ingredients. But there's also good news, I found a fishing shop (tackle shop) nearby where the fish shop is. I might buy some worms they have. The worms looked nothing like earthworms, looks more like....argh i'll just take a pic of them when I get them :) LOL. See if you know whether I can feed it to my newt ^.^. ? My newt seems to be active and happy (not so shy anymore). I leave blood worms that are still alive in the tank.

My Questions:
Do you feed your eartworms in cut-up to pieces or whole?
How many newts and what types do you have? (Curious question)

P.S: I will get a bigger tank soon maybe in 2 weeks or so when I move into my new flat. I'm in school almost the whole day so I don't really see what's happening to my newt. Yesterday it was fine then now I can see bone ><
 
It depends on the size of the newt and the size of the worm, I cut the worm to an appropriate size if necessary.
You should probably give the newt a salt bath everyday, it gives it a helping hand.

I currently have 12 newts of various ages, 3 C.orientalis and 9 N.kaiseri.
 
I bought some worms :p You can look at my gallery for the pics of the worms and my newts hand... I bought sea salt with no additives.
My questions:
Do you feed your worms live?
Should I feed my newt before or after saltbathing?
The worms seem suitable?
How do I measure salt? :p

P.S: Thx a lot^.^
 
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Oh no, my newt seems to be getting worse everyday. now half of it's arm is infected and it's right arm is wounded (maybe from the blood worms biting the newt). I'm getting more and more worried. It doesn't seem to be eating. I don't know if it ate any blood worms yet. If it's dying I want it to die in peace, not slowly and painfully :errr: I really don't know what to do now. :( If this one dies, I might just get a dark or albino axolotl when I move into my new flat :( IF it dies.
 
From your recent pictures I am not even sure that it is a Hong Kong Warty Newt, it seems too warty and not very pentagonal in shape. It looks more like a Chinese Warty Newt to me, but the pictures are not clear enough to say really. Given your location I would expect it to be a Hong Kong Warty Newt though of course! Anyways, this is beside the point, it is not very important at the moment, the infection is.

Are you keeping the water clean?
I feed worms live, even if I cut them.
Feeding an hour or two before the salt bath would be best because the newt may not feel like eating after.
The worms look kind of weird to me, but I think that's because of what they are in. I think you should clean them and cut them when you feed them, they look pretty fat. Pieces about half the size of the tail should do.
A level tea spoon should be about 6g of salt (NOTE* tea spoon not table spoon, tea spoons are small).

If your worried about the blood worms, then please remove them
 
I removed the blood worms^.^ may put some frozen ones in at time though. not even sure that it's eating =.= I put cut-up pieces of the worms I just bought and am putting 3 pieces in the tank over-night. Salt bathing them tomorrow. TBH i'm not sure it's even eating.
 
You should try and salt bath it daily.
Don't leave the cut up worms in the water too long, it will foul the water, once they stop wiggling they are no good anyway!
 
Sadly my little guy died this morning just as I prepared the salt water >< Thank you for all your help anyways^^
 
:-( I am really sorry to hear that.
 
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