Injured eastern newt! Help!

[Audrey22]

Hi guys. I am in some major need of help. I have successfully raised and released many spotted sallies so I'm pretty familiar with how to care for them under normal conditions.
However, when I went to release 6 more today, I found a terribly injured eastern newt. I brought him home and want to try to help him. He has bites out of his tail (what's left of it) and 2 broken back legs. He can move and "walk" when he has to but he definitely is trying to stay still and on land.
I have him in a small tub for now with a slant of slate, an inch of water and some moss for him to hide under. I have a worm or 2 in there and rolly pollies.

Questions. What is the ideal tank set up for a hospital tank for him? What materials and what to avoid?

What do I do if it gets infected? How do I prevent that? What kind of medication could I possibly give him? I've heard some names of meds but I need to be sure.

Salt baths? He's fresh water though. Refrigerator? And what can I help him eat?

If anyone can give me step by step instructions of what they did or know, that would be awesome

I've read other posts about sallies surviving worse injuries so I am hopeful. I just need to know what to do to start.

The pictures are a little gruesome. His back leg is the part that scares me the most. But his upper body is totally fine so I know he has a fighting chance.

 

[mavors]

Hi Audrey, I have a salamander in almost the same situation and have the same questions as you. I don't have a lot of answers but can share my experience so far. My salamander uses his front legs to drag himself around and has abrasions on his back legs. For the first week he didn't move much. It has been about three weeks now and he moves around occasionally and will even take cover under debris and occasionally digs shallowly. I believe he is slowly healing, only time will tell. Amphibians are remarkably resilient!

 

[Iridophore]

As long as you keep it in a sterile environment and keep it from getting any infections it should be able to heal.

 

[Audrey22]

So I did talk to someone who was an exotic pet vet or in training. She said that keep it in a good amount of water with an option to leave like a small thing of moss. Put api stress coat and this stuff in the water. However, before I had the chance to try it, my Sallie passed. He already had an infection and it was way too severe. I didn't even have him for 18 hours. But maybe the information I got will help prevent yours from an infection. Good luck

 

[mavors]

So I did talk to someone who was an exotic pet vet or in training. She said that keep it in a good amount of water with an option to leave like a small thing of moss. Put api stress coat and this stuff in the water. However, before I had the chance to try it, my Sallie passed. He already had an infection and it was way too severe. I didn't even have him for 18 hours. But maybe the information I got will help prevent yours from an infection. Good luck View attachment 88824

Thank you so much, I will try it. Sorry to hear about your Sallie