My chinese fire bellied newt has broke its leg i need help please

[carl]

it has broke its back left leg i took it to a vet and they wont do nothing because the risk of infection or bleeding to death is to high and every other vet wont i cant find any vet in england that will and obviously i cant go to america so if i put in antibiotics that the vet gave me and some thing that they give me to keep it clean will it heal up and skin grow over it our will the newt die or will something else happen please help as i really need the info please

 

[carl]

can someone please help me i think he might die or does anyone no any vet in the lancashire area that will amputate my newts leg

 

[jesper]

Hi,
First off the newt can regenerate its leg no prob even though it will take some time.
Is the leg broken, damaged or off?
Is there a wound? Is the wound infected?

 

[carl]

the leg is broken and the bone is sticking out of the skin i dont think it is infected but the newt cant move its leg at all and there is no vet to amputate the leg so how will it heal if it does and what should i do to help

(Message edited by carl_the_dude on April 27, 2004)

 

[jesper]

So what did the vet say and do?
He/she got to have done something??
If a leg is broken I suppose they put the bone in position so that it heals properly...
The worst thing would be if it healed back in a crooked position, an amputation would obviously be better then. Ask Ed Kowalski - He will know what to do. Do a search on his name, then send him a private message via the forums.

 

[tara]

When my boyfriend bought his first newt it had a broken leg, the bone was sticking out and when we would remove her from the water to medicate her then place her back in the water we would see some blood (so it was a little disconcerting -she was also not very fond of this daily harassment). It is three years later and she is fine and now she is queen of the world.

This is the thing:Amphibians are excellent regenerators, she will heal, you just have to keep the wound from getting infected. Keep your water clean if you are going to keep your newt aquatic. Another choice is to keep you newt on a dirt quarantine.
there is a page with info on caudata culture
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/sores.shtml

To treat our cynops we removed her daily and applied polysporin (WITHOUT the PAINKILLER Benzocaine) to the wound then placed her back in the water. It took a while for her to start using her leg again, but within a few weeks (approx 3)the wound had covered over. Once the wound covers over there is less risk of infection, you can then leave the newt alone until the bone mends.

 

[carl]

thanks for that also i would just like to say thanks to everyone who helps me on the forum and everyone who give good info thanks everyone

 

[edward]

The loss of a leg or the ability to move the leg does not seem to negatively affect many of the the salamander. I had a marble salamander and an Andrias that never regrew a single leg each lost due to conspecific aggression (The Andrias was well before my time). I would not be worried about one leg healing at an odd angle particuarly in a aquatic species.
I would recommend using the antibiotics that the vet gave you and watching for any sign of a fungal infection.
I would hold off on transfering it to a terrestrial quarantine if it is currently aquatic as this may initially stress the animal.
If it is eating, then I would just treat the animal and monitor its health.
Ed

 

[carl]

but it isn't eating what should i do

 

[jennifer]

carl - was it eating before the injury, or has it never eaten since you got it?

 

[carl]

yes it was eatin before the accident and now its not eating

 

[edward]

If it looks like it has a good body weight then I would not be concerned at the moment.
It may be off feed due to being treated with antibiotics and the required handling for its treatment. I would suggest finishing out the treatment regimen and then seeing if it begins to eat within a week or so.
Ed

 

[carl]

ok thanks but it hasent eatin in about a week now maybe more then a week

 

[carl]

great news my newt ate a worm today when i put it in thats a releif it hadent eaten in over 2 weeks i hope he will recover now i will keep ya all updated on his recovery

 

[edward]

If the newt keeps feeding and there are no secondary complications then everything should be okay.

Ed

 

[carl]

he is still feeding but it has been about 5 weeks now and it still isnt healing how long will it take

 

[edward]

The bone will not realign itself but will heal in the orientation it is in now. Is the skin beginning to overgrow the wound?

Ed

 

[carl]

no it has been like this for several weeks now but seems to be eating

 

[jennifer]

i am having the same problem with my newt so i came on here for answers myself. everything ive read has been helpful and ive been back to the shop where it was bought and they suggested putting 2 spoonfuls of salt over the wound only for a minute or so. they demonstrated for me and it seems to be working!

(Message approved by admin)