Illness/Sickness: Newbie with a fungal infection

[therougecat]

You guys are probably sick at this point of new owners with store-bought fire bellies, but unfortunately I'm gonna add to the list ;w;

I made the mistake of buying my first newt (C. Orientalis) at a local pet store about 2 weeks ago and soon discovered a fuzzy white spot developing on his hind leg. I'm fairly certain this infection came from the store, as a visit a week later revealed a dead newt in their tank with a large fungal growth on its stomach, and several others in the tank with white spots.
(He and his tankmates were also missing digits when I bought him, which should have been a warning sign to me - but I guess I just got too excited)

Upon discovering the growth (about 1 week ago) I started treating him with daily 10-minute salt baths, but these baths (or, more likely, the fact that I have to handle him to get him to his salt bath) have triggered a food strike during which he has only accepted 2 bloodworms. I know newts can go a while on little food, but it worries me because he was on the skinny side to begin with.

Other than the foodstrike and white growth, he seems to behave normally, spending most of his time in the water and actively avoiding capture.

I do very much regret purchasing my newt from their store, but at this point I want to do all I can to make it right and help the little guy recover.

So with the wordy backstory out of the way, my questions are:

1. Should I treat him with antifungal medication (possibly Methylene Blue), or just keep up the salt baths? I've heard conflicting information as to the use of medication on newts and am reluctant to use chemicals without reassurance.

2. Is it okay to transfer him to a refrigerated tub of distilled water and, if so, how would I go about doing that? I can't seem find much info about how to go about refrigerating a newt (specifically regarding temperature), but the "hospital stay" would give me some time to go about renovating my currently-amateur tank setup.

3. Should I be too concerned about the food strike? Any tips for getting him to accept food? (at this point he refuses both bloodworms and earthworms)

Phew, sorry for the long post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible ^^; Thanks much for the help (and for putting up with yet another newbie!)
I've attached some pictures of the infection if anyone was curious:

 

[Chinadog]

Welcome to the site! To stand any chance of recovering, you really need to take it to a vet. There are other things you could try, like neosporin ointment or similar, but these newts are very fragile following importation. Very often the skin sores and other problems take hold and spread un-checked because the animal's immune system has shut down as a result of the stress, but, as in the link below it is sometimes possible to save them with the correct treatment.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...7-newt-salamander-help/101508-newt-wound.html

 

[therougecat]

Thanks much for the response! Unfortunately, it looks like a vet visit might be a little out of my range as a student without much disposable income :< Just to be safe, though, what would the price range of such a visit generally be?
In the meantime I'll start applying neosporin in addition to the salt baths. I'll start keeping him refrigerated as well, in a clean "hospital tub", unless that's a really terrible idea?

((A quick search says neosporin deals with secondary bacterial infections that result from fungal infections - is that what I'm going for or should I seek out a specifically antifungal ointment? :O))

 

[Chinadog]

Neosporin was recommended to me when I had a baby firebelly with skin problems, you need the type without painkiller in it. The link explains the treatment and the results.
The hospital set up sounds fine, but if you continue with the salt baths it might be best to place the newt in clean fresh water for a while afterwards to prevent de-hydration.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...lp/94263-c-pyrrhogaster-illness-sickness.html

 

[therougecat]

Alrighty, thanks much!
Neosporin is a must now, as yesterday I discovered that the infection developed into an open wound.
He's just spent his first 24 hours in the fridge and is a bit sluggish now, but the infection doesn't seem to have progressed ever since transferring him to the refrigerator so that's good!

 

[CatSpit]

Thanks much for the response! Unfortunately, it looks like a vet visit might be a little out of my range as a student without much disposable income :< Just to be safe, though, what would the price range of such a visit generally be?

When I took my newt to the vet for her open wound, it cost around $45 - if neosporin doesn't heal the wound I would definitely take your newt to a herp vet. I tried neosporin first but it didn't heal the wound, and the herp vet said that's because some infections are 'gram negative' - he recommended cleaning the wound with diluted iodine and prescribed baytril to apply to the newts back once a day. She healed up very quickly with this treatment.

$45 is a rough estimate as I had two newts to take to the herp vet, they had different problems and the bill came to about $90 in total for the two of them.

Hope this helps and your newt recovers soon!