Illness/Sickness: Paddletail with bump on stomach

[Babidi]

Hi all.

I posted in the vein of my newt's mildly swollen stomach before, and the diagnosis on the forum wasn't entirely certain. This was a couple of months back. Whatever it is, it's still there, and ever since I changed him to a bare-bottom tank out of concern that he may have swallowed a piece of gravel, he's entirely changed his behaviour and become somewhat lethargic and even, once in a while, disinterested in his food. He was normally very energetic, gluttonous, and eager to find out what every moving thing was, but now, he sits outside of shelter and rarely moves.

He still eats when the food is offered directly to him, but will not hunt the food down himself anymore. In addition, his front paws have turned a slightly milky colour, where the rest of his body has remained its regular dark brown. The slight swell in his stomach remains and I'm still unclear as to what it is; cancer? Swallowed gravel? Something else?

Does anyone have any ideas what these symptoms could be of, and if so, how to fix them?

 

[dipsydoodle]

IF he has gotten worse I'd take him to a vet; if it is swallowed gravel then it won't improve on it's own.

 

[Babidi]

On second thought, maybe he's just being lazy. He'll eat if I bring the food right to his mouth and patiently wait for him to swallow it. On the other hand, he refuses to hunt down his food anymore (ie. bloodworms that need to be found around his tank).

He's still a bit sluggish, though.

 

[misslyss]

How much water are you keeping him in? Without substrate or a heavily planted tank he could be having a hard time getting around. A layer of sand should help, and its easy to keep clean. Just keep it under an inch thick.

Also try feeding him other food options, he could be bored with the same thing day after day.. Earthworms are a great choice.

If you had gravel in his set up before that very well could be what your seeing in his stomach. Could you post a picture?

 

[Babidi]

These were pictures from when he was still in his gravel setup:

His tank is about half-full of water and now has large gravel rather than bare-bottom, which he doesn't seem to have problems getting around in. It seems to be part of the reason why he's started to come around again, though he still isn't quite the same.

I offered him pieces of chopped nightcrawler earlier, which he didn't seem to fancy very much. He ate two chunks, then hid in his log and refused to come out for anymore. My firebelly, on the other hand, didn't even want to try one piece. :/

In addition, the paddletail also is shedding quite often lately, sometimes two or three times a week.

 

[misslyss]

If its been there for awhile I'd say its a piece of gravel, but hey I'm no vet so maybe you should get him checked out. My Tigers over eat and get strange lumps in weird places sometimes, but it never lasts and eventually goes away. Sorry, wish I could help more!

 

[shmifty5]

to me that looks like a piece of gravel, as long as he isn't stressed out or in some way is showing signs of distress please get him to the vet, until then I don't see why he can't just be left alone, he may pass the gravel or he might not, the important thing is the animals health and general well being.

don't stress out too much until it becomes a problem for the newt, then it is time to worry out the wahzoo.

I noticed that you said his front paws were milkiy, this is not a good sign, milky or white coloring tends to indicate a fungal infection, if you notice any deterioration to his feet/toes seek immediate help from a vet or a very knowledgable member.

other than that I don't feel that your animal is in too much pain or suffering, he looks mild mannered and he lacks the classic bloating of impaction, now I'm not a vet nor a doctor so please take any of my advice with a grain of salt and if an expert or a more knowledgeable member contradicts me plz don't try and trump them with my advice (this will only end badly...lol).

 

[Babidi]

He has been seeming somewhat stressed out lately, what with shedding so often and just the way he's acting, but I thought that might've been because of the tank setting changes lately, coupled with the fact that I sometimes have to nag him into eating.

I'm wishing I'd just left him alone and never switched him to a bare-bottom tank to begin with, because that was the point when his behaviour began to drastically change. He used to be very friendly and followed people around who walked in front of his tank, as well as made a glutton of himself at feeding time. Now, he's almost the complete opposite. This is part of what makes me feel like some of his condition may just be due to stress, but I've been leaving him alone for the most part other than hand-feedings, so I'm not sure how else I could help him be less stressed.

 

[Babidi]

My paddletail continues to shed frequently, and never quite gets all of the skin off of his front paws. He no longer eats his skin, instead leaving it hanging on the artificial plants in his setup. If I try to help him pull the skin off his front paws, it seems to stress him out and bother him enough for him to shed again a couple of days later.

I know skin that doesn't shed in one complete piece means illness, and I know that him not eating the skin likely does too. But what sort of illness, and how can it be helped? Or is this just another symptom of stress?

 

[Babidi]

The shedding has slowed since my last post, so I think it was stress. I gave him less light and less handling and he seems to be getting better, as he now eagerly eats out of my hand and is a lot more attentive at the front of his tank most of the time.

However, I checked on him today to find him flipped upside-down at the bottom of his tank. I turned him over and helped him back up, at which point he quickly swam away and hid under his filter. What's up with this weird behaviour?

 

[Babidi]

The good news: The milky colouring has gone and his shedding has remained at a less frequent pace.

The bad news: The lump is still there and he seems to have an awkward time balancing himself lately, which I think may have been why he fell over a week back. He doesn't hide himself, instead staying mostly in one spot near the front of his tank, where he can be hand-fed easily.