Illness/Sickness: Picture: White Bump On Paramesotriton Chinensis. Identify?

[VolatileXIII]

Hey all,

I've made a post a few days ago that seems dead. I was finally able to get pictures up so I thought I'd post one here of my poor Chinensis. She seems fine, the "infection" doesn't affect mobility, but I think she may be neglecting food. Any help?

 

[achiinto]

Are you able to remove that bump? Is it soft? or Hard? What have you been feeding it? What do you think have caused this issue? Is it a newly acquired animal to your collection? What is the temperature you are keeping it?

 

[VolatileXIII]

Are you able to remove that bump? Is it soft? or Hard? What have you been feeding it? What do you think have caused this issue? Is it a newly acquired animal to your collection? What is the temperature you are keeping it?

Can't remove it, haven't really attempted it either though. I've poked and prodded at it a couple of times, trying to figure out what it could be. She shows no discomfort or aggressiveness towards me when doing so.

I purchased them both a few months back and they seemed fine until now. The one I assume is male is doing great. The other seems to be skinnier, spends more time on land or hidden away. I'm new to Amphibians so these are my first. I've rescued snakes and reptiles in the past so my main experience is with those.

Before purchasing these guys, I did most research of Cynops Orientalis and was intending on purchasing a pair for me and the mrs. When I bought them, I was told they were Paddletails. Up until finding Caudata.org, I believed I had Pachytritons. I set up a tank to fit the needs of Orientalis originally, then adapted it for Paddletails only to find out I have Chinensis. From what I've read, they require highly aquatic set-ups which is fine, because that's what I have. A 45 Gallon tank with plenty of hides and water for both. Current is also taken care of.

I've heard of them being aggressive during feeding, so I seperate them and feed them outside of the main tank. Usually in a tupperware to avoid contamination of the water.

Right now, the sick "female" is in a quarantine tank. No filter, cooler water and regular water changes. She's been in there for a few days and seems to be fine. Her eating habits seem less motivated but her mobility is fine. It doesn't seem to affect her swimming, although when I awake, she is usually out of the water on a rock. I always worry and assume worst case scenario until I remove the lid and stir up the water with a turkey baster. She wakes up and dives back in for underwater acrobatics. Chasing my finger back and forth.

I'm unsure of salt baths, and I don't want to resort to something if it's not the cure.

I don't know what to do!

 

[Jennewt]

I've never seen anything like that. If the "blob" isn't changing over time, I would say don't worry about it too much right now. Getting her to eat is top priority.

 

[VolatileXIII]

I've never seen anything like that. If the "blob" isn't changing over time, I would say don't worry about it too much right now. Getting her to eat is top priority.

The "blob" is actually gone now, but in it's place there is what looks like a healing wound. The rock-piles in the tank are non-ebrasive and if they were in any way; their unsersides would have been far more likely to be wounded than the warty top. No?

I took a picture, I'll post it as soon as I get home. If I can take a guess, I think her tankmate may be the culprit.

What I plan on doing is keeping her in the quarantine tank with 1/2 water changes every other day until it heals. Would a salt bath help with the healing process or put her in discomfort. The wound still looks somewhat exposed so judging on my opinion, I wouldn't want to put salt on my own open wound. Don't want to hurt her in any way.

After she's healed I'm simply going to remove the other newt from the main tank, add in another 10 or so larger rocks and divide the tank with the current from the powerhead. Put hides on either side of the tank with the filter in the middle and then re-add them.

I left a few brine shrimp pellets in her tank before I left this morning, hopefully they'll be gone when I get back. I'm going to grab bloodworms & a maybe a few pinhead crickets for treats.

 

[VolatileXIII]

I think what I'm seeing is the healing wound after the infection cleared up. The pictures make it look alot worse than it does with human eyes.

Are Chinensis capable of taking chunks out of eachother? Nothing in the tank is sharp or rough enough to do this.

She's eating, but somewhat hesitantly. Nice little bloodworm buffett.

Any idea's?

 

[achiinto]

I have three Fuzong Warty Newts in an enclosure and they never hurt each other such degree. Although I know that Warty Newt species have different degree of aggressiveness toward different gender combination, I can be certain what caused this wound. It might also be a small cut leading to infection and then the infection started eating its' flesh. Now the infection cleared out, it might not get worsen. But this is based on the assumption that this is an infection. I have never see this in any of my newts/salamanders. And I have not seen anything like this on the forum yet. Someone who kept a Chinensis before might be able to add to this.

I think you should keep the water cool and clean. I think leaving brine shrimp pellet behind to cloud the water is a bad idea. You should try live food. I found that most ill newts will take live earthworm cut to edible size. Earthworm should be the best food for it, and I wouldn't even try bloodworm or cricket. Do 100% water change everyday. Don't do 50%, as the remaining 50% might gradually become very dirty and you don't have a bacteria culture to rely on in a quarantined tank (unless you have a full setup here). I found that the best way is to keep a bucket of water ready all the time. Treat the water and set it aside for a while. And change 100% water to the quarantine tank from that bucket. This is to ensure the water temperature is the same, to avoid stressing the animal. Refill the bucket as needed.

I hope your newts will recover soon. Keep us posted.

 

[merk199]

I agree with Ian skip the brine. Cut earthworms, and live blackworms are winners with my guys. I only add bloodworms occasionally as a treat.