Sick Eastern Newt? Bloating? Impaction? Help Please!

[yankeesfan101]

Hi, my eastern newt newton(yes haha) seems to have a decreased appetite and is looking a bit pudgier than before with even the appearance of something pointed coming out of side a little bit at times. He has a fine sand bedding and a good filter although for a year or so i had serious problems with cyanobacteria and school kept me from taking care of the tank as well as i should have but i got everything cleaned out over break and he seemed very happy and active and his appetite was good and now this has started. Can anybody help me with a diagnosis and treatment? His cloaca also seems swollen and he's been wriggling underwater in what appeared to be an attempt to defecate but it didnt look like her was successful. Please help!

 

[yankeesfan101]

These are more images of newton the newt from above to get a look at his overall body, as you can see he has a fairly rounded side while the other looks much different and slimmer.

 

[slowfoot]

There could be something wrong with him that I'm not seeing, but to me he looks like a perfectly healthy male in breeding condition. The first pic you have is the pose they do right before shedding - it's normal.

Does he live alone? I only ask because the writhing around and rubbing his cloaca on things sounds like what my males do when they have no females around. It sounds like he might be... um... pleasuring himself

 

[yankeesfan101]

Really? Oh thats great, yea this is the first newt ive ever taken care of(usually stuck to anoles and snakes) and i never read up on breeding because, well, yea he lives alone, do they usually not eat during such times because he hasnt seemed as interested in the blackworms as usual but i had just recently taken a couple of pics of him so maybe he was a bit stressed out. Thats really funny, Thanks!

 

[yankeesfan101]

I'll continue feeding him at regular and see if anything changes and he eats, at least in front of me again. I leave the worms in there for him to chase in the sand after.

 

[slowfoot]

Mine usually do eat a little less, but I would keep an eye on him to make sure he still eats sometimes. His weight looks fine to me now, but you'll want to make sure that if anything is wrong, you catch it before it progresses.

 

[Canecorsonewt]

I agree with erin my Louisiana newt looks just like that . He is breading your newts back legs have black bumps or ridges . His tail probably looks wider or taller too. I think they only do this during breading season. He is probably more restless swimming against the glass. My male eats a lot less to when he breading. He would eat around 4 to 5 bloodworms normally but know when he is breading he might eat 3 mostly only 2. It could last for months. I noticed the bump your talking about by its ribs closer to the middle of the body . I see it in my newts but only after i feed them . I can only assume its food because its not there before they eat and it doesn't seem to bother them. By the way good looking newt looks health to me