sick emperor newts!!!

velasco13000 · Apr 2, 2009

So i have a pair of emperor newts..a amle and a female and they are always eating great but they didnt have their water bowl with water for 2 days and today when i was feeding them i noticed that they both looked diffrent. The female looked like if she was really fat. Like bloated. She had never been like that before. She still eats crickets though. When i was trying to see if she was bloated i put her in water and it seemed like she peed the water out or im not sure because she lost some of the puffiness. At first she looked like she was inflated but then afterwards she looked a bit more normal and not so bad. The guy looks weird also before his eyes were always wide open and bright and now they look a little bit diffrent like if he cant keep them wide open. He also refused to eat. about the habitat: i have dirt and moss and i noticed that there were alot of fruitflies in the tank and when i moved the dirt at the bottom there was a bunch of fungus under the dirt all the way at the bottom. any ideas? Maybe they are getting ready to breed or are they getting sick?

Jennewt · Apr 3, 2009

It's not typical to find fungus under dirt; that doesn't sound like anything I've ever seen, so I'm really stumped. I would suggest cleaning out the whole habitat and setting it up with materials you are sure about being OK.

The flies in the tank are probably fungus gnats. There is no real cure for them, but they are fairly harmless.

Is there any chance you could post photos of the problems? It's really impossible to say if the female is fat, gravid, or bloated without seeing a photo.

velasco13000 · Apr 3, 2009

I was just looking at them and i changed the habitat and the male looks really weak!!! i was grabbing him and it looks like his back legs dont want to move that much his cloaca looks weird also...but he looks like hes dying!!! help!!! im gona post some pictures!!!

velasco13000 · Apr 3, 2009

Jennewt · Apr 3, 2009

Yeah, the male looks bad. It's possible he swallowed something or has an infection. I would move him to a plastic tub setup with damp paper towels, mainly in order to isolate him from the other newt.

The female is either insanely gravid or she's bloated. Her fatness looks "beyond normal" to me, so I think you are right to suspect bloat, but I can't say for sure.

However you have been keeping them - their habitat, food, temperature, moisture, cleanliness, something - hasn't been right. If their substrate was dry during the 2 days that their water bowl went dry, that could have been enough to make them sick. Sorry.

velasco13000 · Apr 3, 2009

Hmm what can I do for my newts?? Is there a way to check 100 percent if the female is sick?? Cud she is still eating and she looks very active. I put her in water and she was able to remain at the bottom for a while. Anything I can do for the male?? Maybe force feed him?? And does his cloaca seem normal?? Any tips on how to save these guys??

velasco13000 · Apr 4, 2009

I just checked the tank and found the male dead. I knew he was heading that way because he was looking really weak.

now i want to focuse my attention on the female.

jbherpin · Apr 4, 2009

She maybe plumpling up before a sheading of skin. My female does this every so often. Although the death of your male isn't a good sign.I would reset the tank with all clean furniture, and new moss to prevent a latter death from a lingering bacteria.

velasco13000 · Apr 4, 2009

I did that yesterday...I threw away all of the dirt and moss and put new everything and the log i claned really good too. She is very active and she is eating well and she looks like shes more plumped up toward the back and not the fron which might mean that she is gravid?? Any ideas to confirm this???

jbherpin · Apr 4, 2009

she should be misted twice a day to offer ideal shedding conditions. If she is gravid, than you'll need to research how and where they deposit egg clutches, and facilitate those needs.

-jbherpin-

velasco13000 · Apr 5, 2009

i have a water bowl for her and she seems to be spending alot of time like half submerged in the water....any ideas if a water bowl will be fine for her to lay her eggs??? or should i provide a better habitat?

Jennewt · Apr 5, 2009

A water bowl would be OK, though not ideal. A better habitat would certainly be better, but it may take you some time to set it up.

Be sure it is easy for her to get in/out of the bowl. Some vegetation around the water's edge might be good. However, female caudates will often resorb eggs rather than to lay infertile ones. Since the male has probably been in declining health in recent weeks, I doubt that there's been any sperm transfer recently.

velasco13000 · Apr 11, 2009

Ok well the good thing is that she doesn't have bloat becUse she is eating well and she is back to normal size. She seems very active also maybe she is searching for the male because they have been together since day one. Do you guys think inshould buy her a another male partner??

Jake · Apr 11, 2009

velasco13000 said:
Do you guys think inshould buy her a another male partner??

No. Newts aren't social creatures, so being alone really isn't a problem.

Jennewt · Apr 11, 2009

Perhaps you should also ask what you can do to improve their care overall. How long did you have them prior to the male's problems starting? What kind of soil are you using? I'd recommend getting a really excellent setup and care routine going, then thinking about getting her a mate.

jbherpin · Apr 12, 2009

Glad to hear the bloat concerns have passed, and I wish you the best of luck!

-jbherpin-

velasco13000 · Apr 12, 2009

Hey thank you all for your help. I had them for quite dome time maybe like 6 or 7 months and they were doing fine. I'm usingbthe bedabeast compact soil the one that comes like compressed and you have to put it in water and I'm using the green moss like in the picture that I put up a while ago. The tank isn't too big it's the one in the picture it's maybe a 5 gallon tank ira bit bigger and it has a water bowl I can try to post up more pictures ofvthe habitat so you guys can give me suggestions. What's the minimum size that her tank should be??

sick emperor newts!!!

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