Illness/Sickness: Sick or injured newts

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Pawpower

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I started out with 5 Chinese firebellied newts. I am now down to 3. We have one female now and 2 males. The first one to die had a wound on him that was covered with a white, fuzzy substance. This was also the first time I had looked at one really up close and I noticed his sex organ area. I was surprised to see it so enlarged and open. I hadn't noticed anything leading up to this and am new at having newts, so this was a shock. Then about a week later I noticed another male with a similar injury, but part of his back foot was missing and he couldn't use it either. That's when I thought there might be fighting.

I sexed all the remaining newts and discovered only 1 female. Maybe they are fighting over her? I removed her from the tank and kept an eye on the newest injured guy. He didn't make it and died a few days later. The white fuzz also encased the injured area and around the leg/foot area, binding it to his side.

Now, I have another little guy with an ucler on his belly, near the sex organ and he's also more swollen there than before. What is going on? I contacted where I got them from and they haven't been any help.:(
 
I can only help by saying that the white 'fuzz' is a fungus. Many members on here may be able to help you with this as I have no personal experience with fungal infections in my animals.

As for fighting I am very surprised if that were the case. Fire bellied newts are in general fairly peaceful and certainly not to the point of injury. But then again that could just be my experience with my group of newts, but still I've not heard many stories of fighting in fire bellies either.

Are you positive that there are no ways that the animals could become injured in the tank? No filter they could have become stuck on or sharp edges on ornaments or anything else? How long have you had them because the injuries could have been from the store you got them from and they have just gotten worse over time.

Maybe another member can shed some lit here. Pictures of the newts and tanks would be helpful too.
 
Hi. Thank you. I actually have a small family run pet supply store and we got these guys from our supplier. We are just getting into the small animals. The supplier is stumped too and also said these guys should be peacful.

The tank has smooth rocks, a floating "rock" and some plastic plants. I do a partial water change every 3-4 days. No filter because in my research, it says they can get caught in the current.

I am not selling these guys until we have this figured out. They are so adorable and it's breaking my heart to see them sick.
 
Could you add a photo ? It is possible these are wild caught animals, they are rather prone to developing nasty sores.
 
Here is a picture I managed to get. These guys are very slippery! Sorry it's not better quality. :confused:
 

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Aye, that looks like the kind of sores that stressed newts get, especially wild caught ones. Other than keeping the tank clean and the newts well fed then I'm afraid there is nothing you can do. You may be able to give some minor symptomatic treatment but these not a massive amount that will do.
 
If you have the means, seek veterinary treatment. Sometimes these guys will recover with antibiotics and silvadine.
 
Thanks! I checked him out yesterday and he seems to maybe be improving. But is is skinny. Not lethargic at all though. It isn't swollen and looks like it could be healing. I did a partial water change and also added a filter to the water. I made sure the current isn't too strong for them. I had separated the female from them, thinking they were fighting over her, but maybe it's time she move back in?
 
Well, the little guy didn't make it. I'm sad but I imagine he must have been in pain. I have two seemingly healthy ones left. Let's hope they make it. It's a male and femaile, so maybe they will mate?
 
You should worry about getting them healthy before you worry about mating. Since they were in the tank with an individual that had obvious health issues, you might consider some preventative treatment to keep from developing flesh-eating issues.
 
I'm a bit disappointed in you as a pet shop owner :mad:

Surely your duty of care would warrant a veterinary visit for any animal that is sick or suffering! Here in Australia it is the law that retailers are expected to provide adequate care.

I'm totally appalled that you posted to forums instead of seeking professional help :(

I pity the animals that are in you care if you're happy to watch them suffer & die over a week instead of taking them to a vet!

My only hope is that you wake up to yourself & start offering the animals in your care proper treatment & care...
If not my hope is that someone reports you to authorities & that the authorities take it seriously enough to remind you of your legal obligations by fining you! Maybe being hit in the $hip pocket$ will make you do the right thing! :mad:

Disgusted!!!



<3 >o_o< <3
 
I'm sure there are people from these forums that live close to Mexico NY -
that could keep an eye on any poorly treated animals that are in your care!

Given you just joined these forums to ask for advice on newts in your care instead of seeking veterinary treatment & were clever enough to use the actual store name... you have made enough posts admitting you hadn't done the right thing by any of the newts that died in your care (all saved & printed!) that should be enough for the authorities to at least come & talk to you! I may be in Australia but you've provided all the evidence for an official complaint!

No animal deserves to be tortured or die in a retail shop without being offered veterinary care!

If you don't even know the basics about a species - what right do you have to sell them to people without adequate care guides & ongoing support?

Please start doing the right thing by animals in your care :mad: or just stick to selling dry dog food & squeaky toys!



<3 >o_o< <3
 
Sorry, not trying to be on either side of the argument here but just sitting on the fence and giving all facts, because I do think you have over-reacted a little nikki71.

I would like to point out that most people on this forum come here before seeking veterinary advise and therefore he has only done what the rest of us do. If he possesses a pet shop license then he does have a duty of care, but (unfortunately?) the licensing laws do not stipulate veterinary treatment, just 'appropriate' treatment immediately. You could say that he has sought that treatment here on the forum which you could argue probably has more knowledge on treatment of sick newts than most vets in the country. (I mean no disrespect to vets here, but many can be out of their depth with exotic species). I am not saying that it is right or wrong, and perhaps he should have sought help after the first death, but he has sought help... More than some pet shops do!

As far as I have seen his accommodation is also adequate and he has researched them. Therefore again his care regime has been appropriate. I see no reason at the moment to report him to any authority.
 
jane1187 said:
Sorry, not trying to be on either side of the argument here but just sitting on the fence and giving all facts, because I do think you have over-reacted a little nikki71.

I would like to point out that most people on this forum come here before seeking veterinary advise and therefore he has only done what the rest of us do. If he possesses a pet shop license then he does have a duty of care, but (unfortunately?) the licensing laws do not stipulate veterinary treatment, just 'appropriate' treatment immediately. You could say that he has sought that treatment here on the forum which you could argue probably has more knowledge on treatment of sick newts than most vets in the country. (I mean no disrespect to vets here, but many can be out of their depth with exotic species). I am not saying that it is right or wrong, and perhaps he should have sought help after the first death, but he has sought help... More than some pet shops do!

As far as I have seen his accommodation is also adequate and he has researched them. Therefore again his care regime has been appropriate. I see no reason at the moment to report him to any authority.
Click to expand...

"Perhaps he should've sought help after the first death"
- definitely should have!
But didn't really!

As much as I love these forums they should not be considered professional advise & for a supposedly reputable pet shop to not seek an actual professional veterinary opinion is not meeting the duty of care.

Not sure where you saw the housing conditions for these newts - I've not seen evidence enough to warrant defending their appropriate care.

Just because other pet shops are worse than this one does not therefore make this a good pet shop - I fail to see the way that rationale works. His care regime is failing - he has sought help from an Internet forum instead of a vet.. He's lost newts admitting they probably suffered painful deaths :mad: & then has the audacity to mention breeding the last two survivors and what potentially could be unwell animals!

Yeah so that sounds like the sort of caring pet shop I'd want to be supporting..... NOT!!! :mad:

Personally I don't think I'm overreacting - I get annoyed when so many people seem to accept under reacting - are people so accepting of things not being done properly that they turn their heads & do nothing to change it? If you haven't already guessed, I'm not one to bite my tongue or sit on my hands when it comes to anyone being mistreated doesn't matter to me if its human or animal - some people need another to stand up for them or speak for them occasionally & I'm happy to do it.



<3 >o_o< <3
 
Look as I said I was more trying to keep the peace here, and I wasn't necessarily defending the original poster, I was just trying to be objective and unemotional, which is what advise-givers should be (and pawpower did write some information about his set-up which from his limited description was adequate so far). We have to make decisions based on all the facts. I think there's a time and a place for openly criticising people and threatening to report them to the authorities, and I don't think it's very helpful to do it here on the forums where people are tyring to seek help. The forums are for people to seek advise, swap ideas and practices, etc, and I think that people having a go at other people over the forums, especially with sarcasm and angry smilies, may put off some worried new owners from posting over fear they may be ridiculed for doing the wrong thing (which lets be honest a lot of us did in our early days).

Back to pawpower... keep us updated about the remaining newts that you have. Keep them clean, with low stress levels (don't keep moving them and checking them all the time) and you should hopefully see an improvement in their behaviour and health.
 
I'm sure to some it may look like I wasn't seeking care for the newts, but unfortunately there are no vets in our area that treat caudata's. It is a rural area and the closest vet we know of that may even be able to help is 50 miles away. Not all of New York State is what you see on television. So please don't make the assumption it's a booming metropolis here. We are not selling these until we understand them more and are sure they are fine. I am not purposely breeding them either. I was just curious about how easily that could happen.

The first place I went for help was the supplier I ordered them from, as soon as I noticed we might have a problem. They were stumped, and never heard of this problem before. The woman we deal with there was researching it and while I was waiting for a reply, I decided to ask you all for advice. If I had these newts as pets in my home, the same thing could have happened and I would again be asking for advice.

The two that are left, seem happy and healthy now. I wonder if it was stress from shipping. I guess i will never know. I only disturb them to replace water and add food. They are very enjoyable to watch and hope all continues to go well. I appreciate the advice I have received from everyone and am sorry anyone was offended or misunderstood my intentions.
 
I don't really consider 50miles (80km) to be that huge a distance..

Might be that I'm from Australia & used to the long distances we drive here so having to drive that far isn't an issue. Personally I drive that distance to see a breed specific vet & also a chiropractor that treats my dogs.

I'm still concerned that as a retail pet shop owner, you have responsibilities to those in your care & I don't feel you did everything possible to get help for those who suffered & died.

It's disappointing reading your post - because on these forums we constantly read posts about the sick & dying animals purchased in good faith from pet shops, who are sold with really bad care information, incorrect foods & lethal substrates. We have members desperately trying to reeducate the retailers so that they give correct information with every animal purchased, but as you can imagine that is a slow process & sometimes like beating heads against a wall with the arrogant attitude from some shops who already "know it all"! - It would be great if retailers would research appropriate care for each species in their care, educate all staff in the shop so they also understand care so they can advice customers with accurate information & produce proper care sheets to give to customers.. But sadly, these types of stores are very rare.

I'd prefer pet shops not be allowed to sell any live animals at all - (a law that is taking effect in Australia state by state) - after all pet shops support & perpetuate puppy & kitten mills & backyard breeders, neither of which are reknowned for breeding healthy animals. No reputable breeder would ever sell to a pet shop for good reason.

I hope the surviving two continue to show no signs of any illness, with good healthy long lives ahead for them both.



<3 >o_o< <3
 
Nikki, this type of die-off is unfortunately quite common in newly imported FBN's. Die offs like this are not because of a lack of care, and in fact, many still die after receiving veterinary care.

Berating those who seek help is not conducive to the spirit of the forum. Threatening them with legal action is absurd.

Frankly, if more pet shops behaved in a manner such as this, we would all be better off. At least OP is seeking information, knowledge, assistance, rather than writing it off as a loss and ordering more. We need MORE pet shop owners like Pawpower, not less.
 
Again, we weren't selling these yet until we understood them more. We also do not promote puppy/kitten mills and don't sell any other animals except fish and some reptiles. When people come in looking for other animals, we refer to reputable breeders and more often, animal shelters. And so far, so good with the two left. We have a staff of 3, and one is actually considering taking them home. We strongly encourage all our staff to read up on species and they will honestly tell you if they don't know the answer to a customers question but always recommend a vet for proper advice. This is the first time we have had a health issue with any of the animals in our store.
 
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