Whitish Stuff on Paddletail's Face

[Scorpion]

My paddletail I just bought yesterday has white stuff on his face (and a bit between his shoulders), and I was thinking it could be skin he is shedding or fungus. Should I be worried??

 

[Molch]

My paddletail I just bought yesterday has white stuff on his face (and a bit between his shoulders), and I was thinking it could be skin he is shedding or fungus. Should I be worried??

shed skin shouldn't look whitish - it does sound like it may be fungus. Can you take a pic and post it?

 

[tmarmoratus]

If this is indeed a health problem with the paddletail, then you really need to question the practices of the pet store from which you've purchased these newts (the paddletail and the CFB's)

And for what it's worth, I highly doubt the distributor, from which this petstore obtains their newts, breeds their own stock.

 

[Scorpion]

Yeah, I understand. I'm not going to buy newts from the pet store anymore. I saw a post in the for sale forum about someone selling Cynops orientalis, and I PMed them. But where else other than the pet store would I be able to find paddletails?

Will get a picture soon as possible. I warn you, though, that it probably won't be very good quality.

EDIT: Picture:

Horrible quality, I know. But is it good enough to be able to tell what's wrong?

 

[AngieD]

This picture won't load on my computer.

As for the whitish stuff on the face, I have never seen that on my 2, and I've had them for a good few months now.

 

[Scorpion]

Is this better? I think I attached it to my post this time.

EDIT: Wish I had an actual camera that could take better pictures, or anything that takes better pictures.

 

[Jennewt]

I can see the photo now, but not with enough detail to see the whitish stuff. The animal is very thin though.

You can't get a paddletail anywhere except as wild-caught from a pet shop or online retailer. But there are lots of other great species that are available captive bred.

 

[Scorpion]

Okay. Guess I won't be getting anymore paddletails (at least anytime soon). Well, how about this? Can someone show me some pictures of newts with fungus, and then I can tell whether or not that's what my newt has?

 

[Scorpion]

If it is mold (which it probably is), what am I going to do about it?

 

[tmarmoratus]

If you do insist on paddletails in the future, find a different vendor - it's obvious from the picture that either the petstore or it's distributor are displaying classic malpractice in newt care. Frankly, I think there are far more interesting species in the market that are readily captive bred, but that's my opinion.

The best advice I can offer you with the paddletail is to give it good, clean and cold water- that 53pgh filter you purchased would do good in a tank for a paddletail. If the white growth is bacterial or fungal, take the animal to the vet. They will likely prescribe it silvadene. Alternatively, you can try the "fridge treatment". Putting your paddletail in a breathable container with water in a fridge will lower the temperatures enough to slow any bacterial or fungal growth down, while boosting your animals immune system so that it can fight off the infection. At least that's the theory (and the theory seems sound) There's an article in Caudata Culture about this, but I'm far too busy to pull it up at the moment.

In any case, good luck. If you're truly passionate about this hobby, then I and many others on here are more than willing to help. We've all gone through much of what you've gone through (and some of us are old enough that the internet wasn't as much of a help as it is today, and for others [not me ], the internet didn't even exist!) Good luck.

 

[Scorpion]

Thank you!