Wild nominate C. ensicauda -- "cleft lip"affliction

[TJ]

Three out of the 10 newts caught from a single rice paddy on one of the Amami Islands had this problem:

Our speculation is that it could be caused either by disease or to damage to the mouth, possibly caused by the shrimp they were found (from stool observation) to consume.

see: http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/37424.html?1118170119

It's hard to imagine a congenital disease because of the difficulty they would have faced in catching and eating prey. But perhaps the use of pesticides could have something to do with it.

I brought the two shown above back with me and both are now being treated with the antibiotic Enrofloxacin (Baytril).


(Message edited by TJ on June 08, 2005)

 

[mark]

Very interesting Tim. Do you think there is any possibility that these defects are inherited? One would think that a newt that can't feed properly wouldn't last long in the wild.

(Message edited by aartse_tuyn on June 07, 2005)

 

[paul]

Thanks for this informations, Tim!
You found them in a rice paddy. So my prognosis is a pesticide problem.

Paul

 

[jameswei]

aside from the newts Tim, if it is a pesticide problem, have you found any other vectors of the rice paddies that were affected?

 

[carlos]

Hi Tim, your newt seems have the mouth infection, do you have any ideas to heal it???

 

[TJ]

Hmmm...sorry but I really have no idea how they got this way. Maybe Ed or Frank could give us some input on this.

Here is the rice paddy they were found in, near the coast on the small island of Uke (much larger Kakeroma Island can be seen faintly in the distance):

I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about it. It's fenced off to prevent wild boar from using it as a mudhole

Carlos, I may take them to my herp vet but for now they're being treated by myself with the antibiotic Enrofloxacin (Baytril) -- five drops in water for about 15 minutes -- once in the morning and and then again in the evening.

 

[TJ]

An added incentive to save the newt in the first pic is that it is a stunning individual, though not representative. Here is another shot:

 

[ralf]

Stunning it is indeed.

 

[TJ]

same duckweed-clogged paddy:

Practically the only place where one could see what kind of life was in the shallow water was here in a corner where some river water poured into the paddy via an irrigation pipe, displacing the duckweed.

 

[TJ]

Ralf, being an expert on wild fish and all, have you seen anything similar with fish exposed to pesticides?

 

[ralf]

Tim, I have seen a lot of deformations in wild fishes, however I am not a fish pathologist or ecotoxicologist. With fishes there generally is a wide range of potential causes for deformations like e.g. viral/bacterial infections, parasitism, toxic substances, mechanical trauma, and even adverse habitat conditions. I expect the same to be true for amphibians.
I recall that a certain kind of leech may cause deformations of the hind legs of toads (Bufo bufo). In fact, I have no idea what happened to these newts. Seems to affect a large part of the population though. One would have to further investigate. How many animals in the population are affected? Are there different stages of deformation? Which animals are affected / sexes / developmental stages? Similar observations in neighboring populations in natural ponds (that might rule out pesticides)?
Why don't we go there for a year and just investigate?

 

[TJ]

Thanks for that insight, Ralf. What a mystery! Well, it'll be interesting to see if they respond to the antibiotics.
I'd love to accompany you there for a lengthy investigation -- but who'd care for my newts and sals in my absence? My wife thinks four days were more than enough!

(Message edited by TJ on June 10, 2005)