Question: Food coming out of gill area...

[Jasper]

I recently got a two year old subadult Cynops ensicauda popei that seems to have a problem. It looks as if there are two tears at where gills would be(if she was a larvae), and frozen blood worms can protrude or even come out of the openings. Attached is a picture of a blood worm coming out of one of the holes in the neck, and above the worm it looks as if the skin was torn. Another picture is a shot of one of the holes.

This particular one also happens to be the smallest of the group, but is eagerly feeding and otherwise acting normally. Does anyone know what that is? Thanks in advance.

[Rodrigo]

Your animal is a partial neotene. It may be facultative neoteny because of specific favorable conditions or it may be a genetic glitch that impides full development. Either way, it should be fine as this kind of thing is not unique. I have two I.a.apuanus juveniles that have also retained the postmandibular opening and don´t seem to be going to develop any time soon.

[Jasper]

Thanks. I thought that may be the case, but I didn't know that was even possible. The fact that this species lives terrestrially as juvies and because the opening didn't look smooth made me fear it may be something else.

Since conditions were far from ideal aquatically for a time, it is most probably a genetic defect then. I have another female with what appears to be a similar gill area, but no food comes out. Perhaps it closes at sexual maturity, and is a genetic difference in this particular line.