Fat vs bloated newt

i was wondering if there are any general guidelines for telling the difference b/w a fat and bloated newt.

i have 2 eastern newts, one of which is a little underweight. because of this, i like keeping live blackworms in the tank at all times, so he can eat whenever. he absolutely refuses to eat from my hands, so its hard to ensure he gets food unless i leave it in the tank for a while. the other was a little thin when i got him 2 months ago, but has been putting on weight steadily since then. at first, i was happy, b/c he definitely needed to gain some weight.

now, he just looks a little on the fat side. his stomach area is getting pudgy, as well as his back legs. his throat and chest area are fatter than they were before, but arent really "puffy" looking in any way. basically, he's gained weight everywhere, especially in the stomach and back legs. he looks nothing like the pictures i've seen of really bloated newts, but i'm a bit worried. how long does it take for the bloating to become obvious? i've had him for 2 months and this has progressed slowly over that time period, which leads me to think he's just fat.

so basically, i cant tell if my newt is eating too much, or if he's becoming bloated. there arent any vets near me that have experience with newts, and i dont really want to bring him in unless i have a good idea that something is, in fact, wrong with him.

Good question, and sorry to say one for which I have no good answer, but...

I have the same problem (?) now with a fat C.pyrrhogaster and wonder if it is merely fat from overeating, whether it is gravid, or whether it is slightly bloated. The last time I ignored a problem (?) like this, assuming I had a fat newt, it turned out to be bloated -- and by the time I noted something seriously amiss and did something about it, it was too late to save it.

I've heard somebody say before (was it Nate?) that there is no such thing as obesity in caudates. I dunno about this as I have some newts that will eat and eat until they really bulge at the waist, and I tend to draw the line when they still continue eating.

I would dispute the obesity comment as I have seen A. opacum that were little rotund black and white sausages with legs. They would eat every day if you let them.

Obesity tends to be contained in the mid-body region and does not include the legs, tail, or normally the throat (although grossly obese caudates can appear slightly swollen here).
Here is a picture of a head on shot of a Pleurodeles waltl that is gravid. Note the appearence of bloat in the animal although the throat region is not affected.

i cant post pics of my newts, but my fat one is nowhere near as fat as the pic of the gravid one you posted. he's about as fat as (or maybe a little bit fatter than) the N. v. louisianensis (showing unusual coloration) at http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Notophthalmus/N_viridescens.shtml . he isnt a louisianensis though. his back legs look a little bit fatter as well, but not really bloated or too fat for his body. i'm just a bit nervous because he hasnt stopped gaining weight since i got him 2 months ago. but then again, he has constant access to food and he's in a much more suitable tank than at the fish store.

do newts become bloated quickly (days), or is it a slow process (weeks/months)?

Depending on the cause of the disruption, bloat can occur quickly or over a long period ot time.

Ed

Hi,
Sorry if i´ll write some wrong, but i´m only a english student.
i has lost 1 pleurodeles, for that i belived that is for bloated.

This flutuation is the same than bloated? It´s the same disease? In my animal the flutuation was very fast. In under than 6-8 hours that animal was dead. And the only thing that i do was change him for other aquarium, so he started to floating (it´s correct?). I tougth that this could help to make faster the development disease.

Check out the bloat article on caudata culture web page as there are some good pictures of bloating there.

Ed