HELP...newt with mouth rot !

I purchased a paddletail newt and noticed later that his mouth looked a little odd. He has always eaten well but I noticed that his bottom jaw is rotting away. It looks like cartilage is showing. I took him out and put him in dirt quarantine but I don't know what to do from here.
I don't know how long he has to stay in potting soil or what else I can do for him. I wiped the area with hydrogin peroxide and have read that I can use neosporin but am afraid since its on his mouth that he may injest it and die. I have novalsan on hand would that work, or can anyone make any suggestions please!

Try to gwet hold of Baytril from a vet. This is an effective bacterial killer for amphibians. If the infection is fungal, get hold of Nystan, again from the vet. You can apply the two together. As pachytriton is a very aquatic genus, you may induce other problems related to stress or skin from the potting soil. I am no expert on this, but if you keep him in shallow water with a hiding place, and change the water frequently, he should do better...see what others think. If you keep him in the water, mix the above chemicals with Aloe Vera gell. This adheres the chemicals to the infected area and prevents them from being washed off immediately. If you can keep him eating, so much the better, especially high protein foods. Remove waste asap from water/potting soil.
Good luck. I think that Ed Kowalski is the most qualified in this area, so see what he suggests.
Chris

Hi Tammi,
I don't know about qualified but I probably would not keep pachytriton terrestrial regardless of the reason.
I also would not use aloe vera compounds in the water as this increases the dissolved organic compounds that can be microbially decomposed increasing the animal's exposure to ammonia and nitrite.
What is known as mouth rot in newts is typically not the mouth rot seen in reptiles (which is also known as infectious stomatitius). More typically, in newts, these are lesions with necrotic tissue (and occasionally broken bones) that may be infected with a combination of organisms (bacterial, fungal and protozoal) at the same time.
Typically, a vet does need to make a slide from the site to determine if there are fungal hyphae present as well as to look for protozoal infections.
While Baytril (enrofloxin) is very effective in treating infections in newts, any necrotic tissue will probably need to be removed from the site which will require a vet to evualuate and clean the wound.
Another item to keep in mind that if you are using Baytril, this is hard on the kidneys so keeping the newt "dry docked" will just increase the stress on the newt and will require supplemental fluids injected into the newt to make sure they isn't any kidney damage.

Just some comments,
Ed

Ed
as long as the fwater is filtered, not too much is udsed and there are enough water changes, the aloe vera gell works well. I used it on paramesotriton (mixed with those chemicals I mentioned) with a large infected wound on the back and it cured it in about a week. The animal started eating in 3 days after a starvation of nearly 2 months.I didn't know the facts aboout Baytril and the kidneys, but as long as the course is not too long and not too much is used - so there is not a high concentration in the water, I think that it works wel...
Chris

Hi Chris,
Sufficent filtration will just remove the aloe vera gel preventing it from acting in the manner for it is supposed to act, as will water changes (diluting/removing). Additionally by increasing the dissolved organic compound levels you increase the demand for oxygen by the bacteria functioning in the filter.
Aloe vera acts as a balm on injuries (as demonstrated by the historical use in humans for minor burns). While there is some evidence for antimicrobial activity, the claims for this are often very broad and vague. If it does have very broad antimicrobial activity then putting it into your aquarium may disrupt your biological filter and cause the tank to crash causing the levels of ammonia and nitrite increase.
The claims for using it with fish arose out of its mucilagenous properties and the idea that it could be used to replace the slime layer in fish that has been lost due to stress and/or capture and transport. For an amphibian that uses its skin for a significant amount of its respiration, increasing the density of the slime layer may hamper respiration placing more stress on the animal...

I suspect that the use of aloe vera and your newts response was more likely coincidental (this is one of the problems with anecdotal evidence) but the ability for it to be detrimental still outweighs the potential benefits.

Baytril needs to be used very carefully or it may injure or kill the animal being treated.

Ed

Just a point, which may come out sounding dumb. Isn't aloe the plant and the gel considered poisonous. I know it's ok for humans to use to help heal, but if you have animals that chew plants they say to not have an aloe vera where the animal can get it. I would think that means that aloe could be harmful to a newt or any amphibian. Just wondering.