White spots and abrasion..??

Hi,

I just registered to this site after venturing to it for some great resources, finally I decided to go ahead and join do to a bit of help I may need with my newt. It is a blue tail fir belly, it is a few inches long and has been healthy for over a year till now. I keep him in a ten gallon palludarium style cage with everything natural. He eats well, I feed him every day, sometimes a bit of blood worms sometimes some pellets and some times some rinsed off frozen brine.

He is always a great pet for just a newt and recently I noticed a few things wrong with him. He has just shed the other day so this might help rule the abrasion out as being fungus but I am still scared thats what it might be. Seeing on how it was a nice clean shed I think he might have just scraped himself against something but any info on how to treat either case would be nice.

Also, he has these lice like spots on him but they don't seem to be moving and they seem to all be kinda funny shaped in different ways from each other. Any clue?

If anyone wants some pics to help diagnose I am charging batteries for my digital camera as I type and will get them up right away but I think its kinda hard seeing on how its pretty elaborate and I don't want to disturb anything but in all means I will be removing him anyway so I can place him in a hospital tank I have just set up and am letting settle for a night or two.

You should be careful using the phrase "just a newt" on this forum.:lol: Some of us are total newt nuts.

Pictures would help a lot. Watch the abrasion for any signs of infection (redness or white fuzz).

I meant that with as much sarcasm as I could.:lol:

Ok, I have tried to take pics but I just cant get any good ones. Of course we all have no way of just saying hey stand still. Any tips? I have tried to put him in a dish and take the pics but you still cant see the abrasion that great unless hes under water and if I use a bit of water in the dish the flash reflects way to much.


The spots seem to be gone but if it is some kind of lice like creatures how do I treat my water for them?

Are the "lice-like" spots always in the same locations, or do they move around? If they are always in the same place, this would suggest that they are some sort of discoloration, or maybe mole-like growths. Lice are pretty rare.

If your camera has a "macro" function, you should be able to take close-ups, but it's not easy. To avoid the flash problem, either shoot at an angle to the glass (not straight-on), or supply a bright light (like with a lamp) and shoot without flash. It helps to place the animal in some sort of small, clear container.

Jennewt said:

Are the "lice-like" spots always in the same locations, or do they move around? If they are always in the same place, this would suggest that they are some sort of discoloration, or maybe mole-like growths. Lice are pretty rare.

If your camera has a "macro" function, you should be able to take close-ups, but it's not easy. To avoid the flash problem, either shoot at an angle to the glass (not straight-on), or supply a bright light (like with a lamp) and shoot without flash. It helps to place the animal in some sort of small, clear container.

Click to expand...

Thanks,

The lice like things are not always in the same spot so I imagine they are some kind of BUG, as to how they got there I have not a clue. I have had such a clean and nice set up for so long with out any problems. I also have some white clouds that are A ok. Any way, it seems to be a mite of some sort or much like fish lice and ick, I would say fish lice more than ick what would be the best way to treat this? I am very familiar with Reef Aquariums and other such but would something coper free like kick ick help me if I treat in a hospital tank? I now have him in a 20L with nothing but a filter and a floating dock for him to climb out if necessary.

As far as the pics I'm still trying, I had tried all this but I thank you for advice.

Here is the best I could do so far before I put him in a bare sick tank. Later today I will try it again in a deli cup. That was a pain last time...:lol:lol. If you look its right under the nape of his neck. As for the white spots they seem to be kinda gone but I noticed one on his face near his lip still.

Water quality seems fine, 0-nitrate,0-nitrite ( its is always both this low and going on 1 and 1 1/2 years ), Hardness was 75-ppm-soft??? Is that ideal? Alkalinity was 40-ppm-low, and the Ph. was 6.5. In fact I never had a spike in anything ever once even during the tanks cycling era.

I really need help treating this guy, he hasn't been the same as far as his attitude. He hasn't been coming up to the glass and all for me and just sits low against the bottom lately with his head bent up like its bothering him, kinda looks like its defensive but I have no other animals that would cause any harm and I watch this tank all day long. And he has been coming out of the water lately but not all the way out, just like he is in this pic.