Hurt fire bellied newt.

Hey guys, I'm having a problem with one of my chinease fire bellied newts.
Just wondering if you guys had any tips on how I can help the little guy.

Today I noticed that one of his legs looks a bit swollen abd he isn't moving
It with the rest. However he still seems to be getting around alright. As well
Under that leg is like a goopy white/clear fungus? Possibly. Any ideas
On what I can do for him?

Any suggestions would be awesome! I feel so bad for him

Is he in with any other newts? If so, isolate him immediately in case he infects the others

We isolated him into another tank as soon as we noticed the problem. Just wanted some suggestions on how we could help him.

There are several articles that deal with caudate illness and treatment - try starting here: Caudata Culture Articles - Sores

Good luck with the little one!

Heather

Is this a recently purchased animal?
It sounds like the kind of infetion that is most common in recent imports. Those kinds of flesh eating infections are hard to treat, but you can try salt baths and neosporin(without painkillers). This is a very common issue so there are loads of threads about it. You can do a search and find dozens of them dealing with this stuff.

Azhael said:

Is this a recently purchased animal?
It sounds like the kind of infetion that is most common in recent imports. Those kinds of flesh eating infections are hard to treat, but you can try salt baths and neosporin(without painkillers). This is a very common issue so there are loads of threads about it. You can do a search and find dozens of them dealing with this stuff.

Click to expand...

I was going to suggest this but as usual Azhael makes it first.

Yeah, keep him separate until all is well. How long have you had him and what are ammonia/nitrite levels etc?

lost limb

I just got a new chinese fire bellied newt to add with my other so that he had a friend.

A week later, I relized that my new newt's whole hand was gone and there is a white thing sticking out. (maybe the bone??)

he doesnt move as much as he used to and he is always trying to hide from the other newt in the tank. I dont understand though cause the lady at the petstore said that they live together peacfully, as long as they are the same size and species. my newts are the same size and species.

I called a specialist and she said it is possible that they are both males, and when you have two males in the same tank, they are agressive towards each other. so I was gonna switch him out for a female instead. I also seperated the two newts I have now, in case he gets sick too.

Its just that I dont know how to tell if they are females or males.

oh, and the specialist on the phone also said that he might be able to regenerate or grow back his hand. is this possible? I dont know what to do!!

Hi Helena,
this should you determine the sex of your newts: Caudata Culture Articles - Sexing

I would separate the 2 but if you do in fact have Chinese Fire bellies, they tend to be very peaceful, non aggressive newts regardless of sex. Though it's possible the injured animal was bitten by your first newt, its also possible this is from a previous wound and the infection is just now visible to you. I would also recommend to quarantine all newly acquired pet shop animals for at least 30 days to make sure no illness is passed on to your current pets.

And yes, newts are capable of regeneration, but the new limb may not look like the old, and it can take time.

but if the other newt bit him, then why?

I know that they are both chinese, and they are both the same size.

he just sits around in the tank. I really dont want him to die.


I have already seperated the two, but you said that they should be able to live together peacefully, so should I put them back together? if it was from a previous wound and it is infcected, then is that bad? what can I do to help it go away?


and sorry, but i dont know what quarantine is.

And also, at the petstore the tank i got them from was a really interesting tank.

It was big and tall, with shallow water, and sand on the bottom. there was lots of moss and plants and there was a water heater. but the weid thing is is that there were 3 chinese newts and 4 fire bellied toads mixed together in the same tank! I was always told not to do that! they seemed absoulutley fine together though, so i wanst worried. but thats the tank i got this newt from.

it doesnt matter now. he just died.

i am going to go to the petstore and switch him out for a new one, any advice for when I get the new one to prevent this from happening again?

I just dont want my newt to bite his hand again.


the petstore person did say it could have been becuase the newt was generally there long before, and adding another one wasnt good cause it was already someones else's territory.

Chinese firebelly newts aren't territorial.

Helena, honestly speaking, don't get your hopes up on a healthy second newt if you get them from the same pet store. Most pet stores are grossly uneducated about caring for these animals, and end up selling animals that are in poor condition. It sounds like your pet store is one of those, since the employee doesn't seem to know what he's talking about and it sounds like they're being fairly irresponsible. If buying from a pet store, it's best to check out their credentials before getting into it.

If you are willing to take the risk and help an animal out and give it a good home, please do so. But be prepared for more problems. It's entirely possible you'll get a healthy, long-lived animal but don't be surprised if you have to deal with frustration and heartache again.

The death of that animal was not caused by aggression from another, the infection was caused by the terrible conditions the poor thing had to go through. The importation process is so neglectful and stresful that their inmune system just shuts down leaving them unprotected. The pet-shops usually don´t make things any better by offering completely inadequate care and being blatantly ignorant about them.

Personally,i would advice you to stay away from pet-shop animals. They are ALL wild-caught and by continuing to purchase animals from them you are perpetuating the importation business which will condemn plenty more newts to the same terrible fate. Yes, you may get lucky and acquire an animal that happens to be healthy enough, but you may also repeat the experience.

thank you all for your feedback!!


if you dont advise buying newts from petshops becuase of their poor condition, then were else would I buy them?

Breeders. Sadly, this species is not frequently bred in captivity (which is bonkers for such a commonly kept and easy to breed species) and you may not be able to find someone locally. I don´t know enough about the situation in Canada and if shipping from the US is even possible, but if it is, you should be able to find breeders in the US.
I think there is someone from Canada in the forum that breeds them so do some searching and you might get lucky. Be patient, the last thing you want is to loose more animals for being in a rush.

If you succeed in finding someone, you´d be getting healthy animals, already acostumed to captivity and without any repercussions to wild populations. Hundreds of animals die during the importation process and many more shortly after, it´s a market that disturbs many of us deeply. Of course it´s up to you, it´s certainly legal, but i would strongly encourage you to at least look into captive-bred animals first. As i say, it´s not just for you as a consumer, but also for the animals themselves and the wild populations.

You may also want to check out pet stores and their credentials, since some do practice good, humane treatment of their animals and are sourced from good breeders. Always do your research when buying a pet, no matter how big or small it is.

Unfortunately the possibility of a pet-shop carrying CB H.orientalis is so tiny as to be almost inexistent. If a pet-shop has adults you can be 99,9% sure they are imported WC animals. It´s important to remember that even small animals, about 5-6cm long can be adults. It´s pretty sad but it´s not unusual for pet-shops to claim that their newts are CB, when in reality they haven´t got the foggiest idea where they come from and just make it up because it´s what the costumer wants to hear. You´d be surprised of how many people have been told that lie. I know i sound grim and depressing, but it´s the sad reality.
Some online commercial breeders and sellers exist that carry CB animals, although it´s unlikely they´ll have H.orientalis.
Some of those are very good, but the best guarantee you´ll probably get from hobbyists.

I actually frequented a couple of smaller, independent pet shops down in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) that specialized in small animals, such as rodents as well as reptiles and amphibians, as well as a shop that was mostly aquaria but also had some herps. They all had fabulous knowledge, great habitats and even provided basic herp vet services and medications. I have no idea if they're still in business, but it's an example of people who are really passionate and knowledgable about the animals and making sure they go to the right homes. I had gotten my ill-fated goldfish from them, who contracted Ich (potentially from contaminated water) and died when I was snowed in and unable to get medication. Hence why I'm trying to take a proactive approach and keep emergency supplies on hand for pets from now on. But they did their best trying to help me over the phone, and even offered to refund me my money or give me new fish, along with the meds. I was too upset to replace them, so I didn't go through with it. One of the employees was actually willing to drive the treatment over if the weather wasn't so bad!

The research you do can bring up rare jewels, especially when you research through state and local groups. But it is true that finding a good, responsible pet supplier is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Buying potentially ill-fated animals from pet stores may give them a better chance (or at least some happiness), but you're also supporting that pet store and proving that they have a source of demand and will continue to sell those sickly animals. If you consider yourself responsible, you'll only buy from responsible dealers and breeders (or at least take responsibility for those sickly animals and be fine if they die, though you should raise hell). Otherwise you're just part of the problem.

becuase I got my first fire belly from the petstore i always shop at, and he turned out just fine, healthy and everything. the only problem is when I add another newt to the tank with him. then something happens. and the newt that i add with him is from the same store.

i dont know if you guys have "petland" in the us.