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Sick FBN? Tail infection help?

Larry85

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Hi all,

I've had 3 FBNs for about 2 months. Two of them are great (Spartacus & Crixus), really energetic and feeding really well however, one of them (Claudius) has always been much quieter and lately developed what looks like a white jelly/slime on the base of its tail (see photos).

It appetite has never been as big as the others and I have a feeling it may be blind or partially sighted as it often jumps if I dangle worms near to its mouth. More and more it's out of the water on the turtle dock.

I took it out earlier and put it in a separate tank in case it's infectious.

Is anyone familiar with this? any advice?

Thanks,
 

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AngieD

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I have only seen this once, on one I bought from a shop, the slime slowly grew until the whole tail was covered in it. I have no idea how harmful it could be, whether it goes away with time, or how to treat it, as the little guy died from a flesh-eating disease soon after.
I hope Claudius manages to pull through
 

kellsnotokay52

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There is stuff you can buy at the petstore, just put the directed amount in the tank. I'm not sure if it works for what your newt has but it's always worth a shot. It's called melafix made by API. It's treats bacterial infections, open sores, tail rot, eye cloud, pop eye, body slime and mouth fungus. I'd give it a try. It's all natural so it won't disturb your other healthy newts.


Cute names by the way!! :)


Good luck
 

Kaysie

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You should never treat in the tank. You'll destroy your beneficial bacteria.

Melafix can be toxic to amphibians, so if you're going to use it, use a half-dose.

Just because something is 'all natural' doesn't mean it isn't harmful: asbestos, uranium, mercury, etc.
 

fire_newt

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Cooling him might not be a bad idea either. Put him in a dish with wet paper towels to keep him moist and place him in a 40 degree fridge. This well slow down the infection and might give him a chance to fight back. I've done this once with a group of 3 FBN who got very sick, 2 of which pulled through. I also treated with the melafix. I'm not sure if it helped or not, but it didn't seem to do any harm
 

Larry85

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Hi all,

Many thanks for your kind help and suggestions - unfortunately Claudius died. I came down in the morning after moving him out and he seemed to be struggling with some blackish slime and within 30mins he was lifeless :(.

I've kept a close eye on the two remaining FBNs but they seem to be fine. Not sure what it was but I hope it's something he had when I bought him back in February.

Anyways thanks again - appreciated the advice!

Larry
 

AngieD

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Sorry to hear about the little guy; we all know on this forum how awful it is when an animal gets sick and doesn't make it, so you're not alone.
Good to hear the other 2 are ok :)
 
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