Photo - mystery bloat-like condition - any suggestions?

J

jennifer

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Here is a picture of my grossly fat eastern newt:
1380.jpg


She is 20+ years old (which seems to be unusually old for an eastern newt). Her "fatness" has developed slowly, over a period of about 2 years, beginning in fall/winter of 2000. It began with her looking gravid, then she just kept getting bigger, very gradually. Until the past few months, her apetite was good. Now she is hardly eating at all, and she has reached the point where I think she is doomed.

This is not "bloat" that we ordinarily hear about. Notice that her neck isn't swollen, only the abdomen. Any suggestions for cause or treatment?
 
Hi Jenn, I have no idea what that condition is...but there's a N. v. louisianensis female on exhibit at my local Nature Center which looks exactly the same. I've been watching her off and on for about 5 years, seeing if she'd die, but she doesn't. I seriously doubt it's fat, but should she die, PLEASE do an autopsy and see what the mass is.
 
I'd bet on a heart condition causing fluid build up. Allegedly it's quite common in old Caudata, but we don't see many of those now do we.

I don't think there's much you can do for her, I'm afraid.
 
Follow-up on the poor old fat newt. She developed problems swimming (struggling to get to the top to breathe), and clearly her condition had worsened in the past few weeks. I decided to euthanize her (5% ethyl alcohol). A local biologist dissected her for me. She was full of clear fluid. No eggs. Fairly large fat bodies in the abdomen, even though she ate almost nothing for several months. So, most likely it was organ failure of some kind, though we didn't know newt anatomy well enough to be able to see anything wrong.
 
Hi Jenn,

I'd guess at some kidney/osmoregulation problems (mere speculation). 20+ years is certainly more than she was likely to reach in nature though.

Best wishes,
kai
 
Although I'm sure you are very sad, you did the right thing.

Aneides
 
This thread is 11 years old. How did you even find it? Let alone respond...
 
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