Serious Mudpuppy problem.

Hi,

For the past few weeks, my mudpuppy has been unable to move his back legs and tail. Since he could still eat, it wasn't a problem until I noticed that he was developing bad rashes on his hind legs from having to drag himself around. Now his toes are ground down to little stumps and his legs are basically destroyed.
Is there any reason that anyone knows of that could have caused this paralysis? How can I treat it? How do I treat his wounds.

-Edward

Is there any way it could possibly be spinal damage? Is the mudpuppy pooping? I've heard stories of pressure from constipation pushing against amphibians spinal cords causing temporary paralysis. I think your best bet would be to get it to a vet who deals with exotics ASAP. Hopefully other members may be able to give better advice.

The injuries are not caused by friction. It sounds like the animal has a flesh eating infection that is eating away the tail and hind legs. This infections are VERY dangerous and will kill any animal if untreated.

What conditions are you keeping the mudpuppy in? Describe it´s husbandry and diet as best as you can.

The paralysis could be caused by the infection itself, although it reminds me of the effect of some severe dietary deficiencies.

I would recommend moving the mudpuppy to a plastic bin setup, where there are no rough edges for further abrasion. This setup also allows you to do total water changes and keep everything clean. Keep him relatively dark in order to reduce stress. You could add fish remedy antibiotics in order to try to stave off infection. However, I don't think there is anything that can be done about the paralysis itself.

Hey,

I keep him in a twenty gallon tank with one other mudpuppy. I feed them only live fish. There are a few more fish in the tank?

How do I treat the infection?

Edward

After seeing the diet I don't think this is caused by an infection. Although it may have an infection now because of the abrasions. I would recommend a varied diet from now on with worms being the staple instead of fish. It may be too late to save this one but you may prevent the samething from happening to your second mudpuppy.

That sounds awfully small for two adult Necturus :S
I´m not even sure one would be happy enough by itself in such a volume...let alone two. It obviously depends on the species, the smallest ones could be ok, but the bigger ones, would definitely not.

Although i´m sure Necturus species include fish in their diets, it doesn´t mean it´s the only food item they naturally get, and that means that by providing a diet based only on fish you have left them with dietary deficiencies(could be the reason of the paralysis).
You should feed a variety of preys, including earthworms, crayfish, crickets/roaches, and even pellets.
Fish are a very bad staple...and they have the added problem of being transmissors of several illnesses that can affect amphibians.

Try to upload a picture so that be can ascertain if it´s indeed an infection.

Should I treat it with a anti-fungal or anti-bacterial and is it ok to treat him with medicine for fish?

Yes, it is OK to treat with meds for fish. It is important to remove the sick animal to a separate tank before using any medication. If it were me, I would go with a broad-spectrum antibiotic, not an antifungal. But it really depends on what kind of infection he has, and it's impossible for any of us to tell.